Technology & Infrastructure in the 17th century

270 sourced entries, 1600 CE to 1699 CE, oldest first. Also see Technology & Infrastructure across every century or everything else in the 17th century.

160020 March – Construction of Cullen House in Moray begins.Scotland source
1600Curtius mansion constructed in Liège.Belgium source
1600Scalloway Castle is built on Mainland, Shetland, by Patrick Stewart, 2nd Earl of OrkneyScotland source
160120 March – New regulations on distilleries for brandy and aqua vitae decreed.Belgium source
1601King Christian IV orders the construction of a permanent wooden bridge over the Børsgraven canal to improve access to the Copenhagen shipyard.Denmark source
1603May 19 – The King's Men, a troupe of English professional actors composed primarily of former members of the Lord Chamberlain's Men, is granted its royal patent by King James. The company will give the first performances of many of the plays of William Shakespeare, who is one of the company's 26 principal actors. Named in order of priority on the patent are manager Lawrence Fletcher, Shakespeare, and Richard Burbage.source
1604March 22 – Karl IX begins his reign as King of Sweden.source
1604Henry IV advances Parisian development, working on projects like the Louvre and Place Royale.France source
160531 March – Isaac Pieterszoon van Amsterdam is appointed 'commissioner of the Sound', to ensure that Dutch trade ships would return to the Netherlands.Denmark source
1606April 12 – The first version of the Union Flag is created, to be worn as a national flag by English and Scottish ships.source
1606June 9 – Accident at the Neuilly-sur-Seine ferry: the king and queen with others of the court, returning from Saint-Germain to Paris, nearly drown. The king orders construction of the first, wooden, Pont de Neuilly, built between 1609 and 1611.France source
1606The first part of Rosenborg Castle is constructed.Denmark source
1606The main building of Trods Katholm is constructed.Denmark source
1607Pont Neuf inaugurated in ParisFrance source
1607Construction of James's Fort, protecting Kinsale harbour, is completed to the design of Paul Ive.Ireland source
1607Construction of Prince Rupert's Tower, protecting Cork Harbour, is completed about this date.Ireland source
1608May 8 – Works by Bevis Bulmer commence at a newly nationalized silver mine at Hilderston, West Lothian.Scotland source
1608The first cheques are used in the Dutch Republic.source
1608The Caritas Well is constructed on Gammeltorv in Copenhagen.Denmark source
1609(July) The King submits Motives and Reasons to induce the City of London to undertake the Plantation in the North of Ireland to the City of London.Ireland source
161017 August – Christian IV of Denmark-Norway ordered the construction of Altenhus Fortress on the island of Aarøen near Alten in Finnmark county.Norway source
1610Work starts on the Wignacourt Aqueduct, in Malta.source
1610Construction of Antrim Castle is begun.Ireland source
1611Construction begins on Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan, Persia.source
1611A Statue of Leda and the Swan is mounted on a tall column an installed on an artificial islet in the Port of Copenhagen.Denmark source
1611Spring – A fortification is built at Nyen to blockade Nöteborg.Sweden source
1612September 5 – England's East India Company gets its first warships and establishes the "'Honourable East India Company's Marine'" to protect its freighters. The force develops over the centuries into the Royal Indian Navy and, after India's independence in 1947, the Indian Navy.source
1613February 24 – King Anaukpetlun of Burma blockades the Portuguese port at Syriam with 80 warships and 3,000 men, then sets about to tunnel into the city.source
1613March 27 – The first English child is born in what will become Canada at Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland to Nicholas Guy.source
1613September 29 – The New River is opened, to supply London with drinking water from Hertfordshire.source
1613Jhansi Fort was built by Raja Vir Singh Deo of Orchha; construction work continued till 1618.India source
1613Dutch forces established a factory (trading post) at PalakolluIndia source
1613British forces established a factory (trading post) at SuratIndia source
1613Defense works at the city of Chaul were expandedIndia source
1613Construction of Bhangarh Fort in Rajasthan was completedIndia source
1613Plantation of Ulster: Derry reincorporated under that name by charter (29 March) and its reconstruction as a walled planned city, under the auspices of The Honourable The Irish Society, begins.Ireland source
1614March 15 – Construction begins on the Takada Castle in Japan.source
