The Åland Islands (belonging to Finland) lie at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia marking the northern border of the Baltic Sea proper. The largest Danish islands Zealand (7,000km² 2,200,000 people) and Funen (2,984km² 400,000 people) lie between the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat. ...

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List of islands in the Baltic Sea, List of islands in the Baltic Sea - Listed by Size, List of islands in the Baltic Sea - Listed by population

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Explaining the origins of the Goths, Jordanes recounted: The same mighty sea has also in its arctic region, that is in the north, a great island named Scandza, from which my tale (by God's grace) shall take its beginning. For the race whose origin you ask to know burst forth like a swarm of bees from the midst of this island and came into the land of Europe. [...] Now from this island of Scandza, as from a hive of races or a womb of nations, the Goths are said to have come forth long ago under their king, Berig by name ...

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Goths, Goths - History, Goths - Origins, Goths - Archaeology, Goths - Linguistics, Goths - Symbolic meaning, Goths - Notes

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In the 1st century AD, the mouth of the Vistula was indicated as the land of the Gutones (Pliny the Elder) or Gothones (Tacitus): Beyond the Lygians dwell the Gothones, under the rule of a king; and thence held in subjection somewhat stricter than the other German[ic] nations, yet not so strict as to extinguish all their liberty. Immediately adjoining are the Rugians and Lemovians upon the coast of the ocean, and of these several nations the characteristics are a round ...

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Gothiscandza, Gothiscandza - History and linguistics, Gothiscandza - Archaeology, Gothiscandza - Norse mythology, Gothiscandza - The Gutasaga, Gothiscandza - Ynglingatal

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Sweden - Pre-history. Further information: Prehistoric Sweden, and [[]], and [[]], and [[]], and See also:

Sweden, Sweden - History, Sweden - Pre-history, Sweden - Middle Ages, Sweden - A major power, Sweden - Modern history, Sweden - Recent history, Sweden - Politics, Sweden - Energy politics, Sweden - Economy, Sweden - Welfare state, Sweden - Education, Sweden - Geography, Sweden - Counties, Sweden - Provinces, Sweden - Largest cities, Sweden - Demographics, Sweden - Language, Sweden - Culture, Sweden - Swedish Nobel Prize Winners, Sweden - Music, Sweden - Media, Sweden - Holidays, Sweden - Cuisine, Sweden - Sports, Sweden - Religion, Sweden - Miscellaneous topics, Sweden - International rankings, Sweden - Notes

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Any number of people may play kubb, but typically matches are one-on-one or two teams of two. There are two phases for each team's turn. Team A throws the six sticks, from their baseline, at their opponent's lined-up kubbs (called Baseline kubbs). Throws must be underhanded, and the sticks must spin end over end. Throwing sticks sideways or spining them side-to-side is not allowed. Kubbs that are successfully knocked down are then thrown by Team B onto Team A's half of the pitch, and stood on end. These newly thrown ...

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Kubb, Kubb - History, Kubb - Game pieces, Kubb - Setup, Kubb - Rules

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The origins of the League are generally traced to the foundation of the new town of Lübeck in 1158/1159 after the capture of the area by Henry the Lion of Saxony. There had been exploratory trading adventures, raids and piracy throughout this area—the sailors of Gotland sailed up rivers as far away as Novgorod—but the scale of international economy in the Baltic area was insignificant before the Hanseatic League. German domination of trade in the Baltic was achieved with striking speed over the next century and Lübeck became a central node in all the sea trade that linked the ar ...

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Hanseatic League, Hanseatic League - History, Hanseatic League - Foundation, Hanseatic League - Expansion, Hanseatic League - Zenith, Hanseatic League - Downfall, Hanseatic League - The End, Hanseatic League - Lists of former Hanse cities, Hanseatic League - Members of the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic League - Counting Houses, Hanseatic League - Other cities with a Hanse community, Hanseatic League - External link

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There are many variations on the idea of reenacting medieval combat, ranging from training of historical dueling practices (usually with an appropriate period sword such as an arming sword or rapier or more rarely a dussack as a variation of fencing), and wrestling as a martial art, to reenactment of historical or legendary battles of the Middle Ages. Some groups training historical combat as a martial art do not fit the traditional definition of a reenactment group and are more similar to fencing clubs, but some of them combine the sport with mor ...

