Mönsterås Municipality

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This page deals with both Mönsterås Municipality and the urban area (tätort) Mönsterås

**Mönsterås Municipality (*Kommun*)**
Mönsterås in central Kalmar County Map outlining municipalities of Sweden	Coat of arms
	Municipal facts
	Seat	Mönsterås
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	County	Kalmar County
	Province	Småland
	Area Rank	602 km² 158th of 290
	Population Rank (2005)	13,226 251st of 290
	Density	22/km²

Mönsterås Municipality is a municipality in Kalmar County, in south-eastern Sweden, with its seat located to the town of Mönsterås (population 5,000).

The coastal line is signified by an archipelago with some 300 islands and islets, whereof two are nature reserves. On the island farthest from land, the lighthouse of Dämman was built in 1873; an automatic lighthouse has replaced its function, but the house itself is visited by tourists and konferences.

The geography of the rest is by some parts covered with forests, as the Småland province generally is. There is also some agricultural areas closer to the sea. There are two rivers flowing through the municipality towards to sea: Emån and Alsterån, that designate the wildlife and geography.

Postcard from around 1905 depicting the centre of Mönsterås

The city arms show the ridge which the town centre with its church has been situated on since the medieval age. The cross symbolizes the Knights Hospitallers, a monastic order that was built in the town in the 15th century and had a large influence on its development. It is an etymological design showing the origin of the name of the municipality: Mönster comes from monastery while ås means ridge.