In 1998 Karlskrona became item no. 560 on UNESCO's list of irreplaceable World Heritage Sites. In an international context, the city is of major importance, representing as it does an unrivalled illustration of how a fortified naval town and base from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was planned and established.

In the eighteenth century developments in Karlskrona in the fields of shipbuilding, architecture, town planning, military construction and engineering, attracted widespread notice and recognition from the continent.

For more than a century the distinctive architecture and specialised installations at the Navy yard served as a hub of military technology and industry in the Baltic region. Both the naval base and the dockyard have been in continuous operation from the time
they were first established until the present day.