Sweden

History Main article: History of Sweden Prehistory Main article: Prehistoric Sweden A Vendel-era helmet, at the Swedish Museum of National Antiquities Sweden's prehistory begins in the Allerød oscillation , a warm period around 12,000 BC, [ 1 ] with Late Palaeolithic reindeer -hunting camps of the Bromme culture at the edge of the ice in what is now the country's southernmost province, Scania . This period was characterised by small clans of hunter-gatherers who relied on flint technology. [ 2 ] Sweden and its people were first described by the Roman historian Publius Cornelius Tacitus in his Germania (98 AD). [ 3 ] In Germania 44 and 45 he mentions the Swedes ( Suiones ) as a powerful tribe with ships that had a prow at each end ( longships ). [ 4 ] Which kings ( * kuningaz ) ruled these Suiones is unknown, but Norse mythology presents a long line of legendary and semi-legendary kings going back to the last centuries BC. The runic script was in use among the south Scandinavian elite by at least the second century AD, but all that has survived from the Roman Period is curt inscriptions demonstrating that the people of south Scandinavia spoke Proto-Norse at the time, a language ancestral to Swedish and other North Germanic languages . [ 5 ] In the sixth century, the Byzantine historian Jordanes names two tribes living in Scandza , both of which are now considered to be synonymous with the Swedes: the Suetidi and Suehans . [ 6 ] The Suehans were known to the Roman world as suppliers of black fox skins and, according to Jordanes, had very fine horses, similar to those of the Thyringi of Germania (" alia vero gens ibi moratur Suehans, quae velud Thyringi equis utuntur eximiis "). Viking Age See also: Early Swedish history , Consolidation of Sweden , and Varangians Viking expeditions (blue lines) and settlements (bright green) The Swedish Viking Age lasted roughly from the eighth century to the 11th century. It is believed that Swedish Vikings and Gutar mainly travelled east and south, going to Finland, Estonia, the Baltic countries , Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Black Sea and even as far as Baghdad . Their routes passed through the Dnieper south to Constantinople , on which they carried out numerous raids. The Byzantine emperor Theophilos noticed their great skills in war and invited them to serve as his personal bodyguard, known as the Varangian Guard . The Swedish Vikings, called Rus , are believed to be the founders of Kievan Rus' . [ 7 ] The Vikings were described by many outside sources, such as the Arab traveller Ibn Fadlan . [ 8 ] The actions of these Swedish Vikings are commemorated on many runestones in Sweden, such as the Greece runestones and the Varangian runestones . There was also considerable participation in expeditions westwards, which are commemorated on stones such as the England runestones . The last major Swedish Viking expedition appears to have been the ill-fated expedition of Ingvar the Far-Travelled to Serkland , the region south-east of the Caspian Sea . Its members are commemorated on the Ingvar runestones , none of which mentions any survivor. [ 9 ] The Tjängvide image stone dating from 800 to 1099, example of Viking art During the early stages of the Viking Age, a centre of trade in Northern Europe developed at Birka on the island of Björkö , not far from where Stockholm was later constructed, in mid-latitude Sweden. Birka was founded around 750 AD as a trading port by a king or merchants trying to control trade. [ 10 ] Birka was the Baltic link in the Dnieper trade route through Ladoga ( Aldeigja ) and Novgorod ( Holmsgard ) to the Byzantine Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate . [ 11 ] It was abandoned around 975, at about the same time Sigtuna was founded as a town some 35 km to the northeast. It has been estimated that the population in Viking Age Birka was between 500 and 1000 people. [ 10 ] Archaeological finds indicate that Birka still was wealthy in the 9th and 10th centuries. Thousands of graves, coins, jewellery and other luxury items have been found there. [ 12 ] Kingdom of Sweden A rough map of the extent of Swedish rule, c.  1280 The exact age of the kingdom of Sweden is unknown. [ 13 ] Determining its age depends mostly on whether Sweden is considered a nation when the Svear (Swedes) ruled Svealand or when the Svear and the Götar (Geats) of Götaland were united under a single ruler. Svealand was described by Tacitus in 98 AD as being under a single ruler, though it is unknown how long this had been the case. The epic poem Beowulf describes semi-legendary Swedish-Geatish wars in the sixth century. However, historians typically start the line of Swedish monarchs from when Svealand and Götaland were ruled under the same king, namely Erik the Victorious and his son Olof Skötkonung in the tenth century. These events are often described as the consolidation of Sweden , although substantial areas were conquered and incorporated later. In this context, "Götaland" primarily refers to the provinces of Östergötland and Västergötland . Småland was of little interest at the time due to its deep pine forests, with