1614March 17 – The States General of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands authorizes an exclusive monopoly for trade in the New World, providing for the winning company to be able to make four voyages to the eastern coast of North America between 40° N and 45° N, encompassing the area that becomes the U.S. state of New Jersey. The New Netherland Company receives the exclusive patent, effective January 1, 1615.source
1614The first written records of the Lesjaverk Ironworks.Norway source
1615John Browne is created the first King's Gunfounder in England.source
1615Production of carpets at the Savonnerie manufactory is begun by Pierre DuPontFrance source
1615Construction work commences on the Luxembourg Palace designed by Salomon de BrosseFrance source
1615Bærum Iron Works is established.Norway source
1616January 12 – The city of Belém, Brazil is founded on the Amazon River delta, by Portuguese captain Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco, who had previously taken the city of São Luís in Maranhão from the French.source
1616November 6 – Captain William Murray is granted a royal patent, giving him the sole privilege of importing tobacco to Scotland for a period of 21 years. Continuing from the reign of Elizabeth I, the creation of grants and patents reaches a new highwater mark from 1614 to 1621, during the reign of James I of England.source
1616The first Thai embassy to Japan arrives.source
1616Inigo Jones designs the Queen's House at Greenwich, near London.source
1616Peter Paul Rubens begins work on classical tapestries, when a contract is signed in Antwerp with cloth dyers Jan Raes and Frans Sweerts in Brussels, and the Genoese merchant Franco Cattaneo.source
1619March – construction of the walls of Derry by The Honourable The Irish Society is completed, at a cost of £10,757.Ireland source
1619Stewart Castle, Newtownstewart, County Tyrone, is built by Sir Robert Newcomen.Ireland source
1620November 3 – The Great Patent is granted to Plymouth Colony.source
1620The construction of the original Knippelsbro is completed.Denmark source
1620Bangor, County Down, is granted the status of a port by King James I of England.Ireland source
162222 February – a patent is granted for Dud Dudley's process for smelting iron ore with coke.England source
1622First record of bottled spring water in England at Holy Well, Malvern.source
1622The Matthias Hansen House on Amagertorv in Copenhagen is built.Denmark source
1622The Neptune Fountain is installed in the forecourt of Frederiksborg Castle.Denmark source
1622Boston Manor House is built in London by Dame Mary Reade.England source
1623March 20 – Richard Frethorne begins writing a letter to his parents from Jamestown, Virginia.source
1623Wilhelm Schickard devizes a Calculating Clock, an early mechanical calculator.source
1624December 24 – Denmark's first postal service is launched by order of King Christian IV.source
1624The Palace of Versailles is first built by Louis XIII, as a hunting lodge.France source
1624The mining town of Kongsberg is founded.Norway source
1626Christian IV initiates the construction of Sankt Annæ Skans on the coast north of Copenhagen.Denmark source
1626King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland institutes a plantation on the royal estate of Upper Ossory in County Laois.Ireland source
1627Rock blasting is invented: Black gunpowder is first used in mining, in a mineshaft under Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia.source
1627The Bollhuset ( 'The Big Ball House) is constructed in the capital of Stockholm for the royal court.Sweden source
162810 June – Brussels government issues directives for the maintenance of roads, ditches and bridges.Belgium source
1628Jens Juel was appointed the first commander-in-chief of the Norwegian army.Norway source
1629Fort Santo Domingo is built in Formosa by the Spanish East Indies.source
1629Bech's Windmill is constructed in Svaneke on Bornholm.Denmark source
1630The central square of Covent Garden in London is laid out, and a market begins to develop there.source
1630The Kvikne Copper Works, starts to operate, it is operated from 1630 to 1912.Norway source
1631Construction of Nyboder begins.Denmark source
1632Construction of the Taj Mahal begins.source
1632Christian IV starts the construction of the fortification Christianspris north of Kiel.Denmark source
1633February 13 – Fire engines are used for the first time in England in order to control and extinguish a fire that breaks out at London Bridge, but not before 43 houses are destroyed.source
163313 February – Fire engines are used for the first time in England to control and extinguish a fire that breaks out at London Bridge, but not before 43 houses are destroyed.England source
