Karlshamn is a locality and the seat of Karlshamn Municipality in Blekinge County, Sweden. It had 19,075 inhabitants in 2010, out of 30,918 in the municipality (2009).Karlshamn received a Royal Charter and city privileges in 1664, when King Charles X Gustav, in Swedish Karl, realized the strategic location near the Baltic Sea. In 1666 the town was named Karlshamn, meaning Karl's Port in honour of the Swedish king.