 | McLae´s guide to Sweden |  |
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Sweden Internet country code: .se International telephone prefix: +46  they are the rights of all the people." Olof Palme Sweden is the largest of the countries of Scandinavia, in Northern Europe, with a population of about 9 million. It borders Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark via the bridge of Öresund. Although having been a military power and spanning about three times its current size during the 17th centry, Sweden has not participated in any war in almost two centuries. Having long remaining outside military alliances (including both World Wars), the country has a high peace profile, with internationally renowned names such as Raoul Wallenberg, Dag Hammarsköld, Olof Palme and Hans Blix. Sweden is a monarchy by constitution, but king Carl XVI Gustaf has no executive power. The country has a long tradition of Lutheran-Protestant Christianity, but today's Sweden is a secular state with few church-goers. The country has a large number of immigrants. Sweden has a capitalist system interlarded with a social welfare system. The high level of welfare has proven hard to maintain, especially after the economic decline of the 1990s. Sweden joined the European Union in 1995, but decided by a referendum in 2003 not to commit to the EMU and the euro currency. Leadership of Sweden has for the larger part of the 20th century been dominated by the Social Democratic Party, which started out at the end of the 19th century as a labour movement, but today pursues a mix of socialism and social-liberalism. Eating and Drinking: Swedish cuisine is mostly hearty meat or fish with potatoes, derived from the days when men needed to chop wood all day long. Traditional everyday dishes are called "husmanskost". This could be meatballs with potatoes and lingonberry jam, fried diced meat, onions and potatoes or pea soup followed by thin pancakes. Besides the ubiquitous potatoes, modern Swedish cuisine is to a great extent based on pasta products like spaghetti. Pickled herring, available in various types of sauces, is commonly eaten with bread or potatoes for summer lunch or as a starter. Adventurous diners might want to try surströmming, which is central and northern Sweden's entry in the "revolting-foods-of-the-world" contest. It's herring which is fermented in a can until it's about to burst, and so foul-smelling that it's eaten only outdoors in the summer so as not to stink up the house. It is said that the only way you could stand the stink is to take a deep breath of it just when you open the can - to as quickly as possible strike out your smelling sence. Surströmming is mostly available in August. Typical Swedish "gourmet" restaurants serve steaks or other grilled dishes garnished with fragrant herbs such as dill, and vegetables such as pumpkin and bell peppers. As in most of Europe, inexpensive pizza and kebab restaurants are ubiquitous in Swedish cities. Sushi and Thai food are also quite popular. You can get a "cheap" lunch if you look for the signs with "Dagens Rätt" ("meal of the day"), it normally costs about 50-70 SEK and almost everywhere includes 1 bottle of water or light beer, bread & butter, some small salad and coffee afterwards. Access to alcoholic beverages is, as in Norway and Finland, quite restricted and more expensive than in other countries. The only place to buy liquor over the counter is in one of the state owned shops called Systembolaget. Though the Systembolaget shops sometimes seem to be closed more often than they are open, they do have a fantastic selection and a knowing staff. The most famous Swedish alcoholic beverage is the Absolut Vodka, which has been voted as the best vodka in the world, but there is a wide range of other Swedish vodkas, usually spiced aquavits and schnapps. Sweden does produce some outstanding beers like the dark Carnegie Porter, but most beers are rather nondescript lagers. The wine production is miniscule. The age limit is 18 to bars and beers in shops, but 20 in Systembolaget. The beer you get in shops is called Folköl and has 3,5% alcohol. Many bars have the age limit of 20, or even up to 30, mostly in the big cities History: With Christianization in the 12th century, the country became consolidated, with its centre in the water-ways of the northern Baltic and the Gulf of Finland. In the 14th century Sweden, like the rest of Europe, was struck by the Black Death (the Plague), with all its effect. During the middle ages, the expansion of Sweden into the northern wilderness of Laplandia, the Scandinavian peninsula, and present-day Finland continued. Finland was a part of Sweden proper from the early thirteenth century until 1809. In 1389, Norway, Denmark and Sweden