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Medieval reenactment, Medieval reenactment - Living History, Medieval reenactment - Combat Reenactment, Medieval reenactment - Battlefield Reenactment, Medieval reenactment - Display Fighting, Medieval reenactment - Reenactment in Europe

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New South Wales Bondi Beach Sydney Fox Studios Australia Sydney Luna Park, Sydney Taronga Zoo Sydney Sydney Harbour Bridge Sydney Sydney Opera House Sydney Western Plains Zoo Dubbo Victoria Crown Casino Melbourne Great Ocean Road Healesville Sanctuary Queensland Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary Brisbane Roma Street Parkland Brisbane South Bank Parklands Brisbane ...

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List of popular tourist regions, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Argentina, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Australia, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Austria, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Belgium, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Brazil, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Bulgaria, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in China, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Canada, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Central Asia, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Caribbean, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Costa Rica, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Croatia, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in the Czech Republic, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Denmark, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Egypt, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in England, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Finland, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in France, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Germany, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Greece, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Guatemala, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Honduras, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Hong Kong, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Hungary, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in India, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Indonesia, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Ireland, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Israel, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Italy, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Jamaica, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Japan, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Jordan, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Kenya, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Laos, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Macao, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Malaysia, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Mauritius, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Mexico, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Nepal, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in the Netherlands, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in New Zealand, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Norway, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Peru, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in the Philippines, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Poland, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Portugal, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Romania, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Russia, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Scotland, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Serbia and Montenegro, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Singapore, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Slovakia, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Slovenia, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in South Africa, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Spain, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Sweden, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Switzerland, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Tanzania, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Turkey, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Uganda, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Ukraine, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in the United States, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Zambia, List of popular tourist regions - Tourism in Zimbabwe

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Northern Europe, Scandinavian Peninsula, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, Kattegat, and Skagerrak, between Finland and Norway. Strategic location along Öresund and the Danish Straits linking Baltic and North Seas. Climate: temperate in south with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers; subarctic in north Terrain: Mountains and hills in west. Plains and agriculture land in the south. The mountains fjeld are in the north togeter with plains and lakes and a lot of snow in the winter. More than 50% ...

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Geography of Sweden, Geography of Sweden - Location, Geography of Sweden - Lands of Sweden, Geography of Sweden - Historical lands of Sweden, Geography of Sweden - Counties, Geography of Sweden - Cities, Geography of Sweden - Municipalities, Geography of Sweden - Area, Geography of Sweden - Land boundaries, Geography of Sweden - Maritime claims, Geography of Sweden - Elevation extremes, Geography of Sweden - Railways, Geography of Sweden - Natural resources, Geography of Sweden - Land use, Geography of Sweden - Natural hazards, Geography of Sweden - Environment

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All sources describe him as the son of Ivar Vidfamne's daughter Aud (but Hervarar saga calls her Alfhild). According to Sögubrot and the Lay of Hyndla, Harald was the son of Rörek, the king of Zealand. Sögubrot relates that his mother later married Radbart, the king of Gardariki and they had the son Randver. However, according to Hervarar saga, both Harald and Randver were the sons of Valdar and Alfhild. Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum does not mention any Ivar Vidfamne, and gives two different versions of Harald's ancestry. First ...

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Harald Wartooth, Harald Wartooth - Family, Harald Wartooth - Claiming his inheritance, Harald Wartooth - The Battle of Bråvalla, Harald Wartooth - Primary sources

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Sweden - Pre-history. For details, see: Prehistoric Sweden Soon after the recession of the last ice age, Sweden became populated by hunters and gatherers, during the Stone Age (6000 BC – 4000 BC). The region developed rather slowly compared to southern Europe; while the Romans wrote poetry, Scandinavia had just entered the Iron Age. Sweden was first mentioned in the 1st century, by Roman historian Tacitus, who wrote that the Suiones tribe lived out in the sea and were powerful in both arms ...