only the city of Kalmar and its castle holding any significant importance. There were also Swedish settlements along the southern coastline of Norrland , one of the four lands of Sweden . [ 14 ] Saint Ansgar is traditionally credited with introducing Christianity to Sweden in 829, but the new religion did not begin to fully replace paganism until the 12th century. During that century, Sweden was undergoing dynastic struggles between the Erik and Sverker clans. The conflict ended when a third clan married into the Erik clan, founding the Bjälbo dynasty, which gradually consolidated Sweden into a stronger state. According to the Legend of Saint Erik and the Erik's Chronicle , Swedish kings conducted a series of Crusades to pagan Finland and started conflicts with the Rus' , who by then had no further connections with Sweden. [ 15 ] As a result of the Crusades, mostly with the Second Swedish Crusade led by Birger Jarl [ 16 ] Finland gradually became part of the kingdom of Sweden and the sphere of influence of the Catholic Church . [ 17 ] The Swedes built fortresses in Tavastland and Åbo , while a Swedish royal council was instituted, an administrative structure and fiscal apparatus was created, and law codes were codified during the reigns of Magnus Ladulås (1275–1290) and Magnus Eriksson (1319–1364). [ 18 ] As a result, the Finnish lands were firmly integrated into the Swedish realm. [ 19 ] Except for the provinces of Scania, Blekinge, and Halland in the southwest of the Scandinavian peninsula, which were part of the Kingdom of Denmark during this period, feudalism never developed in Sweden as it did in much of Europe. [ 20 ] As a result, the peasantry remained largely a class of free farmers throughout most of Swedish history. Slavery , also known as thralldom , was not common in Sweden, [ 21 ] and the institution gradually diminished due to the spread of Christianity, the difficulty of obtaining slaves from lands east of the Baltic Sea, and by the development of cities before the 16th century. [ 22 ] Indeed, both slavery and serfdom were abolished altogether by a decree of King Magnus Eriksson in 1335. Sweden remained a poor and economically underdeveloped country, where barter was the primary means of exchange. [ 23 ] In 1319, Sweden and Norway were united in a personal union under King Magnus Eriksson, the grandson of King Magnus Ladulås of Sweden and of King Haakon V of Norway. Magnus Eriksson also ruled Scania from 1332 to 1360. In the mid-14th century, Sweden was struck by the Black Death . [ 24 ] The population of Sweden and most of Europe was decimated. The population did not reach its pre-1348 levels until the beginning of the 19th century, with one third of the population dying between 1349 and 1351. During this period, the cities began to acquire greater rights and were heavily influenced by German merchants of the Hanseatic League , active especially at Visby . In 1397, Queen Margaret I of Denmark (the former daughter-in-law of Magnus Eriksson) established the personal union of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark through the Kalmar Union . However, Margaret's successors, whose rule was centred in Denmark, were unable to control the Swedish nobility. Gustav I liberated Sweden from Christian II of Denmark , ending the Kalmar Union . He established the House of Vasa which ruled Sweden and Poland until the 17th century. In 1520, King Christian II of Denmark , who attempted to restore the Union of Kalmar through military force, ordered the massacre of Swedish nobles in Stockholm, an event known as the " Stockholm Bloodbath ." This atrocity incited the Swedish nobility to renew their resistance, and on 6 June 1523 (now celebrated as Sweden's National Day ), they made Gustav Vasa their king. [ 25 ] This is sometimes considered as the foundation of modern Sweden . Shortly afterwards the new king rejected Catholicism and led Sweden into the Protestant Reformation . [ 25 ] The term riksdag was used for the first time in the 1540s, although the first meeting where representatives of different social groups were called to discuss and determine affairs affecting the country as a whole took place as early as 1435, in the town of Arboga . [ 26 ] During the Riksdag assemblies of 1527 and 1544, under King Gustav Vasa, representatives of all four estates of the realm (clergy, nobility , townsmen and peasants ) were called on to participate for the first time. [ 26 ] The monarchy became hereditary in 1544. [ 27 ] When Gustav Vasa broke the monopoly power of the Hanseatic League , he was regarded as a hero by the Swedish people. [ 28 ] Furthermore, when Sweden became more developed, after breaking the trade monopoly of the Hanseatic League, and entered its golden age, the fact that the peasantry had traditionally been free meant that a greater share of the economic benefits went to them rather than to a feudal landowning class. [ 29 ] The end of the 16th century was marked by a final phase of rivalry between the remaining Catholics and the new Protestant communities. In 1592, Gustav Vasa's Catholic grandson and king of Poland , Sigismund , ascended the Swedish throne. [ 30 ] He