Sweden

Sweden occupies the Eastern part of the Scandinavian peninsula. It's a long (1572 kilometers) and rather narrow country, and the largest of the Nordic countries.

Sweden shares a long border with Norway to the west and a shorter border with Finland in the east; Denmark lies to the south across the Danish straits, over one of which (Öresund) a huge bridge is being built. The Baltic Sea islands of Gotland and Öland are integral parts of Sweden.

Norrland is on the map the dominating region of Sweden. Norrland - that is the northernmost two thirds of the country, where almost no people live. Except at the mines and along the coast. Northwestern Sweden is crossed by an ancient mountain chain; the remainder of the north is a southeast-sloping plateau that rises to between 200 and 500 meters.

South of Norrland, forming the regions of Svealand in central Sweden and Götaland farther south, is a varied landscape of plains and rift valleys. To the north of the highlands is the Central Swedish Depression, a down-faulted, lake-strewn lowland extending across the peninsula from near Göteborg to east of Stockholm and Uppsala. To the south is Skåne, a low-lying, predominantly agricultural area.

Because of its large area and latitudinal extent, Sweden has a number of climate regimes. A cold, maritime climate dominates the country's west coast. The northern two-thirds of the country has a continental climate marked by severe winters. The south central areas experience the long, rather cold winters of the north, but they enjoy milder summers. The mountain regions remain cool in summer. In January temperatures average -0.8°C at Lund in the south), -2.8°C at Stockholm, and -13.7°C at Jokkmokk north of the the Arctic Circle. In July, the temperature variation is lower because of the sun shines the longer the further north one goes: 15°C at Jokkmokk, 18°C at Stockholm, and only 17°C at Lund. Snow remains on the ground for 40 days in southernmost Sweden, 100 days in the Stockholm area, and 250 days in the northwest mountains.

Forest covers two thirds of the land area. It consists of a summer-green forest of beeches, oaks, and other deciduous trees in the south, a mixed forest of deciduous and coniferous trees in central Sweden, and a predominantly coniferous forest of mainly pines and spruce in the north. Mountain birch and dwarf birch grow in colder upland areas, and tundra covers the highest elevations. Treeless moors (peat moss and marshland) cover more than 14% of all Sweden and as much as 40% in western areas of the south and parts of Norrland. Bears, wolves and lynxes are now found only in isolated woodlands, elk and deer are the common large animals found elsewhere.

The nation has its roots in the different kingdoms of the Viking Age, and is said to have been created when the king of the Svenonians ("Svearna") assumed kingship over Goths ("Götarna") as well in early middle ages. The word "Sverige" ("Sweden" short for "Svea rike" in Swedish) comes from the Svenonians; "Sverige" means the realm of the Svenonians. The English form of the name is probably derived from an old Germanic form, Svetheod, meaning the Swedish people. In medieval times the Swedes also pushed north to colonize the province now known as Norrland, and over the Baltic Sea to conquer Finland.

11% of the population are 1:st generation immigrants: from the Baltic countries (1944); Hungary (1956); Yugoslavia, Greece, and Turkey (in the 1960s and '70s), Czechoslovakia (1968), Chile (1973), Iran and Iraq (in the 1980s), Palestina/Lebanon, and recently arrived refugees from the civil wars in Yugoslavia. A third of the immigrants (4,4%) has arrived from the neighboring countries Finland, Norway, Denmark, Germany and Poland. Another third comes from Asia, most of all from the middle East, and a small but visible share comes from Africa (5% of the immigrants).

The main difference to more typical immigrant countries (as for instance USA with 10% of the population being 1:st generation immigrants) is that immigration to Sweden is a fairly recent phenomena. Swedes also tend to expect more of integration and assimilation from the immigrants than is the case in for instance Germany.

Swedish is a Germanic language, very closely related to Danish and Norwegian (most Swedes can understand Danish and Norwegian), and somewhat less close to Icelandic, German, Dutch and English. There are many words borrowed from German, French (18th Century) and English (later). Except for in Sweden, Swedish is spoken by a native minority in Finland, and a nowadays very small minority at the Estonian coast and islands.

Since 1987 the Tornedalen-Finnish, Sámi languages and Romani have special status as minority languages, and since 1993 the Sámi minority elects a representative assembly, the Sámi Parliament, which however has limited power. Constitutionally this assembly, despite its name, is little more than a lobby organization with the authority to distribute the funds the Swedish government lets it dispose.

