Tag: Swedish War of Liberation

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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