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Sweden, Sweden - History, Sweden - Pre-history, Sweden - Middle Ages, Sweden - A major power, Sweden - Modern history, Sweden - Recent history, Sweden - Politics, Sweden - Energy politics, Sweden - Economy, Sweden - Welfare state, Sweden - Education, Sweden - Geography, Sweden - Counties, Sweden - Largest cities, Sweden - Demographics, Sweden - Language, Sweden - Culture, Sweden - Music, Sweden - Media, Sweden - Holidays, Sweden - Cuisine, Sweden - Sports, Sweden - Religion, Sweden - Miscellaneous topics, Sweden - International rankings, Sweden - Notes

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In Scandinavia, hill forts are fortifications from the Iron Age which may have had several functions. They are usually located on the crests of hills and mountains making use of precipices and marshes which worked as natural defenses. The crests' more accessible parts were defended with walls of stone and outer walls in the slopes beneath are common. Round and closed, so called, ring forts are common even on flat ground. The walls often have remaining parts of stone, which were probably the support of pales. They often have wel ...

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Hill fort, Hill fort - Scandinavia, Hill fort - Britain and Ireland, Hill fort - France, Hill fort - New Zealand, Hill fort - Examples

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In the 9th century, Old Norse began to diverge into Old West Norse (Norway and Iceland) and Old East Norse (Sweden and Denmark). In the 12th century, the dialects of Denmark and Sweden began to diverge, becoming Old Danish and Old Swedish in the 13th century. All were heavily influenced by Middle Low German during the medieval period. Though stages of language development are never as sharply delimited as implied here, and should not be taken too literally, the system of subdivisions used in this article is the most commonly used by Swedish linguists and is used for the sake of practicality. See also:

Swedish language, Swedish language - Classification and related languages, Swedish language - History, Swedish language - Old Norse, Swedish language - Old Swedish, Swedish language - New Swedish, Swedish language - Modern Swedish, Swedish language - Former language minorities, Swedish language - Geographic distribution, Swedish language - Official status, Swedish language - Regulatory bodies, Swedish language - Dialects, Swedish language - Standard Swedish, Swedish language - Finland-Swedish, Swedish language - New dialects, Swedish language - Sounds, Swedish language - Vowels, Swedish language - Consonants, Swedish language - Prosody, Swedish language - Grammar, Swedish language - Vocabulary, Swedish language - Writing system, Swedish language - Notes

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The main aim of the County Administrative Board is to fulfil the goals set in national politics by the Parliament and the Government, to coordinate the interests and promote the development of the county, to establish regional goals and safeguard the due process of law in the handling of each case. The County Administrative Board is nominally a Government agency headed by a Governor. See List of Gotland Governors. Gotland is the only Swedish county that does not have a county council, as well a ...

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Gotland County, Gotland County - Province, Gotland County - Administration, Gotland County - Politics, Gotland County - Heraldry

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Norway, which was then governed by Christian's son-in-law, Statholder (royal governor) Hannibal Sehested, was a reluctant participant. The Norwegian populace opposed an attack on Sweden, correctly suspecting that an attack on Sweden would only leave them open to counterattack. Their opposition to Statholder Sehested’s direction grew bitter, and the war was lampooned as the "Hannibal war." Understandably, the Danes cared little for Norwegian public sentiment when Denmark itself was seriously threatened. Hence Jacob Ulfeld initiated an attac ...

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Hannibal War, Hannibal War - The Cause, Hannibal War - The Beginning, Hannibal War - The Danish Response, Hannibal War - The Norwegian Response, Hannibal War - The Denouement, Hannibal War - Long-Term Implications

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Köping http://www.koping.se/kopingtemplates/Page.aspx?id=484 Landskrona is unique as it officially has shield holders and a crown as part of the arms itself. Landskrona city arms was granted the city shortly after Skania had been conquered by Sweden, and displays some unique details. No other city arms has shield holders and the crown that is ontop of the shield is nowhere else to be found, but its contents is described in the blaising. Since Landskrona was a city, the municipality has, in theory, the option to crown the shield with a wall crown, but this is never done as Landskron ...

