Look closely at this faithful replica of Kalmar Nyckel, key of Kalmar. The name means 'Key of Kalmar' in Swedish — nyckel is 'key' — and it honors the Swedish city of Kalmar and the great Kalmar Castle, once a symbol of power during the Swedish Empire when Sweden was a military great power. The original Kalmar Nyckel was built by the Dutch about 1625 as a pinnace and even began life as Sleutel, Dutch for 'key'.
To tell it apart from other ships called Key, it became known by the city that purchased it in 1629 and gave it to the state-sponsored trading company Skeppskompaniet. It later entered the Swedish Navy. When Sweden decided to found a trading colony in the New World under Peter Minuit, Kalmar Nyckel was chosen for the voyage, accompanied by the smaller vessel Fogel Grip, or Griffin Bird.
The two ships sailed from Gothenburg in December 1637 under the command of Jan Hindriksen and in 1638 carried Swedish settlers to North America to establish the colony of New Sweden. This very replica was launched in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1997 — the ship now resting beside you.