pursued to strengthen Rome 's influence by initiating Counter-Reformation and created a dual monarchy that temporarily became known as the Polish-Swedish Union . His despotic rule, strongly characterised by intolerance towards the Protestants, sparked a civil war that plunged Sweden into poverty. [ 31 ] In opposition, Sigismund's uncle and successor, Charles Vasa , summoned the Uppsala Synod in 1593 which officially confirmed the modern Church of Sweden as Lutheran . Following his deposition in 1599, Sigismund attempted to reclaim the throne sparing no expense, and hostilities between Poland and Sweden continued for the next hundred years. [ 32 ] Swedish Empire See also: History of Sweden (1611–1648) , Swedish Empire , Swedish overseas colonies , Age of Liberty , Gustavian era , and Union between Sweden and Norway Gustavus Adolphus at the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1631 The Swedish Empire between 1560 and 1815; its peak was between 1658 and 1660 Sweden rose to prominence on a continental scale during the reign of king Gustavus Adolphus (1611-1632), seizing territories from Russia and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in multiple conflicts. [ 33 ] During the Thirty Years' War, Sweden conquered approximately half of the Holy Roman states and defeated the Imperial army at the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1631. [ 34 ] Gustavus Adolphus planned to become the new Holy Roman Emperor , ruling over a united Scandinavia and the Holy Roman states, but he was killed at the Battle of Lützen in 1632. After the Battle of Nördlingen in 1634 – Sweden's only significant military defeat of the war – pro-Swedish sentiment among the German states faded. [ 34 ] These German provinces broke away from Swedish power one by one, leaving Sweden with only a few northern German territories: Swedish Pomerania , Bremen-Verden and Wismar . From 1643 to 1645, during the last years of the war, Sweden and Denmark-Norway fought the Torstenson War . The result of that conflict and the conclusion of the Thirty Years' War helped establish postwar Sweden as a major force in Europe. [ 34 ] The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 granted Sweden territories in northern Germany. In the middle of the 17th century, Sweden was the third-largest country in Europe by land area. Sweden reached its largest territorial extent under the rule of Charles X after the treaty of Roskilde in 1658, following Charles X's crossing of the Danish Belts . [ 35 ] The foundation of Sweden's success during this period is credited to Gustav I's major changes to the Swedish economy in the 16th century, and his introduction of Protestantism . [ 36 ] One-third of the Finnish population died in the devastating Great Famine of 1695–1697 that struck the country. [ 37 ] Famine also hit Sweden, killing roughly 10% of Sweden's population. [ 38 ] In the 17th century, Sweden was engaged in many wars, for example with Poland–Lithuania, with both sides competing for territories of today's Baltic states . The Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629) ended with a ceasefire in Stary Targ ( Truce of Altmark ) on 26 September 1629 that was in favour of the Swedes, to whom Poland ceded the larger part of Livonia together with its important port of Riga . The Swedes also gained the right to tax Poland’s Baltic trade (3.5% on the value of goods), and kept control of several cities in Royal Prussia and Ducal Prussia (including Pillau (Baltiysk), Memel (Klaipėda) and Elbing (Elbląg)). The Swedes later conducted a series of invasions into the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, known as the Deluge . [ 39 ] After more than half a century of almost constant warfare, the Swedish economy had deteriorated. It became the lifetime task of Charles X's son, Charles XI , to rebuild the economy and refit the army. [ 40 ] His legacy to his son, the coming ruler of Sweden, Charles XII , was one of the finest arsenals in the world, a large standing army and a great fleet. [ 41 ] Russia, the most serious threat to Sweden at this time, had a larger army but lagged far behind in both equipment and training. [ 42 ] After the Battle of Narva in 1700, one of the first battles of the Great Northern War , the Russian army was so severely devastated that Sweden had an open chance to invade Russia. [ 43 ] However, Charles XII did not pursue the Russian army, instead turning against Poland and defeating the Polish king, Augustus II the Strong , and his Saxon allies at the Battle of Kliszów in 1702. [ 44 ] This gave Russia time to rebuild and modernise its army. The Battle of Poltava in 1709. In the following years, Russia and her allies occupied all Swedish dominions on the Baltic coast and even Finland. After the success of invading Poland, Charles XII decided to make an attempt at invading Russia , but this ended in a decisive Russian victory at the Battle of Poltava in 1709. [ 45 ] After a long march exposed to Cossack raids, the Russian Tsar Peter the Great 's scorched-earth techniques and the extremely cold winter of 1709 , the Swedes stood weakened with a shattered morale and were