1635April – Construction is completed on the Jacobean mansion Aston HallEngland source
1635July 31 – The Royal Mail service is made available to the public by Charles I of England.source
1635First General Post Office opens to the public, at Bishopsgate, London.England source
1635Construction of Malleny House and Garden was initiated.Scotland source
1636Unknown – Construction concluded on the Jacobean mansion Crewe HallEngland source
1637February – A contract was signed with a Henrik van Dingklage in Emden for the supply of bricks for the construction of Rundetårn in Copenhagen. The first three shiploads are to be delivered in May, the next three loads the following month and the remainder on demand.Denmark source
1637May 25 – letters patent authorise 'Laudian statutes' for Trinity College Dublin.Ireland source
163713 October – First-rate ship of the line English ship Sovereign of the Seas is launched at Woolwich Dockyard at a cost of £65,586, adorned from stern to bow with gilded carvings.England source
1637Building commences on the Theatres of the Palais-Royal.France source
1637Building commences on the Malouinière de la Verderie.France source
1637Gese Wechel becomes the first female manager of the Swedish Post Office.Sweden source
1638May 13 – Construction begins on the Red Fort in Delhi (India) for Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan who is transferring his capital there from Agra.source
1638September 6 – The Finnish mail service, predecessor of Posti Group, is established.source
1638The Peking Gazette makes an official switch in its production process of newspapers, from woodblock printing to movable type printing (private newspapers in Ming dynasty China were first mentioned in 1582).source
1639March 3 – The early settlement of Taunton, Massachusetts, is incorporated as a town.source
1639April – Italian-born Cardinal Mazarin, apostolic nuncio to Paris and adviser to Cardinal Richelieu, is naturalized French by letters patent; in December, he leaves the service of Rome to enter that of King Louis XIII of France.source
1639The Casiquiare canal, a river forming a natural channel between the Amazon River and Orinoco River basins, is first encountered by Europeans, an expedition led by Pedro Teixeira and Cristóbal Diatristán de Acuña.source
1639Richard Nugent, 1st Earl of Westmeath, builds Clonyn Castle overlooking Delvin, County Westmeath.Ireland source
1639Autumn – James Shirley's play Saint Patrick for Ireland opens at the Werburgh Street Theatre in Dublin.Ireland source
1639Hjälmare Canal (Swedish: Hjälmare kanal) officially taken into use. The Hjälmare Canal, Sweden's oldest canal, became operational. The canal connected Lake Hjälmaren to Lake Mälaren and was a major infrastructure project intended to transport iron abroad and bypass dangerous stretches of water.Sweden source
1640The first known European coffeehouse perhaps opens in Venice.source
1641Christian IV starts the construction of Roskilde Kongevej (completed in 1642).Denmark source
1641The construction of a new Town Hall of Christiania was finished (the building is now called the "Old Town Hall") .Norway source
1642Briare Canal opens throughout, the first summit level canal in Europe built using pound locks.France source
1643April 1 – Åmål, Sweden, is granted its city charter.source
1644Røros Copper Works is established.Norway source
1645First issue of Post- och Inrikes Tidningar.Sweden source
1646March 6 – Joseph Jenkes obtains the first colonial machine patent, in Massachusetts.source
1646Møntergården is constructed by Falk Gøye in Odense.Denmark source
1646Chapelle Sainte-Anne de La Grasserie is built in Ille-et-VilaineFrance source
1646Église Saint-Martin de Vern-sur-Seiche is built in Ille-et-VilaineFrance source
1646Chapelle Sainte-Marguerite is built in Locoal-Mendon, canton of BelzFrance source
1646The Quiberet fountain is built in AnnecyFrance source
1646The Hôtel Thuriot de la Rosière is built in ParisFrance source
1646The Église Notre-Dame is built in ChambéryFrance source
1646The Hôtel de Sourdéac is built in ParisFrance source
164717 January – Postvesenet is established.Norway source
1648In India, building of the Red Fort in Shahjahanabad is completed.source
1649The Hassel Iron Works, starts to operate.Norway source
1649The public net of transportation is re-organised.Sweden source
1650English highwayman and Captain James Hind campaigns for the Royalist cause (according to his own account).source
1650Entrance gate to Savoy College, LeuvenBelgium source
1650Work begins on Church of Our Lady, Jezus-Eik, to designs attributed to Jacob FranquartBelgium source
1650Fredericia is incorporated as a market town.Denmark source
