Tag: Denmark

Gustav Vasa

Image above by Kevin from The Beginning at Last

Today, June 6 is the National Day of Sweden (or the Independence Day of Sweden). Gustav Vasa, or Gustav I, Sweden’s hero king and the father of modern Sweden, was elected king of Sweden on June 6th, 1523. This was after the Swedish War of Liberation from Denmark 1521 to 1523. Gustav rose to lead the Swedish War of Liberation following the Stockholm Bloodbath, where his father was executed.  Gustav Vasa or Gustav I was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. Since I am originally Swedish (now living in Texas) June 6 is a significant date for me.

In the picture there muscular man holding up crown | Gustav Vasa
This picture is how I imagine Gustav Vasa at his coronation. BTW this is a submission for Kevin’s No Theme Thursday
A bearded king and his queen are marching down the middle of beautiful large building, perhaps a cathedral or a castle | Gustav Vasa
This is how I imagine Gustav Vasa’s marriage to Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg on September 24th, 1531. This picture is also from Kevin’s No Theme Thursday

Depictions of Gustav Vasa

Kevin’s pictures above were, like I said, how I imagine Gustav Vasa. The depictions below might be closer to the truth.

Painting of Gustav Vasa with an interesting hairdo and wearing a large robe.
Painting of Gustav I Vasa. Fashion was somewhat different back in the day.
Gustav Vasa is wearing a big black robe and black beanie looking hat that is slanted on his head.
Portrait of Gustav Vasa (from Wikipedia Commons).

The Kalmar Union

In 1397 a union was formed between Denmark, Norway and Sweden called the Kalmar Union (Kalmar is a city a Sweden). The Kalmar Union came to be dominated by Denmark and there were occasional rebellions. During Gustav’s childhood, parts of the Swedish nobility tried to make Sweden independent. Gustav’s father Erik Johansson Vasa was part of that nobility.

Map showing Denmark, Sweden and Norway in purple. Iceland and Finland are also included.
The Kalmar Union. Finland was part of Sweden at the time. Ssolbergj, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons

After some problematic interactions with Denmark and the Danish King Christian II, King Christian massacred 100 Swedish nobles, November 7-9, 1520, on Stortorget in Stockholm, including Gustav’s father. In 1521 Gustav led a rebellion (or a civil war) against Denmark, which ended in the deposition of King Christian II from the throne of Sweden, effectively ending the Kalmar Union. I can add that King Christian is called Christian the Tyrant in Sweden and Christian the good in Denmark.

Sweden and Denmark has had a complicated history that included a lot of hostilities and eleven wars, but you wouldn’t know it if you looked at the situation today. There hasn’t been a war between Sweden and Denmark in more than 180 years and Swedes and Danes get along very well. However, it is best not to bring up the past. That is probably true for marriages as well.

On the left, a fist with a yellow and blue flag. On the right, a fist with a red and white flag.
Denmark vs Sweden. The yellow and blue flag is the Swedish flag. Red and white is the Danish. Shutterstock Stock Photo ID: 1114320377 by Hasanov Jeyhun.

Gustav Vasa’s Burial Place

Gustav Vasa died on September 29, 1560, and is buried together with three of his wives (while only two are engraved) in the Cathedral of Uppsala. Uppsala is an old city north of Stockholm famous for its Viking graves/mounds. During the Viking era Uppsala was the religious center of Sweden. Later as Sweden became Christian it remained the religious center of Sweden, however, the Viking temple in old Uppsala was replaced by a Christian church. Uppsala hosts one of the most prominent Universities in the world and it also happens to be where I studied Engineering Physics.

The largest cathedral in Sweden, Uppsala Domkyrka. This is where Gustav I Vasa is buried. Gustav I is arguably Sweden’s most prominent king.
The largest cathedral in Sweden, Uppsala Domkyrka. This is where Gustav I Vasa is buried. Gustav I is arguably Sweden’s most prominent king.
Inside Uppsala Domkyrka
Inside Uppsala Domkyrka.
The tomb of Gustav I Vasa in Uppsala Domkyrka | Heavily decorated coffin shaped tomb placed in a large, decorated room filled with paintings.
The tomb of Gustav I Vasa in Uppsala Domkyrka. In the background is my son and his wife.