enormously outnumbered against the Russian army at Poltava. [ 46 ] The defeat meant the beginning of the end for the Swedish Empire. In addition, the plague raging in East Central Europe devastated the Swedish dominions and reached Central Sweden in 1710. [ 47 ] [ 48 ] Returning to Sweden in 1715, Charles XII launched two campaigns against Norway in 1716 and 1718, respectively. During the second attempt, he was shot to death during the siege of Fredriksten fortress. [ 49 ] The Swedes were not militarily defeated at Fredriksten, but the whole structure and organisation of the campaign fell apart with the king's death. Forced to cede large areas of land in the Treaty of Nystad in 1721, Sweden also lost its place as an empire and as the dominant state on the Baltic Sea. [ 50 ] With Sweden's lost influence, Russia emerged as an empire and became one of Europe's dominant nations . As the war finally ended in 1721, Sweden had lost an estimated 200,000 men, 150,000 of those from the area of present-day Sweden and 50,000 from the Finnish part of Sweden . [ 51 ] Executive power was historically shared between the King and an aristocratic Privy council until 1680, followed by the King's autocratic rule initiated by the commoner estates of the Riksdag . As a reaction to the failed Great Northern War, a parliamentary system was introduced in 1719, followed by three different flavours of constitutional monarchy in 1772, 1789 and 1809, the latter granting several civil liberties. Already during the first of those three periods, the 'Era of Liberty' (1719–72) the Swedish Riksdag had developed into a very active parliament, and this tradition continued into the nineteenth century, laying the basis for the transition towards modern democracy at the end of that century. [ 52 ] In the 18th century, Sweden did not have enough resources to maintain its territories outside Scandinavia, and most of them were lost, culminating with the loss in 1809 of eastern Sweden to Russia, which became the highly autonomous Grand Principality of Finland in Imperial Russia . [ 53 ] In interest of re-establishing Swedish dominance in the Baltic Sea, Sweden allied itself against its traditional ally and benefactor, France, in the Napoleonic Wars . However, in 1810, a French Marshal, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte , was chosen as heir presumptive to Charles XIII ; in 1818, he established the House of Bernadotte , taking the regnal name of Charles XIV. Sweden's role in the Battle of Leipzig gave it the authority to force Denmark–Norway, an ally of France, to cede Norway to the King of Sweden on 14 January 1814 in exchange for the northern German provinces, at the Treaty of Kiel . [ 54 ] The Norwegian attempts to keep their status as a sovereign state were rejected by the Swedish king, Charles XIII. He launched a military campaign against Norway on 27 July 1814, ending in the Convention of Moss , which forced Norway into a personal union with Sweden under the Swedish crown, which lasted until 1905. [ 55 ] [ 56 ] The 1814 campaign was the last time Sweden was at war. [ 57 ] Modern history See also: Modernization of Sweden and Swedish emigration to the United States Starvation in northern Sweden depicted in an illustration of the Famine of 1867–1869 Swedish emigrants boarding a ship in Gothenburg in 1905 The Swedish East India Company began in 1731. The obvious choice of home port was Gothenburg ( Swedish : Göteborg ) at Sweden's west coast, as the mouth of Göta älv river was very wide and had the county's largest and best harbour for high-seas journeys. The trade continued into the 19th century, and caused the little town to become Sweden's second city. [ 58 ] Between 1750 and 1850, the population in Sweden doubled. According to some scholars, mass emigration to America became the only way to prevent famine and rebellion; over 1% of the population emigrated annually during the 1880s. [ 59 ] It is thought that between 1850 and 1910 more than one million Swedes moved to the United States . [ 60 ] Nevertheless, Sweden remained poor, retaining a nearly entirely agricultural economy even as Western European countries began to industrialise. [ 59 ] [ 61 ] Despite the slow rate of industrialisation into the 19th century, many important changes were taking place in the agrarian economy due to constant innovations and a rapid population growth. [ 62 ] These innovations included government-sponsored programmes of enclosure , aggressive exploitation of agricultural lands, and the introduction of new crops such as the potato. [ 62 ] The Swedish farming culture began to take on a critical role in Swedish politics, which has continued through modern times with modern Agrarian party (now called the Centre Party). [ 63 ] Between 1870 and 1914, Sweden began developing the industrialised economy that exists today. [ 64 ] Strong grassroots movements sprang up in Sweden during the latter half of the 19th century (trade unions, temperance groups, and independent religious groups), creating a strong foundation of democratic principles. These movements precipitated Sweden's migration into a modern parliamentary democracy, achieved by