The Swedish Parliament (Riksdag) voted in Magdalena Andersson, party leader of the Social Democratic Party, as Sweden’s first female prime minister this morning (24 November). Her election has come after hard negotiations with Left Party leader Nooshi Dadgostar, who wanted policy guarantees especially in social matters. In fact, the Löfven government fell earlier this year […]
The Government of Sweden announced additional requirements for citizenship applications from 2025 onwards, subject to parliamentary approval. Applicants for naturalisation will need to take a language test and a societal knowledge test before they can become Swedish citizens. The assimilation debate and citizenship Sweden has long been a safe haven for many migrants who escape […]
Finally it’s the 24th of December and Christmas Eve. We round off our advent calendar with a Runestone from Södermanland (Sörmland), the region south of Stockholm. Runestones are Viking Age inscriptions on stones, written with runes, the alfabet in Scandinavia of the day. Inscriptions often talked about expeditions, and commemorate kinsmen who died in the […]
Surprise—this is not actually in Sweden. It’s in Hokkaido, Japan, in Tobetsu near Sapporo. Sweden Hills is a neighbourhood that was conceived after the Swedish ambassador to Japan remarked that the landscape reminded of Sweden. In 1987, the municipalities of Tobetsu and Leksand (in Dalarna) became sister cities. See Sweden Hills for yourself with the […]
Just outside Luleå there is a large town which, for the most part of the year, is devoid of people. While eerie, it isn’t abandoned. The red-painted town surrounds Nederluleå (Lower Luleå) church, inaugurated in 1492, funded by regional trade in animal hide (skin) and salmon. Over time, (by 1600 the latest) a town formed […]
We’re glad to announce the Christmas Virtual Orienteering Double Week with Metrunner, which includes Sweden from today until Sunday 27 December 2020! The winner will get a Str8 Evo compass. The second week will be Thailand from 28 December 2020 to 3 January 2021. You need to Like the Metrunner Facebook page & Swedenmarker Facebook […]
The Dala horse is probably one of Sweden’s best recognised souvenirs. The red wooden horses come from the province of Dalarna, northwest of Stockholm. The Dala horse came originally from the village of Nusnäs near Mora (4 hours by train from Stockholm). Originally a by-product of the furniture industry in the area, it started to […]
Kiruna, the northernmost city in Sweden, is about to be relocated. This is because of the large mine adjacent to the city that would harm the city’s geological stability. The iron mine is important for the city’s economy, the ore from which is shipped by train to nearby Narvik, Norway and sold worldwide. The main […]
Well yes, Sweden is a northern country after all, it can get really cold. Although not the Siberian kind of cold, because Sweden (and the rest of Europe) benefits from the Atlantic ocean warm stream. Still… we managed to experience -28°C in the far north of Sweden! Deep in Sámi country (Sápmi, that is). Specifically, […]
Smygehuk is a small village near Trelleborg in Scania, which is the southernmost point of Sweden. At this point, it’s actually nearer to the German capital Berlin (321km) than to the Swedish capital (510km)! Sweden’s northernmost point, Treriksröset (the cairn marking the border tripoint with Norway and Finland), lies 1581km away, even further than to […]