Photos from Sweden

Photo of a Leonberger standing on of a bench
I am a fan of Leonberger dogs, and this is a photo of the only Swedish Leonberger I met personally. Her name was Amie. We met her at an interesting place, at the top of a north Swedish mountain called Skule Mountain (Skull Mountain).
Three children sitting around a large table made of ice in a large room with columns of ice. There is an ice chandelier above the table.
One of the interesting tourist attractions in northern Sweden is the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi . The ice hotel in Jukkasjärvi is the first/original and largest ice hotel in the world. My kids at the lobby of the ice hotel in northern Sweden.

A guard in a dark blue uniform wearing a golden helmet and a gun in standing in front of a booth in front of a big brick castle.
Sweden has a king (Carl XIV), and he owns a couple of big castles. This is my kids with the guard in front of the Winter Castle in Stockholm.
My photo of Drottningholm castle taken from the garden, a very large garden.
Drottningholm, one of the Royal Palaces in Sweden. It was built in the 1660’s and inspired by Versailles.
A photo of the Vasa Ship taken from below.
A photo of the Vasa ship from the bottom floor. My son is standing on the right in a green and black shirt.
This is a photo of a well-dressed 8-member royal family.
The Swedish Royal family. The two people in the middle are Queen Silvia and King Carl XVI Bernadotte. To the right of the king is the future monarch of Sweden princess Victoria and to the left of Queen Silvia is her husband. The others are their other two children and their spouses.
Yellow and Blue Swedish flag | Gustav Vasa
Finally, the Swedish Flag (Wikimedia Commons). All other photos above are mine

Other Scandinavian Posts

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Sweden and Norway and Carl XIV Bernadotte

I just returned from a trip to Scandinavia with my son and his wife and I thought I would make another post related to our travel. “Sweden and Norway and Carl XIV Bernadotte” is a factual post, but it is not a super-fact post.

This post is about an interesting Swedish and Norwegian king who was imported from France, and who was the founder of the current Swedish dynasty, Bernadotte. While the United States is a democratic federal republic and Sweden is a democratic constitutional monarchy, they are both representative democracies with a lot in common politically.

The Swedish political power is divided between a legislative, executive, and judicial branch, just like in the United States, people vote for their representatives, and the modern Swedish king does not have any significant political power. However, the royal family is an important symbol for Sweden and is in general well liked. Below is the photo of the current Swedish royal family.

This is a photo of a well-dressed 8-member royal family.
The Swedish Royal family. The two people in the middle are Queen Silvia and King Carl XVI Bernadotte. To the right of the king is the future monarch of Sweden princess Victoria and to the left of Queen Silvia is her husband. The others are their other two children and their spouses.

It may come as a surprise to non-Americans that despite the United States being a Democratic Republic and not a monarchy, Americans are obsessed by the British Royal family. I should say that this obsession is only with the British Royal Family and not with any of the other 42 Royal Families of the world. Sweden, Norway and Denmark are all monarchies, but my efforts to create an American obsession with the Swedish royal family might be in vain. Below is a map of northern Europe showing these three countries and a few more north European countries.

Map of northern Europe including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, United Kingdom, and Ireland | Sweden and Norway and Carl XIV Bernadotte
Northern Europe including Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Stock Vector ID: 2173507635 by Peter Hermes Furian

King Karl XIV Johan of Sweden (or Carl XIV), or Charles XIV John was King of Sweden and Norway from 1818 until his death in 1844 and the first monarch of the Bernadotte dynasty. However, he was elected the heir-presumptive to the childless King Charles XIII of Sweden in 1810 and became the de facto ruler after Charles XIII (Carl XIII) had a stroke in 1812. King Karl XIV was born in France 26 January 1763 and his name was originally Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte.

During the Napoleonic Wars, he participated in several battles as a Marshal of France, and he played a significant role in the French victory at Austerlitz. He became an extended member of the French Imperial family (Emperor Napoleon).

Photo of a painting of Carl XIV wearing a uniform | Sweden and Norway and Carl XIV Bernadotte
This is a painting of Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte  (Carl XIV) hanging in the Royal Palace in the Old City of Stockholm.
10 uniformed soldiers marching outside the Royal Palace.
A photo I took of the guard at the Royal Palace in the Old City of Stockholm. If you zoom in you can see that a few of them are women.
A large room filled with beautiful decorations and paintings.
One of the many rooms inside the Royal Palace in the Old City of Stockholm.
My photo of Drottningholm castle taken from the garden, a very large garden | Sweden and Norway and Carl XIV Bernadotte
Drottningholm, one of the Royal Palaces in Sweden. It was built in the 1660’s and inspired by Versailles.

