Sweden

Overview

The visitor to Sweden will be met by a dazzling number of lakes and forests that are typical of a clean, well connected country. Although it is the third largest country in Europe, getting around is easy by road, rail or some of the expanses of water.

The natural world does not cease with the water and the forests; these are set against a backdrop of mountains and glaciers, which also watch over the gentle countryside and sandscapes. In an exploration of the marvellous landscapes, the visitor will find all manner of Swedish life. They will have a high likelihood of starting in one of the major cities. One of these may be the capital, Stockholm, resting on its 14 islands with a modern fell along with its historical pedigree. The visitor may wish to make a short excursion from here to one of the islands further out or travel across the Göta Canal to Gothenburg. This city is more industrial and has an enormous international port. Malmo is smaller and perfect for a short trip to Denmark.

If the larger cities get too much then the traditional ways of life in the centre and the happ culture in the north can be seen. Along the way, the visitor might move into the east where the Sörenland holds hundreds of castles and Gävle which is also the country's oldest city and the location of the country's largest zoo. Many of the landscapes allow much physical exertion especially in the form of long...more

History

During the seventh and eighth centuries the Swedes were merchant seamen well known for their far-reaching trade. In the ninth century Nordic Vikings raided and ravaged the European continent as far as the Black and Caspian Seas. During the 11th and 12th centuries Sweden gradually became a unified Christian kingdom that later included Finland. Queen Margaret of Denmark united all the Nordic lands in the "Kalmar Union" in 1397. Continual tension within the countries and within the union gradually led to open conflict between the Swedes and the Danes in the 15th century. The union's final disintegration in the early 16th century brought on a long-lived rivalry between Norway and Denmark on one side and Sweden and Finland on the other

In the 16th century Gustav Vasa fought for an independent Sweden and crushed an attempt to restore the Kalmar Union and laid the foundation for modern Sweden. At the same time he broke with the Catholic Church and established the Reformation. During the 17th century after winning wars against Denmark Russia and Poland Sweden-Finland (with scarcely more than 1 million inhabitants) emerged as a great power. Its contributions during the Thirty Years War under Gustav II Adolf (Gustavus Adolphus) determined the political as well as the religious balance of power in Europe. By 1658 Sweden ruled several provinces of Denmark as well as what is now Finland Ingermanland (in which St. Petersburg is located) Estonia Latvia and important coastal towns and other areas of northern Germany.

Russia Saxony-Poland and Denmark-Norway pooled...more