1650Aasgaardstrand is given town status as a ladested under the nearby town of Tønsberg.Norway source
1651The first coffee house in England is opened in Oxford, indicative of their increasing popularity in Europe.source
1651Work begins on a new Capuchin priory and church in Brussels.Belgium source
1651Work begins on the Thurn and Taxis family chapel in the Church of Our Lady of Victories at the SablonBelgium source
1651First coffee house in England opens, in Oxford.England source
1651Cornelius Vermuyden constructs the first Denver Sluice, an important component in drainage of The Fens.England source
165210 December – Decree in Liège ordering owners of mills, forges and furnaces along the river Ourthe to remove all obstacles to navigation on the river.Belgium source
1652Probable date – second coffeehouse in England opened, in London, by Pasqua Rosée.England source
1652Building of the Red Fort at Delhi.India source
165318 April – London–York stagecoach first recorded.England source
1653July 8 – John Thurloe becomes Cromwell's head of intelligence.source
1653Farmhouse in Destelbergen, now listed built heritageBelgium source
1653Petite post, a system of postage using prepaid labels and post boxes, is introduced in Paris by Jean-Jacques Renouard de Villayer.France source
1654May 8 – Otto von Guericke demonstrates the power of atmospheric pressure and the effectiveness of his vacuum pump, using the Magdeburg hemispheres, before Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, and the Imperial Diet in Regensburg.source
1654The Løkken Mine, the largest deposits of pyrite in Norway starts to operate, it is operated from 1654 to 1987.Norway source
1655April 26 – The Dutch West India Company denies Peter Stuyvesant's request to exclude Jews from New Amsterdam (Manhattan).source
1655Stephan Farffler, a 22-year-old paraplegic watchmaker, builds the world's first self-propelling chair on a three-wheel chassis using a system of cranks and cogwheels. However, the device has the appearance of a hand bike more than a wheelchair since the design includes hand cranks mounted at the front wheel.source
1656The construction of Austrått Manor is finished.Norway source
1657July - The Stockholms Banco is opened.Sweden source
1657December 27 – The Flushing Remonstrance is signed in New Amsterdam, at the site of the future (1862) Flushing Town Hall in New York City.source
1657Ulefos Jernværk is established.Norway source
1659Lesja Iron Works is established.Norway source
16601 January – Samuel Pepys begins his diary.England source
1660January 25 - The first bridge to span the Sumida River in Tokyo, the Ryōgoku Bridge, is built to give people a means of escape from fires. (Traditional Japanese Date: Thirteenth Day of the Twelfth Month, 1659)Japan source
1660June 1 – The office of Secretary of State for the Southern Department begins operations in the Kingdom of Great Britain, with responsibility for the colonies of British America in what will later become Canada and the United States, as well as for Ireland and for the Channel Islands. Sir Edward Nicholas, a former British Secretary of State, takes office as the first Southern Department secretary.source
1660September 25 – Samuel Pepys has his first cup of tea (an event recorded in his diary).source
166019 November – James, Duke of York, as Lord High Admiral of England, proclaims that use of the newly restored Union Jack is reserved to ships of the Royal Navy and merchant ships should fly the Red Ensign.England source
1660Flekkefjord is given town status as a ladested.Norway source
166119 April – the Post Office introduces post marks.England source
16614 June – The so-called Demarcation Line around Copenhagen is introduced when it is prohibited to build in the zone between the city's Fortification Ring and The Lakes.Denmark source
1661Fort Frederiksborg is built on the Danish Gold Coast.Denmark source
1661Construction of the Rosendal Manor started.Norway source
1661The construction of Munkholmen fort is finished.Norway source
1662September 29 – The first payments under England's hearth tax law, enacted on May 19, become due.source
1662Milton, Massachusetts is incorporated as a town.source
1662Fredriksholm Fortress is established.Norway source
1662The work on the new Drottningholm Palace is startedSweden source
1663May 7 – The King's Theatre, now called "Drury Lane", opens in London.source
16637 May – opening of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London.England source