the time of World War I. As the Industrial Revolution progressed during the 20th century, people gradually moved into cities to work in factories and became involved in socialist unions. A communist revolution was avoided in 1917, following the re-introduction of parliamentarism , and the country was democratised . World War I and World War II Main articles: Sweden during World War I and Sweden during World War II Sweden was officially neutral during World War I . However, under pressure from the German Empire , they did take steps which were detrimental to the Allied powers – most notably, mining the Öresund channel, thus closing it to Allied shipping, and allowing the Germans to use Swedish facilities and the Swedish cipher to transmit secret messages to their overseas embassies. [ 65 ] Sweden also allowed volunteers to fight alongside the Germans for the White Guards against the Red Guards and Russians in the Finnish Civil War , and briefly occupied Åland in cooperation with the German Empire. As in the First World War, Sweden remained officially neutral during World War II , although its neutrality has been disputed. [ 66 ] [ 67 ] Sweden was under German influence for much of the war, as ties to the rest of the world were cut off through blockades. [ 66 ] The Swedish government unofficially supported Finland in the Winter War and the Continuation War by allowing volunteers and materiel to be shipped to Finland. However, Sweden supported Norwegian resistance against Germany, and in 1943 helped rescue Danish Jews from deportation to Nazi concentration camps . During the last year of the war, Sweden began to play a role in humanitarian efforts, and many refugees, among them several thousand Jews from Nazi-occupied Europe, were rescued thanks to the Swedish rescue missions to internment camps and partly because Sweden served as a haven for refugees. [ 68 ] The Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg and his colleagues ensured the safety of tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews. [ 69 ] Nevertheless, both Swedes and others have argued that Sweden could have done more to oppose the Nazis' war efforts. [ 68 ] Post-war era Tage Erlander (left), Prime Minister under the ruling Swedish Social Democratic Party from 1946 to 1969 Sweden was officially a neutral country and remained outside NATO and Warsaw Pact membership during the Cold War , but privately Sweden's leadership had strong ties with the United States and other western governments. Following the war, Sweden took advantage of an intact industrial base, social stability and its natural resources to expand its industry to supply the rebuilding of Europe. [ 70 ] Sweden received aid under the Marshall Plan and participated in the OECD. During most of the post-war era, the country was governed by the Swedish Social Democratic Party largely in co-operation with trade unions and industry. The government actively pursued an internationally competitive manufacturing sector of primarily large corporations. [ 71 ] Sweden was one of the founding states of the European Free Trade Area (EFTA). During the 1960s the EFTA countries were often referred to as the Outer Seven, as opposed to the Inner Six of the then- European Economic Community (EEC). [ 72 ] Like many industrialised countries, Sweden entered a period of economic decline and upheaval following the oil embargoes of 1973–74 and 1978–79. [ 73 ] In the 1980s several key Swedish industries were significantly restructured. Shipbuilding was discontinued, wood pulp was integrated into modernised paper production, the steel industry was concentrated and specialised, and mechanical engineering was robotised. [ 74 ] Swedish GDP per capita ranking declined during this time. [ 71 ] Recent history See also: History of Sweden (1991–present) A bursting real estate bubble caused by inadequate controls on lending combined with an international recession and a policy switch from anti-unemployment policies to anti-inflationary policies resulted in a fiscal crisis in the early 1990s. [ 75 ] Sweden's GDP declined by around 5%. In 1992, a run on the currency caused the central bank to briefly increase interest rates to 500%. [ 76 ] [ 77 ] Sweden joined the European Union in 1995, and signed the Lisbon Treaty in 2007. The response of the government was to cut spending and institute a multitude of reforms to improve Sweden's competitiveness, among them reducing the welfare state and privatising public services and goods. A referendum passed with 52.3% in favour of joining the EU on 13 November 1994. Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995. In a 2003 referendum the Swedish electorate voted against joining the Euro currency. Sweden held the chair of the European Union from 1 July to 31 December 2009. On 28 September 1994, the MS Estonia sank as the ship was crossing the Baltic Sea, en route from Tallinn, Estonia, to Stockholm, Sweden. The disaster claimed the lives of 852 people (501 of them were Swedes [ 78 ] ), being one of the worst maritime disasters of the 20th century. [ 79 ] Until 2022, Sweden generally remained non-aligned militarily, although it participated in some joint military exercises with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and some other countries, stationed its troops under NATO command in Afghanistan , took part in EU-sponsored peacekeeping operations in Kosovo , Bosnia and Herzegovina , and Cyprus , and helped enforce a UN-mandated no-fly zone over Libya during the Arab Spring . In addition, there was extensive cooperation with other European countries in the area of defence technology and defence industry; some Swedish-made weaponry was used by Coalition militaries in Iraq. [ 80 ] In response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , Sweden moved to formally join NATO, alongside Finland. [ 81 ] After many months of delays caused by the objections of Turkey and Hungary, Sweden became a NATO member on 7 March 2024. [ 82 ] [ 83 ] [ 84 ] In recent decades Sweden has become a more culturally diverse nation due to significant immigration; in 2013, it was estimated that 15% of the population was foreign-born, and an additional 5% of the population were born to two immigrant parents. The influx of immigrants has brought new social challenges. Violent incidents have periodically occurred [ 85 ] [ 86 ] including the 2013 Stockholm riots . [ 87 ] In response to these violent events, the anti-immigration opposition party, the Sweden Democrats , promoted their anti-immigration policies, while the left-wing opposition blamed growing inequality caused by the centre-right government's socioeconomic policies. [ 88 ] Since the postwar period, LGBTQ rights in Sweden have gradually expanded through the steady extension of legal and social protections for LGBTQ+ people. Over subsequent decades, anti-discrimination laws, adoption rights, and the ability to change legal gender were progressively strengthened, contributing to high levels of public support for LGBTQ+ equality. In the mid-2010s, however, Sweden also saw the rise of anti-gender mobilizations , which gender studies scholars situate within a broader process of democratic backsliding . [ 89 ] Sweden was heavily affected by the 2015 European migrant crisis , eventually forcing the government to tighten regulations of entry to the country. [ 90 ] Some of the asylum restrictions were relaxed again later. [ 91 ] On 30 November 2021, Magdalena Andersson became Sweden's first female prime minister. [ 92 ] [ 93 ] The September 2022 general election ended in a narrow win to a bloc of right-wing parties. [ 94 ] On 18 October 2022, Ulf Kristersson of the Moderate Party became the new Prime Minister. [ 95 ] ^ Eric Delson; Ian Tattersall; John Van Couvering (2004). 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Culture Main article: Culture of Sweden Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Sweden was seen as an international leader in what is now referred to as the " sexual revolution ", with gender equality having particularly been promoted. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Sweden has also become very liberal towards homosexuality , as is reflected in the popular acceptance of films such as Show Me Love . Since 1 May 2009, Sweden repealed its "registered partnership" laws and fully replaced them with gender-neutral marriage . [ 3 ] Sweden also offers domestic partnerships for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. Cohabitation ( sammanboende ) by couples of all ages, including teenagers as well as older couples, is widespread. Music Main article: Music of Sweden The Swedish band ABBA in April 1974, a few days after they won the Eurovision Song Contest Historical re-creations of Norse music have been attempted based on instruments found in Viking sites. The instruments used were the lur (a sort of trumpet), simple string instruments, wooden flutes and drums. Sweden has a significant folk-music scene. The joik , a type of Sami music, is a chant that is part of the traditional Sami animistic spirituality. Notable composers include Johan Helmich Roman , Joseph Martin Kraus , Franz Berwald , Wilhelm Stenhammar , Wilhelm Peterson-Berger , Hugo Alfvén , Kurt Atterberg , Ture Rangström , Hilding Rosenberg , Lars-Erik Larsson , Dag Wirén , Allan Pettersson , Karl-Birger Blomdahl , Ingvar Lidholm , Sven-David Sandström , Anders Eliasson and Anders Hillborg . Sweden has a long tradition of "visor" – strophic songs with multiple verses telling different stories, often sung with lute or guitar. Notable singer/songwriters in this genre are Carl-Michael Bellman , Birger Sjöberg , Evert Taube , Ulf Peder Olrog , Olle Adolphson , Alf Hambe , Cornelis Vreeswijk , Stefan Sundström and Cajsa-Stina Åkerström. Sweden also has a prominent choral music tradition. In 2003, it was estimated that five to six hundred thousand people sing in choirs. [ 4 ] In 2007, with over 800 million dollars in revenue, Sweden was the third-largest music exporter in the world and surpassed only by the US and the UK. [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ better source needed ] According to one source in 2013, Sweden produces the most chart hits per capita in the world, followed by the UK and the US. [ 7 ] Sweden has a rather lively jazz scene. The Centre