were united under a single monarch in a treaty known as the Kalmar Union. After several wars and disputes between these nations, King Gustav I of Sweden (House of Vasa) broke free in 1521 and established a nation state, considered the foundation of modern Sweden. Shortly afterwards he rejected Catholicism and led Sweden to the Protestant Reformation. Gustav I is considered to be Sweden's "Father of the Nation." A major power: The 17th century saw the rise of Sweden as one of the great powers in Europe, due to successful participation, initiated by King Gustav II Adolph, in the Thirty Years' War and by Charles X Gustav of Sweden in the The Deluge of Poland. Mighty as it was, it crumbled in the 18th century with Imperial Russia taking the reins of northern Europe in the Great Northern War, and finally in 1809 when the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland was created out of the eastern half of Sweden. After Denmark was defeated in the Napoleonic wars, Norway was ceded to Sweden in the Treaty of Kiel. Norway had meanwhile declared itself independent and this led to the Campaign against Norway, which was fought in 1814. It ended with the Convention of Moss, which forced Norway into a union with Sweden that was not dissolved until 1905. But the campaign also signified the last of the Swedish wars and its 200 years of peace are arguably unique in the world today. Modern history: The 18th and 19th centuries saw a significant population increase, which the writer Esaias Tegnér in 1833 famously attributed to "the peace, the (smallpox) vaccine, and the potatoes", with the population doubling between 1750 and 1850. The large families meant that the farms and homesteads were becoming smaller and smaller, as the children inherited the land from their parents and split it between themselves. The result was poverty and massive emigration; it is believed that between 1850 and 1910 more than one million Swedes moved to the United States. In the early 20th century, more Swedes lived in Chicago than in Gothenburg (Sweden's second largest city). Sweden was traditionally less developed than Western Europe (though more affluent than much of Eastern and Southern Europe); industralization began in earnest only after 1870. During the late 19th century, Sweden was influenced by protestant temperance movements, mainly of American origin. As a result of their intense propaganda, it is often claimed that alcohol consumption was unusually high in Sweden at this time. However, there is no factual ground for believing that alcohol consumption was higher than in other comparable countries. Strong grassroots movements sprung up during the latter half of the 19th century (unions, temperance groups, and independent religious groups). They were all based on democratic principles and built a strong base for Sweden's migration into a modern parliamentary democracy, achieved by the time of World War I. As the Industrial Revolution progressed during the century, people gradually began moving into cities to work in factories, and became involved in Socialist unions. A Socialist revolution was avoided in 1917, following the re-introduction of Parliamentarism, and the country was democratized. Recent history: By the 1930s Sweden had achieved one of Europe's highest living standards. Sweden remained neutral during World War I and World War II, although its neutrality during World War II has been disputed, as it made concessions to both sides during the war. (See further Sweden during World War II) Following the war, Sweden took advantage of its natural resources and lack of war damage, making it possible to expand its industry to supply the rebuilding of Europe, leading it to be one of the richest countries in the world by 1960. Sweden was part of the Marshall Plan but continued to stay non-aligned during the Cold War, and is still not a member of any military alliance. During most of the post-war era, the country was ruled by the Swedish Social Democratic Party that established a welfare state, striving for a "well being for all"-policy. Following a recession in the early 1990s some socialist policies were relaxed. Sweden, despite its officially neutral stance, joined the European Union in 1995, arguing that neutrality was less important in the post-Cold War world. However, in a 2003 consultative referendum, Swedish citizens declined to adopt the Euro. As other economies were re-established, Sweden was surpassed in the 1970s and had to adjust its politics in the 1990s; however, it still ranks among the top nations in terms of standard of living. Sweden has had two political murders in recent history. Prime-Minister Olof Palme in 1986, and foreign-minister Anna Lindh in 2003. |
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