Coat of arms of Sweden - history and main elements. State symbols of the Swedish kingdom Symbols of Sweden and what they mean
Sweden is distinguished by a low population density (10 million people live here - less than in Moscow), a long sea coast, dense forests and countless lakes. This is one of the northernmost countries in the world. In terms of area, it is comparable to Spain, Thailand or the US state of California. Sweden's borders have not changed since 1905, and the country has not participated in wars since 1814 - which makes Sweden one of the most peaceful countries on the globe.
Contrasts of day and night
Wealth of wildlife
The diversity of Sweden's landscapes is matched by the abundance of its fauna: from wolves and brown bears in the north to roe deer and wild boars in the south. Biological diversity is the result of the richness of the plant and water world.
Large by European standards, the country stretches from north to south for 1572 km. According to the climatic zone, coniferous forests, in particular pine and spruce, predominate in Sweden. The further south, the more often they are adjacent to deciduous groves: birch and aspen. The very south of Sweden is gentle, picturesque fields and hills, thinned out by copses and surrounded by long sandy beaches. Thanks to the limestone-rich soil, combined with the mild climate, the islands of Gotland, Öland and parts of the Scandinavian mountains are characterized by a special flora - including various types of orchids.
Facts and figures
Capital: Stockholm
Population: 10 million
Total area: 528,447 sq. km, the third largest country in Western Europe, after France and Spain
Lifespan: Men - 81 years, women - 84 years
Population born outside the country: 19,1%
Religion: The Church of Sweden is Evangelical Lutheran. Numerous other faiths and religions are also represented in the country.
Language: Swedish
Form of government: Constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy
Parliament: Riksdag, unicameral, 349 deputies
Education: 9 years of compulsory schooling, most pupils study for 12 years (including “gymnasium”). About a third continue their education at universities and colleges.
Working hours: The standard working week is 40 hours, the minimum paid vacation is 5 weeks.
Telephone code: +46
Internet domain:.se
Timezone: GMT+1
Currency: 1 crown (SEK) = 100 ore
GDP per capita (PPP): USD 56,935
GNI per capita: USD 50,840
Population of the largest cities (including suburbs):
Stockholm: 2,344,124
Gothenburg: 1,030,000
Malmö: 730,529
Main export products: Machinery and transport equipment, chemicals and plastic products, electronics and telecommunications equipment, energy products, industrial equipment, road vehicles, minerals, food
National parks
In 1909, Sweden became the first European country to establish national parks. The beginning was laid in the mountains of Norrland, a region in the north of the country. This helped to save one of the last corners of virgin nature in Europe from destruction. Then, throughout Sweden, vast areas were declared nature reserves and protected areas of cultural heritage.
The rule of universal access to natural lands ( allemansratten) says that everyone has the right to walk through forests and meadows, pick berries and mushrooms - without a separate permit from landowners. But this right is also associated with obvious duties: to respect private property and treat nature with care.
Geography of Sweden
Length from north to south: 1,574 km
Length from west to east: 499 km
Urbanized and industrial territories: 3%
Agricultural grounds: 8%
Forests: 53% Swamps: 9%
Fields: 7% Mountains: 12%
Lakes and rivers: 9%
highest mountain: Kebnekaise (2.103 m)
Largest lake: Vanern (5,650 sq km)
National symbols of Sweden
The official Swedish heraldry is the yellow and blue flag, the national symbol "Three Crowns", the national anthem, and the coat of arms in two versions: large and small. The oldest images of a blue flag with a yellow cross that have survived to this day date back to the 16th century. The very symbol of the yellow cross in the Swedish army has been applied to banners and standards since time immemorial. It is based on the outlines of the ancient coat of arms of the kingdom with a blue background, divided into four parts by a golden cross. The sign of the "three crowns" has been used as the state emblem of Sweden since at least 1336, but long before that it was known to Europeans as a symbol of the "Three Wise Kings".
Since 1916, the Swedish Flag Day has appeared in the Swedish calendar - June 6th. In 1983, it was renamed the National Day of Sweden, and in 2004 it was proclaimed a public holiday and a day off. The date was chosen immediately for two reasons: on June 6, 1523, the first Swedish king, Gustav Vasa, ascended the throne, and on the same day in 1809, the country adopted a new Constitution that granted citizens civil liberties and rights.
