There are many activities held for Vikings on the present
day.
download all... (pdf) ¡@back to NCTU Europe
The history of Sweden is long. It can be roughly divided into three main parts.
The Viking
Age
Although the Viking age is short compared to the rest of the long history
of the Sweden, it is one of the best known periods of Swedish history. Viking,
a famous noun representing the pirates from Northern Europe during the 9-11
century, still gives a deep impression on today¡¦s people. Vikings from Sweden
and other parts of Scandinavia made long expeditions in ingeniously built
boats during the period from approximately 800 until 1050. The Viking expeditions
were a combination of trading expeditions, plundering raids and pure emigration.
The Swedish Vikings primarily traveled eastwards through what is now Russia
to the Caspian and Black Seas, where they established trading stations along
the coasts and rivers. Many Vikings chose to use Russian waterways to come
to Sarkland, which is what they called the Abbasidic Caliphate, south of the
Caspian Sea where Baghdad was the capital city. A country which was often
mentioned on rune stones is Greece or Byzantium with its capital city of Constantinople.
The Vikings were renowned among other things for their height and their blonde
hair. Legends also say that it was Vikings from Roslagen, north of Stockholm,
who founded Gardarike, now known as Russia.
Kingdom
of Sweden ¡V Vasa dynasty & the Great Power era
The kingdom of Sweden began to form in the 12th century. For a short period
in the 14th century, Sweden, Norway and Denmark were linked together in a
union called Kalmar Union. In that time Sweden is ruled by Denmark .When the
king Vasa Gustavus I was on the throne, he led Swedes to get out of the control
of Denmark and then Vasa dynasty was starting. During the 17th century, Sweden
developed into a great power in Europe with possessions all around the Baltic
Sea. However, this small country constituted far too weak a base for a great
power empire and by the 18th century, its power had begun to deteriorate.
After this there were a number of misfortunes. Sweden was forced to surrender
Finland after a war against Russia in 1808-1809. The Union entered into between
Sweden and Norway in 1814 was dissolved in 1905.
During
the world wars
The policy of Sweden during World Wars was to remain neutral. The Swedish
neutrality had been in use for more than a century, since the end of the Napoleonic
Wars. When the World War Two began on 1 September 1939, the fate of Sweden
was unclear. Eventually, only five nations were capable of sustaining a policy
of neutrality throughout the entire war, even though 20 nations had held a
policy of neutrality in September 1939. Sweden was one of those countries
able to maintain avoiding engagement in Europe battlefield.
Sweden owed this to its northerly location in the Scandinavian Peninsula,
its long-held neutral stance in international relations, a dedicated military
build-up and to an unpredictable course of events which went in its favor.
Another factor was that the Swedish government made concessions to Nazi Germany,
such as allowing the army of German to use Swedish railways to transport an
infantry division from Norway to Finland and to transport soldiers on leave
between Norway and Germany.
Sweden continued with its policy of neutrality even after the conclusion of
peace in 1945. Non-participation in military alliances, with the objective
of remaining neutral in times of war, became a strategy of Swedish government.
| 800-1050 | The Viking era. Sweden begins to be Christianized during the 11th century |
| 1350 | King Magnus Eriksson's provincial
law codes unite the country |
| 1397-1521 | The Kalmar Union between Denmark,
Norway and Sweden |
| 1523 | Gustav Vasa is elected king |
| 1527 | The Reformation begins |
| 1611-1718 | The Great Power era |
| 1630-48 | Sweden takes part in the Thirty
Year War on the side of the Protestants in an alliance with France |
| 1721 | Sweden loses the great Nordic
wars and is forced to surrender its possessions on the other side of
the Baltic, apart from Finland, and Pomerania (which is ceded in 1814) |
| 1809 | The loss of Finland |
| 1814-1905 | The Union with Norway |
| 1818 | The French Marshal Bernadotte
is crowned Karl XIV Johan |
| 1914-18 and 1939-45 | Sweden is neutral during both
world wars |
| 1986 | Prime Minister Olof Palme is
murdered |
| 1995 | Membership of the EU |
There are many activities held for Vikings on the present
day.
The great ship shows the power of Vasa dynasty.