Sweden History

Sweden history dates back to the prehistoric times, what today are the lands known as Sweden. Those times had many magnificent examples of Rock carvings / paintings from 9000 BC to be found throughout the country. The period of Sweden history during the 800 – 1066 saw the rule of the sea faring Vikings in Sweden that through their many contacts with England helped to establish the seeds of Christianity in Sweden.

During the year 1397 Queen Margaret I of Denmark united the Nordic Countries in the Kalmar Union, which lasted until the 16th Century when tensions between Sweden and Denmark reached a breaking point and war broke out between the two nations.

In the 16th century Gustav Vasa won Sweden’s independence and in the 17th century the country started being recognized as a great power on the continent. Sweden defeated the Russians, the Danes, Norway and Poland and started ruling many cities in northern Germany and Russia including Ingra (St Petersburg). The great Northern war broke out in 1700 when the Russia, Denmark, Norway and Poland joined forces and defeated the Swedish empire putting an end to the monarchy and establishing parliamentary power.

The parliamentary rule in Sweden just lasted for 50 years, wherein a coup lead by King Gustav III reinstated the monarchical rule. In 1813 Sweden joined hands with the other allied nations against Napoleon in the Napoleonic wars which once again brought an end to the monarchical rule in Sweden. The last century saw Sweden taking a neutral standpoint in all international conflicts remaining non-aligned in both the first and second World Wars. In the year 1995 Sweden became a part of the European Union.