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Swedish heraldry, Swedish heraldry - Overview, Swedish heraldry - Samples, Swedish heraldry - List of cities, Swedish heraldry - Resources

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Note that divisions between subfamilies of Germanic are rarely precisely defined; most form continuous clines, with adjacent dialects being mutually intelligible and more separated ones not. Mentioned here are only the principal or unusual contemporary dialects; individual articles linked to below contain larger family trees. For example, many Low German dialects are discussed on Low German besides just Northern Low Saxon and Plautdietsch. Diachronic stages are listed in the main articles (such as Old English and Middle English, in th ...

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Germanic languages, Germanic languages - Characteristics of some Germanic languages, Germanic languages - Writing, Germanic languages - Linguistic Markers, Germanic languages - History, Germanic languages - Classification, Germanic languages - Vocabulary comparison

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At birth he was created Duke of Östergötland. He entered the navy at the age of eleven, and was appointed junior lieutenant in July 1845. Later he studied at Uppsala University, where he distinguished himself in mathematics. On June 6, 1857 he married Princess Sophia Wilhelmina, youngest daughter of Duke William of Nassau. He succeeded his brother Charles XV, on September 18, 1872, and was crowned as king of Norway in the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim on July 18, 1873. At the accession he adopted as his motto Brödrafolkens väl ...

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Oscar II of Sweden, Oscar II of Sweden - Early life, Oscar II of Sweden - Politics, Oscar II of Sweden - Science and arts, Oscar II of Sweden - Children, Oscar II of Sweden - Trivia

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Explaining the origins of the Goths, Jordanes recounted: The same mighty sea has also in its arctic region, that is in the north, a great island named Scandza, from which my tale (by God's grace) shall take its beginning. For the race whose origin you ask to know burst forth like a swarm of bees from the midst of this island and came into the land of Europe. [...] Now from this island of Scandza, as from a hive of races or a womb of nations, the Goths are said to have come forth long ago under their king, Berig by name ...

See also:

Goths, Goths - Historical sources, Goths - History, Goths - Origins, Goths - Archaeology, Goths - Linguistics, Goths - Symbolic meaning, Goths - Notes

Read more here: » Goths: Encyclopedia II - Goths - Origins

There are various theories concerning the causes of the Viking invasions. For people living along the coast, it would seem natural to seek new land by the sea. Another reason was that during this period England, Wales and Ireland, which were divided into many different warring kingdoms, were in internal disarray, and became easy prey. The Franks, however, had well-defended coasts, and heavily fortified ports and harbours. Pure thirst for adventure may also have been a factor. A reason for the raids is believed by some to be over-population c ...

See also:

Viking Age, Viking Age - Timeline, Viking Age - Geography, Viking Age - British Isles, Viking Age - Iceland, Viking Age - Greenland, Viking Age - Southern and Eastern Europe, Viking Age - America, Viking Age - Technology, Viking Age - Religion and Archaelogy, Viking Age - Trading Cities, Viking Age - Place names

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Sweden was historically divided into the four lands: Götaland Svealand Österland Norrland Götaland and Svealand consisted before (cirka) 1000 AD by petty kingdoms: The main tribe of Götaland was the Geats; the main tribe of Svealand was the Suiones (or the "historical Swedes"). Norrland was the denomination for all the unexplored northern parts. Österland was an integral part of Sweden, but was in 1809 annexed by Russia as the Grand Duchy of Finland, and since 1917 the independant country Finland. For m ...

See also:

Provinces of Sweden, Provinces of Sweden - History, Provinces of Sweden - Heraldry, Provinces of Sweden - Provinces according to lands, Provinces of Sweden - Götaland, Provinces of Sweden - Svealand, Provinces of Sweden - Norrland, Provinces of Sweden - Österlanden

Read more here: » Provinces of Sweden: Encyclopedia II - Provinces of Sweden - Provinces according to lands