1664March 12 – King Charles II of England makes royal charter for territory in North America that leases to his brother, James, Duke of York, a patent for a large amount of land in what is now the northeastern United States. According to the Charter, James receives "all that part of the mayne land of New England" between "New Scotland in America" and the river of Kenebeque", along with "Mattowacks or Long Island" and "Martins Vineyard and Nantukes", and the lands between the "Connecticutte and Hudsons rivers" and the lands "from the west side of "Connecticutte to the east side De la Warre Bay". The lease, which includes the territory claimed by the Dutch Republic as New Netherland is for most of the U.S. state of Maine and parts of Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.source
1664Schackenborg Castle is constructed.Denmark source
1664Construction begins of the Sheldonian Theatre for university ceremonial in Oxford as designed by Christopher Wren.England source
1664St Stephen's Green, Dublin, enclosed for building.Ireland source
1664Portmore Castle is erected near the shores of Portmore Lough in County Antrim.Ireland source
1665October 21 – Manufacture royale de glaces de miroirs (Royal Mirror-Glass Factory, a predecessor of Saint-Gobain), is established by royal letters patent issued by Jean-Baptiste Colbert in Paris.France source
1665Royal Navy Dockyard established at Sheerness for storage and refitting.England source
1665King Charles II of England and Ireland grants letters patent to Sir Robert Reading to erect six lighthouses on the coast of Ireland, at Hook Head, Old Head of Kinsale, Barry Oge's castle, the Isle of Magee (near Carrickfergus) and Howth (two).Ireland source
1665Næs Iron Works starts to operate, it is operated from 1665 to 1959.Norway source
1665The construction of Rosendal Manor was finished.Norway source
166727 June – An attempt by Dutch ships to enter the River Thames above Gravesend is called off.England source
1667August 18 – In an effort to prevent narrow streets from being blocked from all light by tall buildings, the city of Paris enacts its first building code limiting the height of new construction. Buildings may be no taller than eight toise – 15.6 m – tall. In 1783, rules are implemented to consider the width of the street.source
1667Fredriksberg Fortress is established.Norway source
1669Margareta Beijer becomes the second female manager of the Swedish Post Office.Sweden source
167021 January – French-born 'gentleman highwayman' Claude Duval is hanged at Tyburn gallows in London and subsequently buried in St Paul's, Covent Garden.England source
1670June 15 – The first stone of Fort Ricasoli is laid down in Malta.source
1670Barrack Bridge is constructed over the River Liffey in Dublin.Ireland source
1670The first sods are taken to Carlsburg at the mouth of the river Weser. The city is supposed to become a Swedish support point for trade competition, but the project failsSweden source
167131 March – The Royal Navy launches 102-gun HMS Royal James at Portsmouth Royal Dockyard, its first warship to have a frame reinforced by iron bars rather than an all wooden ship, an innovation by naval architect Anthony Deane.England source
16719 November – The Duke of York's Theatre is opened at Dorset Garden in London by the players of the Duke's Company.England source
1672January 25 – The Theatre Royal, located at the time on Bridges Street in London, burns down. A replacement structure is built on Drury Lane in 1674.source
167225 January – the Theatre Royal in Bridges Street in London burns down, forcing the King's Company to relocate to the Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre while the Theatre Royal is rebuilt in Drury Lane.England source
1672High royal councillor Burchard Ahlefeldt received in 1672 letters patent as Danish Count Ahlefeldt.Denmark source
1672Rebuilding begins of St Stephen Walbrook church in the City of London, designed by Christopher Wren.England source
1672The Fulham Pottery is established in London by John Dwight, the earliest certainly known native stoneware manufacturer in England; it will survive until the second half of the 20th century.England source
1672Rebuilding of Temple Bar, London, designed by Christopher Wren.England source
1672Christiansholm Fortress was built.Norway source
1673October 3 – Kintai Bridge is officially completed in Iwakuni, Suō Province (modern-day Yamaguchi Prefecture), Japan.source
1673Sophie Amalienborg is built in Copenhagen.Denmark source
1673Michael Boyle begins construction of Blessington House in Blessington, County Wicklow.Ireland source
167426 March – Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London, re-opens, having been rebuilt after a fire in 1672.England source
1675Briggflatts Meeting House built near Sedbergh.England source
1676The first coffeehouse in North America opens in Boston.source
1676Construction begins on Trinity College Library in Cambridge, designed by Sir Christopher Wren.England source