National anthem of Sweden
The text "Du Gamla, Du Fria" ("You are ancient, you are free") was composed by the ballad writer and folklorist Richard Dübeck (1811-1877), and its musical basis was a mid-19th-century folk melody from the province of Västmanland in central Sweden. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, this ballad gained such popularity that it was declared the national anthem of Sweden.
On the coat of arms of Sweden, lions are present in the large royal coat of arms. And this tradition has been going on since time immemorial. Shield-bearing lions have been fixed in the coat of arms since the end of the 16th century and are depicted with forked tails. Let's pay attention to two other lions placed in the second and third fields of the shield, divided by a large cross. These are the so-called Gothic lions. They are depicted on top of silver streams in an azure field.
The history of their appearance is as follows. First, in the coat of arms of King Eric III around 1224, three leopards appeared at once, one under the other, as in Danish. This emblem was adopted by the nephew Valdemar, who inherited Eric III, who belonged to another family - the Folkungs. Valdemar's father Jarl Birger had another family coat of arms - a lion on top of three left bandages. As you can see, it is very reminiscent of the images in the second and third fields of the shield on the modern royal coat of arms of Sweden. The thing is that King Valdemar was overthrown from the throne by his brother Magnus, who received the nickname Defender of the Peasants, who, unlike his predecessor, remained faithful to the Folkung family coat of arms, but the lion has since become crowned.
The oldest known seal of Magnus Protector of the Peasants has three crowns on the top and sides of the royal shield. In the 14th century, under King Albert of Mecklenburg, the three crowns became the main symbol of Sweden.
There are several interpretations of this heraldic emblem. Some correlate the appearance of the three crowns with the widespread in Europe cult of the Three Kings - the Magi, who brought gifts to the infant Jesus Christ. This cult revived after the transfer of their relics from Milan to Cologne in 1164 by Frederick Barbarossa. Others see Swedish crowns as a symbol of the Holy Trinity. But there are also purely heraldic interpretations. Individual connoisseurs of heraldry see in this emblem either a crown from the Mecklenburg family coat of arms, reinforced with the sacred number three, or the legendary coat of arms of King Arthur, embodying the moral ideals of chivalry, or some kind of “fabulous coat of arms” of one of the ancient Irish kings.
Three crowns suddenly took on a new meaning when the Scandinavian kingdoms united into one state - the Kalmar Union. The Swedish crowns then occupied the second quarter of the common coat of arms of the allied kings, and this symbol began to express the unity of Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
Actually, the Swedish coat of arms was formed back in the years of the Kalmar Union. Under Karl Knutsson, who proclaimed himself King of Sweden in 1448 and ruled intermittently until 1470, the heraldic shield was divided into parts by a golden cross. According to legend, this emblem appeared in the XII century. According to the legend, the Swedish king Eric IX, before going to the pagan Finns, saw a cruciform golden glow in the sky. However, the origins of the symbol are much older. In the description of the life of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, it is said that before the battle with his rival commander Maxentius, he saw a sign in the sky - a shining cross made up of stars. Constantine ordered this sign to be depicted on the weapons and banners of his troops, which allegedly helped win the decisive battle at the Milvian Bridge. Carl Knutsson introduced into the Swedish coat of arms and the middle shield with the image of his own family coat of arms - a golden boat in a black field.
In 1523, the Kalmar Union broke up. In Sweden, Gustav Vasa became king, and a new dynastic coat of arms, a sheaf, was placed in the middle shield instead of a boat. In Swedish, the generic nickname "Vase" is consonant with the word for a sheaf, a bunch of twigs, a bunch of plants, and the like.
Gustav Vasa assumed the triple title of "King of the Swedes, Goths and Wends", perhaps in imitation of the extremely pompous titles of the Danish kings. In accordance with this, the meaning of the three crowns of the House of Folkungs was once again rethought. And this is how they began to explain the origin of the three crowns on the coat of arms of Sweden.
Under Gustav Vasa or under his son Eric XIV, the original colors of the coat of arms also changed. Instead of a black bunch in a golden field, a golden sheaf appeared in an azure-silver-carlet field, twice beveled on the right. Gradually, the outlines of the sheaf also changed, which eventually began to resemble a vase with handles.
Later, royal dynasties did not stay long on the Swedish throne. The large coat of arms remained unchanged all the time, only the dynastic emblems in the shield changed: the palatines of the Rhine, the landgraves of Hesse-Kassel and, finally, the dukes of Holstein-Gottorp ...