Stockholm was originally established (c. 1250) by Birger Jarl as a defense outpost against the Baltic pirates on one of the channel islands that now make up Old Town. The city gained importance during the late Middle Ages as an exporter of metals, timber, and furs from its hinterland, but was still second after Uppsala in importance. Following the Stockholm Bloodbath and the subsequent overthrow of Danish rule in 1523, Stockholm became the center of the new Swedish kingdom. Under Gustav II Adolf (ruled 1611-32) Sweden became a major European power. His daughter and successor Christina (ruled 1632-54) established Stockholm as an intellectual and cultural center.

Stockholm is sometimes known as the Venice of the North. It is the cultural, educational, and industrial center of Sweden. The heart of the city is built on 13 small islands at the junction where Lake Mälaren joins the Baltic Sea. Remnants of medieval Stockholm survive on three small islands known as Gamla Stan (the Old Town). They are Stadsholmen (The City Island) , Riddarholmen (Knight Island), and Helgeandsholmen (The Island of the Holy Spirit). The islands are closely connected and form the "Staden mellan broarna", or "city between the bridges".

Stadsholmen has old gabled houses and narrow streets not found in other sections. Facing the water is the Royal Palace, which was completed in 1760, and is open to tourists. Nearby is the Storkyrkan (cathedral), the oldest building of the city (although the exterior is baroque), which houses e.g the famous medieval sculpture of St. Georg and the Dragon by the German sculptor Berndt Notke.

Cobblestone streets wind up from the palace to the old Stortorget, or Great Market, the site of the Bloodbath of 1520. Eighty-two Swedish noblemen were executed in the market by Danish King Christian II. Close to Stadsholmen is Riddarholmen, where many of the Swedish rulers have been buried in Riddarholmskyrkan. On the tiny Helgeandsholmen, or Island of the Holy Spirit, where the House of Parliament stands.

North of the Old Town are Norrmalm, the modern business and theater district, and Östermalm, a resedential section. Södermalm, a manufacturing center, is in the city's southern section, across the bridge leading from Old Town. The Town Hall, which is Stockholm's symbol, and most of the city government offices are on Kungsholmen, a large island west of Norrmalm. Stockholm is famous for its cleanliness and for its large number of parks and open spaces. On Djurgarden (a peninsula reserved for parkland and a cultural center) is Skansen, an open-air museum.

The University of Stockholm, founded in 1877 as a private institution, was taken over by the state in 1960 and is now the country's largest university. The Nobel Prizes are awarded annually in Stockholm, with the exception of the Nobel Peace Prize, which is presented in Oslo, Norway.

Major museums include the National Museum (of art), the Moderna Museet (Museum of modern art), the Vasa Museum (where a magnificient, 17th Century royal warship Vasa is on display; it sunk in the harbour on it's first journey in 1628 and was well preserved in the water for over 300 years until it was lifted in 1961. It's a must for every Stockholm visitor), the Historical Museum, the Nordic Museum, the Museum of Natural History (with Cosmonova omni theatre), the Museum of Naval History, the Skansen outdoor museum, the medieval museum, and the Royal Armoury (Livrustkammaren) where all sorts of fascinating artifacts from the history of the kingdom are on display, including crown jewels.

Facts

Name: Konungariket Sverige / The Kingdom of Sweden [ Sv/En ]


Flag: a yellow Nordic cross on blue background.
Languages: Swedish. (Finnish, Romani and Sámi languages are acknoledged minority languages.)

Area: 449.964 km² / 173.629 sq mi.

Terrain: mostly flat or gently rolling lowlands; blunt mountains in north and west; large archipelagos on the eastern coast.
Highest mountain: Kebnekaise, 2,111 m (6,926 ft)

Population: 9 042 568 (2005)
Life expectancy: males: 76, females: 81 (1995)

Capital: Stockholm (pop. 693,000; Stockholm's län pop. 1,686,000 [ the metropolitan area])
Other major towns: Göteborg (Gothenburg 450,000), Malmö (240,000), Uppsala (180,000), Linköping (130,000), Norrköping (120,000)

Religion: Evangelic-Lutheran (91%), Lutheran free churches (3%), Islam (2%), Roman Catholic (1.5%), Orthodox (0.7%)
Currency: krona (Swedish crown, SEK)

Climate: temperate along coast, warmed by the Gulf stream; colder interior. Rainy year-round on west coast. Average temp. in Oslo: -7°C - 2°C in Jan., 13°C - 22°C in July.

Exports: machinery, motor vehicles, paper products, pulp and wood, iron and steel products, chemicals, electronics


This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Lysator article "Sweden".


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