the cabin of a ship and the first real house was built in 1849. In 1859, Carl Curman became resident physician at the resort. He had studied the climate along the west coast and found Lysekil to be best suited for a spa town and through his contacts, the town became a resort favoured by the Stockholm socialite. New bathhouses, hotels and parks were built in 1864–1890 along the south side of the town, now known as the South Harbor (Södra Hamnen). Among those were the two Curman Villas built in Dragestil. During World War II was one of the ports involved in Operation Bridford during which fast ships, called "Blockade runners", could break through the German Skagerrak mine blockade and ship ball bearings to Kingston upon Hull, England. The same route was later used to bring supplies and ammunition from Britain to the Danish resistance movement. Geography Lysekil is situated on the south tip of the Stångenäs peninsula on the Swedish west coast at the mouth of Gullmarn fjord. The town is surrounded on three sides by the sea and a number of islands and islets. The largest islands are Stora and Lilla Skeppsholmen, Skälholmarna, Valboholmen, Humlesäcken, Stångholmen, Släggö, Grötö, and Tova. Lysekil is surrounded by harbors, piers, boardwalks and quays on all sides facing the sea. The two main harbors are North Harbor and South Harbor. At the North Harbor, the original small wooden cottages and houses from the first settlement, Gamlestan (Old Town), have been restored and rebuilt into a picturesque part of the town. Both the north and the south harbors have guest harbors as well as plenty of restaurants and cafés. Nature reserves There are two nature reserves in Lysekil, Stångehuvud and Gullmarn fjord. The red granite cliffs of Stångehuvud were bought for conservation purpose in 1920 by Calla Curman and in 1982, the area was established as a nature reserve. The cliffs make up the southwest end of Stångenäs peninsula. In 1983, Gullmarn fjord was designated as Sweden's first marine conservation area. Economy Starting out as a small fishing village, Lysekil developed into a place for fishing industry and refined fish products. Large amounts of train oil were also produced and exported to European countries as well as New York to be used in street lamps. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were around 40 factories in Lysekil. In 1893, Arvid Bernhard