1677Ice cream becomes popular in Paris.source
1677The first Copenhagen Stocks House, a military prison, is completed at a site just south of the Nyboder barracks.Denmark source
1677The construction of Staverns Fortress was finished.Norway source
1678January 27 – The first fire engine company in North America goes into service in Boston.source
1679Malpas Tunnel on the Canal du Midi in Hérault, France, Europe's first navigable canal tunnel, is excavated by Pierre-Paul Riquet (169 m, concrete lined).source
1679Approximate date – first bagnio opens in London.England source
1680March 27 – The London Penny Post delivery service begins operations after being created by Robert Murray and William Dockwra, with a policy of delivering letters to any part of London or its suburbs for the price of one English penny.source
168027 March – The London Penny Post delivery service begins operations after being created by Robert Murray and William Dockwra, with a policy of delivering letters to any part of London or its suburbs for the price of one penny.England source
1680First fire insurance office established, the Phoenix.England source
1680Brevik is given town status as a ladested.Norway source
1681May 15 – The Canal du Midi in France is opened officially, as the Canal Royal de Languedoc.source
168115 May – The Canal du Midi is opened officially, as the Canal Royal de Languedoc.France source
1681Frederiksholm Canal is dug out and Storm Bridge is built in Copenhagen.Denmark source
1681An attempt to construct a dry dock in Copenhagen fails as it continues to take on water. A new dry dock is not completed until 1739 at Christianshavn.Denmark source
1681The oldest house at Nyhavn in Copenhagen is built.Denmark source
1681The construction of Kristiansten Fortress starts.Norway source
1682The Richard Wall House, believed to be the longest continuously inhabited residence in the US, is built in Pennsylvania.source
1682Construction of the Canal de la Bruche startedFrance source
1682Kongsvinger Fortress was built.Norway source
1683December – The River Thames in England freezes, allowing a frost fair to be held.source
1683Christiansfjell Fortress was built.Norway source
1684January 15 (January 5 O.S.) – To demonstrate that the River Thames, frozen solid during the Great Frost that started in December, is safe to walk upon, "a Coach and six horses drove over the Thames for a wager" and within three days "whole streets of Booths are built on the Thames and thousands of people are continually walking thereon." Sir Richard Newdigate, 2nd Baronet, records the events in his diary.source
1684February 15 (February 5 O.S.) – The Great Frost in Britain, during which the River Thames was frozen in London and the sea as far as 2 mi out from land and which started the previous December, ends as the Thames begins to thaw. William Maitland later writes that the Frost, which started in December 1683, "congealed the river Thames to that degree that another city, as it were, was erected thereon; where by the great number of streets and shops, with their rich furniture, it represented a great fair, with a variety of carriages, and diversions of all sorts." During the freeze, there had been great loss of beast and of wildlife, especially birds, and similar reports from across Northern Europe. The Chipperfield's Circus dynasty began during the freeze, with James Chipperfield introducing performing animals to the country at the Frost Fair on the Thames in London.source
1684The East India Company receives Chinese permission to build a trading station at Canton.England source
1684The Canal de l'Eure with its notable aqueduct, designed by the military engineer Lieutenant Général Vauban to serve Versailles for Louis XIV, is begun; work is abandoned about 1690France source
1684Jeremiah O'Donovan's landownings in County Cork are erected by royal letters patent into the Manor of the Leap.Ireland source
1685September 29 – The first organised street lighting is introduced by the city of London in England, as Edward Hemming begins carrying out his contract to be paid for lighting an oil lamp "at every tenth house on main streets between 6 PM and midnight between September 29 and March 25" on nights in the autumn and winter without adequate moonlight.source
168529 September – the first organised street lighting, using oil lamps, is established in London by Edward Hemming.England source
1685The construction of Kristiansten Fortress was finished.Norway source
1685The construction of the Old Town Bridge in Trondheim was finished.Norway source
1685The postal service are now finally, in practice, available in all the nation.Sweden source
1687Hofmarschall Henrik Ulrik Lützow's town mansion is constructed on Stormgade in Copenhagen.Denmark source
