Uppsala, the 4th largest city in Sweden, has a special position of prestige. It is the home of one of the two most prestigious universities in Sweden, the seat of the primate of the Church of Sweden (Archbishop of Uppsala), and the historical religious centre of the Viking Age. Gamla (old) Uppsala just outside of […]
The Gävle goat (Gävlebocken) stands every year in December in the city of Gävle, 1.5 hours by train north of Stockholm. The goat is built by a local merchants organisation every year, and inaugurated on the first day of Advent (usually late November or early December). The goat appeared for the first time in 1966. […]
With 10 days to Christmas, it might be a good idea to look how the advent calendar came about. 19th century German Christians started to develop traditions in timekeeping towards Christmas. In 1851, the first prototype of the Advent calendar appeared—German Protestants started to hang one picture per day on the wall, until Christmas Eve, […]
Alfred Nobel died on 10 December 1896, the anniversary of which became Alfred Nobel Day, the day on which the Nobel Prizes are awarded in Stockholm and Oslo. Nobel Prize Outreach, the public promotion organisation for Nobel Foundation, organises the Nobel Week with events, such as lectures, to connect and engage with the public in […]
Lucia (St. Lucia’s Day) is a tradition that is important for Swedish life in winter. It involves a lot of light. The day celebrates the 4th century Christian martyr St. Lucy. Celebrations started in Sicily and eventually spread to Scandinavia. The name Lucia is related to the Latin word lux (light). Her feast day is […]
The Åland Islands are legally not in Sweden—they are in Finland. But one thing sets them apart from the rest of Finland—Ålänningar (people of Åland) speak only Swedish. Historically, all of Finland was part of Sweden since the Middle Ages. But in 1809 Sweden lost the war with Russia and was forced to cede all […]
Sweden is a northern country. It has significant territory inside the Arctic Circle, and aurora can often be seen in winter. Aurora is caused by the interaction between Earth’s magnetic field, atmosphere, and solar wind. Aurora borealis is the aurora of the north; it usually appears at latitudes of around 70-80 degrees north, although occasional […]
Norrköping is an industrial town to the southwest of Stockholm, around 1.5 hours by train. Situated on the rapids of the Motala River (Motala ström), Norrköping has boasted many factories and mills for centuries. The suffix -köping indicates the city has been a traditional market place since its early days. Norrköping has a population of […]
Gotland is an island to the east of mainland Sweden, and its largest town, Visby, was a city of the Hanseatic trading league. Gotland was ruled by a number of powers in turn, such as the Victual Brothers pirates, the Teutonic Knights, and Denmark, finally passing into Swedish rule in 1645. The walled city of […]
It’s the time of the year to apply for Swedish universities! Admissions for autumn 2021 will close on 15 January. Apply on universityadmissions.se. Read more about studying in Sweden. Important dates There are two rounds of admissions. The first round ends on 15 January: Applications opened: 16 October 2020 Deadline: 15 January 2021 Pay application […]