Sweden took Norway from Denmark in 1814, and Karl XIV Johan became the ruler of both Sweden and Norway and was officially made king in 1818. Sweden was a country that had been almost constantly at war but since 1814 reign Sweden was at peace. Sweden’s longstanding non-alignment and peace was initiated during King Carl / Karl XIV reign (Karl XIV Johan died 1844). Norway and Sweden resolved their union peacefully in 1905. Karl XIV Johan was popular in both countries.

Carl XIV sitting on a throne, wearing white, receiving a crown | Sweden and Norway and Carl XIV Bernadotte
My photo of a painting in the Royal Palace in the Old City of Stockholm. It shows the coronation of Karl XIV Johan.
Statue of Carl XIV sitting on a horse | Sweden and Norway and Carl XIV Bernadotte
Carl XIV of Norway and Sweden. This statue is located in Norway. Stock Photo ID: 191276033 by Toni Genes

To see the Super Facts click here

Sweden and Denmark and Gustav I Vasa

I am currently traveling in Scandinavia with my oldest son and his wife. Therefore, my blogging activities are a little bit less intense than usual. This post is factual, but it is not a super-fact post.

Yesterday, we visited Uppsala, a city north of Stockholm. Uppsala is Sweden’s fourth largest city, and it is the home to one of Europe’s most prominent universities, Uppsala University. This is also where I studied engineering physics before coming to the United States.

Photo of a large red brick church with tall pointy spires | Sweden and Denmark and Gustav I Vasa
The largest cathedral in Sweden, Uppsala Domkyrka. This is where Gustav I Vasa is buried. Gustav I is arguably Sweden’s most prominent king.

During the Viking era Uppsala was the religious center of Sweden. Later as Sweden became Christian it remained the religious center of Sweden, however, the Viking temple in old Uppsala was replaced by a Christian church. Sweden’s largest cathedral, Uppsala Domkyrka, is located in Uppsala. Inside Uppsala Domkyrka is the tomb of the king that is considered to be the father of Sweden, Gustav I Vasa.

The inside of the church is very large.
Inside Uppsala Domkyrka.

The relationships between the Scandinavian countries were quite complicated in the past, especially that between Sweden and Denmark. If you do a google search using the phrase “which two countries fought the most wars with each other” the top results all claim that this was Sweden and Denmark. The websites in question, Quora, Twitter and Reddit, aren’t reliable sources, so this may not be true. However, more reliable sources, such as historical sites, encyclopedia Britannica and Wikipedia state that Sweden and Denmark fought at least 11 wars with each other.

On the left, a fist with a yellow and blue flag. On the right, a fist with a red and white flag | Sweden and Denmark and Gustav I Vasa
Denmark vs Sweden. The yellow and blue flag is the Swedish flag. Red and white is the Danish. Shutterstock Stock Photo ID: 1114320377 by Hasanov Jeyhun.

In 1397 a union was formed between Denmark, Norway and Sweden called the Kalmar Union (Kalmar is a city a Sweden). The Kalmar Union came to be dominated by Denmark and eventually Sweden rebelled against the Danish King Christian II. He was called Christian the Good in Denmark and Christian the Tyrant in Sweden.

This rebellion was led by a noble, Gustav Eriksson who later would be crowned as Gustav I Vasa. He was the first of the Vasa kings. Sweden declared its independence from Denmark on June 6th, 1523, which is why June 6th is Sweden’s national day, or Independence Day.

Map showing Denmark, Sweden and Norway in purple. Iceland and Finland are also included | Sweden and Denmark and Gustav I Vasa
The Kalmar Union. Finland was part of Sweden at the time. Ssolbergj, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons
Painting showing a king with an interesting hairdo and wearing a large robe.
Painting of Gustav I Vasa. Fashion was somewhat different back in the day.

Sweden and Denmark had a complicated history that included a lot of hostilities and wars, but you wouldn’t know it if you looked at the situation today. There hasn’t been a war between Sweden and Denmark in more than 180 years and Swedes and Danes get along very well, well as long as you don’t talk too much about the past. In my opinion Swedes and Danes get along better than Texans and Oklahomans. Maybe it helps that Swedes can’t understand what the Danes are saying.

Heavily decorated coffin shaped tomb placed in a large, decorated room filled with paintings.
The tomb of Gustav I Vasa in Uppsala Domkyrka. In the background is my son and his wife.

To see the Super Facts click here