for Swedish Folk Music and Jazz Research has published an overview of jazz in Sweden by Lars Westin. [ 8 ] Architecture Main article: Architecture of Sweden Djurgårdsbron Before the 13th century, almost all buildings were made of timber, but a shift soon began towards stone. Early Swedish stone buildings are the Romanesque churches on the countryside. This would include the Lund Cathedral from the 11th century and the somewhat younger church in Dalby , but also many early Gothic churches built through influences of the Hanseatic League, such as in Ystad, Malmö and Helsingborg. Cathedrals in other parts of Sweden were also built as seats of Sweden's bishops. The Skara Cathedral is made of bricks from the 14th century, and the Uppsala Cathedral in the 15th century. In 1230, the foundations of the Linköping Cathedral were made, the material was there limestone , but the building took some 250 years to finish. Among older structures are also some significant fortresses and other historical buildings such as at Borgholm Castle , Halltorps Manor , and Eketorp fortress on the island Öland, the Nyköping fortress and the Visby city wall . Kalmar Cathedral In the 1520s, King Gustav Vasa initiated grand mansions, castles, and fortresses to be built. Some of the more magnificent include Kalmar Castle , Gripsholm Castle , and Vadstena . In the next two centuries, Sweden was designated by Baroque architecture and later the rococo . Notable projects from that time include the city Karlskrona , which has now also been declared a World Heritage Site and the Drottningholm Palace . The Stockholm exhibition , which marked the breakthrough of Functionalism , or funkis as it became known first surfaced in 1930; the style came to dominate in the following decades. Some notable projects of this kind were the Million Programme , offering affordable living in large apartment complexes. The Avicii Arena , located in Stockholm, is the largest hemispherical building on Earth. Its dome has a diameter of 110 metres (360 feet) and took two and a half years to build. [ 9 ] Media Main article: Media in Sweden Headquarters of Sveriges Television in Stockholm Swedes are among the greatest consumers of newspapers in the world, and nearly every town is served by a local paper. The country's main quality morning papers are Dagens Nyheter (liberal), Göteborgs-Posten (liberal), Svenska Dagbladet (liberal conservative) and Sydsvenska Dagbladet (liberal). The two largest evening tabloids are Aftonbladet (social democratic) and Expressen (liberal). The ad-financed, free international morning paper, Metro International , was founded in Stockholm, Sweden. The country's news is reported in English by, among others, The Local (liberal). [ 10 ] The public broadcasting companies held a monopoly on radio and television for a long time in Sweden. Licence-funded radio broadcasts started in 1925. A second radio network was started in 1954, and a third opened 1962, in response to pirate radio stations. Non-profit community radio was allowed in 1979 and in 1993 commercial local radio started. The licence-funded television service was officially launched in 1956. A second channel, TV2 , was launched in 1969. These two channels (operated by Sveriges Television since the late 1970s) held a monopoly until the 1980s when cable and satellite television became available. The first Swedish-language satellite service was TV3 which started broadcasting from London in 1987. It was followed by Kanal 5 in 1989 (then known as Nordic Channel) and TV4 in 1990. TV4 began its terrestrial broadcasts in 1992, becoming the first private channel to broadcast television content from within the country. Around half the population are connected to cable television. Digital terrestrial television in Sweden started in 1999. Literature Main article: Swedish literature The writer and playwright August Strindberg Sweden has many authors of worldwide recognition including August Strindberg , Astrid Lindgren , and Nobel Prize winners Selma Lagerlöf and Harry Martinson . In total seven Nobel Prizes in Literature have been awarded to Swedes. The first literary text from Sweden is the Rök runestone , carved during the Viking Age c.  800 AD . With the conversion of the land to Christianity around 1100 AD, Sweden entered the Middle Ages , during which monastic writers preferred to use Latin. Therefore, there are only a few texts in Old Swedish from that period. Swedish literature only began to flourish when the language was standardised during the 16th century. This standardisation was largely due to the full translation of the Bible into Swedish in 1541. This translation is the so-called Gustav Vasa Bible . Pippi Longstocking , main character in a series of children's books by writer Astrid Lindgren With improved education and the freedom brought by secularisation , the 17th century saw several notable authors develop the Swedish language further. Some key figures include Georg Stiernhielm (17th century), who was the first to write classical poetry in Swedish; Johan Henric Kellgren (18th century), the first to write fluent Swedish prose; Carl Michael Bellman (late 18th century), the