In 1810, the last of the Swedish Gottorp dynasty adopted the Napoleonic Marshal Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, Prince de Pontecorvo. Eight years later, the marshal took the Swedish throne, taking the name of Charles XIV John. As a sign of continuity, and not as a sign of kinship, which was not there, the coat of arms of the Vaza dynasty reappeared in the middle shield of the royal coat of arms, and next to the princes of Pontecorvo - in azure above the silver stream (wavy tip) a silver bridge with three arches and two towers, and above the bridge is a Napoleonic eagle with two thunderbolts.
Some time later, the Napoleonic eagle on the Swedish coat of arms turned into a raven. It is difficult to say whether this confusion arose by accident or on purpose. The word "corvo" in Italian means "raven", and "ropte corvo" is translated as "humped bridge".
The law of May 15, 1908 fixed the official image of the large and small emblems of Sweden. The place of the raven in the coat of arms of Pontecorvo was again taken by the Napoleonic eagle...
Sweden. Symbols. Holidays.
Sweden is a state of Northern Europe, which occupies the southern and eastern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. It ranks third in terms of area among all countries of Western Europe. The capital of the state -.
The first settlements arose about ten thousand years ago. These were settlements of farmers and pastoralists. Burial mounds and drawings dating back to 2500-1700 BC have survived to our time. In 500-300 BC, trade develops not only between the Celts and the Scandinavian tribes, but also a large exchange of goods with Central Europeans. In the future, close ties arise with the Roman Empire.
The formation of the Swedish state dates back to the Middle Ages. This time was marked by the campaigns of the glorious Vikings. In 800, the first city of Sweden, Birka, was founded on Lake Meralen, which later became one of the largest centers of trade in the Baltic region. In those days, Sweden had close trade relations with Byzantium and with the Arab Caliphate.
The symbols of modern Sweden, like any other state, are the flag, anthem and coat of arms. The Swedish flag features a yellow cross. The color of the flag is blue. Its history spans about five centuries. According to the royal decree issued in 1569, it was the yellow cross on a sky-blue background that was supposed to appear on the combat Swedish banners and standards. was approved in 1982. June 6th is Flag Day.
Sweden is a state that uses two coats of arms - Large and Small. Three golden crowns, which have been used as an emblem since 1336, are an obligatory attribute of coats of arms. They were established by Magnus Eriksson and were a symbol of the power of Sweden, Skani and Norway.
The Great Coat of Arms depicts an azure field separated by an order cross. A crowned silver lion rises above the left bands of the coat of arms. In the center of the emblem there is a dissected shield and a sheaf of a sloping field. And on the left side there is a golden bridge, towers, two Peruns and a golden eagle.
The small coat of arms is a blue shield with three crowns - two at the top, one at the bottom. The largest crown, surrounded by the chain of the Seraphim Order, tops the shield and is a symbol of royal power.
The text of the Swedish anthem was written in the 19th century by Richard Diebeck. The basis of the music "Du gamla. Du Fria" was a well-known folk melody. Initially, the anthem was one of the most popular Swedish folk songs, and today it is one of the main state symbols.
Sweden is a country where public, secular and Christian holidays are a real highlight. Public holidays are declared as public holidays. Holidays associated with folk traditions or significant dates celebrated by the royal family can fall on any calendar day. The official holidays in Sweden are National Day of Sweden and National Flag Day, Christmas, New Year and Easter. Since 1983, Sweden's National Day has been officially celebrated on June 6th. On the same day, the Swedish Flag Day is celebrated. 
Folk holidays include days such as the midsummer holiday, which is celebrated on June 23, St. Lucia's Day (winter solstice), Walpurgis Night - the night of the fight against evil spirits, St. Knut's Day, which ends the celebration of the Christmas holidays, as well as birthdays. For example, on April 30, the Swedes celebrate the birthday of Charles 16th Gustav. Everyone can congratulate the monarch and present their gifts to the king. Walpurgis Night is also celebrated on this day, during this holiday all Swedes try to scare away all evil spirits, and also meet the arrival of spring.
The celebration is very fun - big bonfires are lit everywhere and spring fairs are held. One of the most fun holidays is the Swedish Crayfish Festival, which takes place in Malmö on the third week of August. It is celebrated with bright fireworks and eating delicious delicacies accompanied by national music. Nobel Day is celebrated on December 10th. It is on this day that the Nobel Prize is awarded.
Sweden is a country that is remembered forever, because it enchants its visitors not only with its incredible beauty, but also with the richness of folk color.
