It is the wide streets and the public buildings on the monumental Great Square that give a particular quality to Karlskrona. In this classic example of a grid net layout, a Great Square surrounded by buildings representing religion and the law, has been situated at the highest point on the island of Trossö and is the centre of the town. The two churches on the Square have been built in accordance with two main principles of renaissance architecture, that of the rotunda and the basilica.

The Admiralty Square was intended to serve as both the architectural nucleus and the symbol of authority in the town and proposals had been made to erect a magnificent building for the Board of the Admiralty there. However, in the Age of the Absolute Monarch the existence of an independent governmental department outside the capital could not be tolerated, and these plans were never realised. The Admiralty was housed in a small wooden building until 1776 when it moved to Stockholm.

In the end, the Wachtmeister Bastion, one of the main strongholds on the Enclosing Wall was erected on the site planned for the Admiralty building. To-day the Admiralty clock tower stands on the Admiralty Square, and it was the Great Square that became the centre of the town.