first writer of burlesque ballads; and August Strindberg (late 19th century), a socio-realistic writer and playwright who won worldwide fame. The early 20th century continued to produce notable authors, such as Selma Lagerlöf, (Nobel laureate 1909), Verner von Heidenstam (Nobel laureate 1916) and Pär Lagerkvist (Nobel laureate 1951). In recent decades, a handful of Swedish writers have established themselves internationally, including the detective novelist Henning Mankell and the writer of spy fiction Jan Guillou . The Swedish writer to have made the most lasting impression on world literature is the children's book writer Astrid Lindgren, and her books about Pippi Longstocking , Emil , and others. In 2008, the second best-selling fiction author in the world was Stieg Larsson , whose Millennium series of crime novels is being published posthumously to critical acclaim. [ 11 ] Holidays Main article: Public holidays in Sweden Apart from traditional Protestant Christian holidays , Sweden also celebrates some unique holidays, some of a pre-Christian tradition. They include Midsummer celebrating the summer solstice ; Walpurgis Night ( Valborgsmässoafton ) on 30 April lighting bonfires; and Labour Day or May Day on 1 May is dedicated to socialist demonstrations. The day of giver-of-light Saint Lucia , 13 December, is widely acknowledged in elaborate celebrations which betoken its Italian origin and commence the month-long Christmas season. 6 June is the National Day of Sweden and has since 2005 been a public holiday. Furthermore, there are official flag flying day observances and a Namesdays in Sweden calendar. In August many Swedes have kräftskivor (crayfish dinner parties). Martin of Tours Eve is celebrated in Scania in November with Mårten Gås parties, where roast goose and svartsoppa ('black soup') are served. The Sámi , one of Sweden's indigenous minorities, have their holiday on 6 February and Scania celebrate their Scanian Flag day on the third Sunday in July. [ 12 ] Cinema Main article: Cinema of Sweden Swedish 20th-century culture is noted by pioneering works in the early days of cinema, with Mauritz Stiller and Victor Sjöström . In the 1920s–1980s, the filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and actors Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman became internationally noted people within cinema. More recently, the films of Lukas Moodysson , Lasse Hallström , and Ruben Östlund have received international recognition. Cuisine Main article: Swedish cuisine Cinnamon rolls originated in Sweden and Denmark. Swedish cuisine, like that of the other Nordic countries ( Denmark , Norway and Finland ), was traditionally simple. Fish (particularly herring ), meat, potatoes and dairy products played prominent roles. Spices were sparse. Preparations include Swedish meatballs, traditionally served with gravy, boiled potatoes and lingonberry jam ; pancakes ; pyttipanna , a spiced fried hash of meat and potatoes originally meant to use up any leftovers of meat; lutfisk ; and the smörgåsbord , or lavish buffet. Akvavit is a popular alcoholic distilled beverage , and the drinking of snaps is of cultural importance. The traditional flat and dry crisp bread has developed into several contemporary variants. Regionally important foods are the surströmming (a fermented fish) in northern Sweden and eel in southern Sweden. In August, at the traditional feast known as crayfish party, kräftskiva , Swedes eat large amounts of crayfish boiled with dill. Sports Main article: Sport in Sweden Former world No. 1 tennis player Björn Borg Sport activities are a national movement with half of the population actively participating in organised sporting activities. The two main spectator sports are football and ice hockey . Second to football, horse sports (of which most of the participants are women) have the highest number of practitioners. Thereafter, golf , orienteering , gymnastics , track and field , and the team sports of ice hockey, handball , floorball , basketball and bandy are the most popular in terms of practitioners. [ 13 ] The Swedish national men's football team finished second at the World Cup when they hosted the tournament in 1958 , losing 5–2 to Brazil in the final in Stockholm. [ 14 ] Sweden also finished third in the tournament in 1950 and 1994 . Sweden's women's national football team won the European Championship in 1984 , [ 15 ] finished second at the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup after losing to Germany, [ 16 ] and won two Olympic silver medals, at Rio 2016 , [ 17 ] and Tokyo 2020 , held in 2021. [ 18 ] The Swedish national men's ice hockey team , affectionately known as Tre Kronor (English: Three Crowns ), has won the World Championships nine times, placing them third in the all-time medal count. Tre Kronor also won Olympic gold medals in 1994 and 2006 . In 2006, Tre Kronor became the first national hockey team to win both the Olympic and world championships in the same year. Sweden hosted the 1912 Summer Olympics , Equestrian at the 1956 Summer Olympics and the FIFA World Cup in 1958 . 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