1687The Krudttårnet gunpowder magazine is constructed in Frederikshavn.Denmark source
1688Coffee is served in public in Stockholm for the first time.Sweden source
1689Gardens at Levens Hall in the north-west begin to be laid out; the plan remains substantially unaltered into the 21st century and includes one of the country's earliest ha-has.England source
1690January 7 – The first recorded full peal is rung, at St Sepulchre-without-Newgate in the City of London, marking a new era in change ringing.source
16907 January – The first recorded full peal is rung, at St Sepulchre-without-Newgate in the City of London, marking a new era in change ringing.England source
1690French physicist Denis Papin, while in Leipzig and having observed the mechanical power of atmospheric pressure on his 'digester', builds a working model of a reciprocating steam engine for pumping water, the first of its kind, though not efficient.source
1690The construction of Fort Longueuil, a stone fort in Longueuil, in Quebec, Canada, is completed. It is one of the only buildings in Canada that could ever be considered a castle (fortified residence for a noble), and out of those buildings it most resembles the castles of Europe.source
1690The Barrage Vauban, a defensive work in the city of Strasbourg (in modern-day France), is completed.source
1690Kallebobro, the predecessor of Langebro, is completed in Copenhagen.Denmark source
1690Probable date – Planting of Hampton Court Maze.England source
1691HMNB Devonport, currently one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy and the largest naval base in Western Europe, opens.source
1691The textile factory Barnängens manufaktur is founded in Stockholm, Sweden.source
1691The Åmdal copperwork is established.Norway source
169213 June - The first known recipe for Bløtkake is written down.Norway source
169210 December – Ole Judichær becomes the first factory director of the new Royal Danish Naval Dockyard at Nyholm in Copenhagen. (died 1729)Denmark source
1692The Bolvik ironwork is established.Norway source
1692Old Gimmestad Church is built.Norway source
16939th Month: reconstructions begin at Mukden (modern-day Shenyang)China source
1693the palace memorial system are first requested by the Emperor to supplement the regular bureaucratic channels of information.China source
1693Christian V's Rosenborg Tapestries are completed.Denmark source
1694The Parker Tavern is built in Reading, Massachusetts.source
169530 April – William Congreve's comedy Love for Love opens the New Theatre, Lincoln's Inn Fields.England source
1695August 8 – The Wren Building is started in Williamsburg, Virginia (completed in 1700).source
1695After many years of construction, the Potala Palace in Lhasa is completed.source
16955th Month: further tours are made in the outskirts of the capital. New dams and inlets at seaports are inspected. The Temple of the Sea God (Haishen miao) is constructed.China source
1696September 17 – On Canada's Hudson Bay, the English Navy recaptures the York Factory from France, three years after the French had captured it, and renamed the site "Fort Bourbon".source
1696Abington, Pennsylvania, is settled.source
1696Building of the fort of Calcutta.India source
1696The first Store Færder Lighthouse is established (from the start the light was simply an iron pot placed on the ground).Norway source
1697June 30 – The earliest reported first-class cricket match takes place in Sussex in England.source
1697Christopher Polhem starts Sweden's first technical school.source
1697Unknown Date - Christopher Polhem starts Sweden's first technical school.Sweden source
1698July 2 – Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine.source
1698July 25 – English engineer Thomas Savery obtains a patent for a steam pump.source
169825 July – engineer Thomas Savery obtains a patent for a steam pump.England source
1698November 14 – The first Eddystone Lighthouse, built off Plymouth, England, is illuminated.source
1698Vodroffgård is established on the west side of St. Jørgen's Lake outside Copenhagen.Denmark source
1698Thermal springs discovered at Matlock Bath in Derbyshire.England source
1698The construction of Mangelsgården is finished.Norway source
1699June 14 – Thomas Savery demonstrates his first steam pump to the Royal Society of London.source
1699The construction of Frederiksberg Palace begins.Denmark source
1699Castle Howard in Yorkshire, designed by Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor, is begun. It is one of the first significant English houses to incorporate corridors in the design.England source
1699The waterfall Steinsdalsfossen was formed when the river found a new race.Norway source