Sport activities are a national movement with half of the population actively participating. The two main spectator sports are soccer and ice hockey. Some notable soccer stars of Sweden include Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrik Larsson and Fredrik Ljungberg, while some famous Swedish hockey players include Markus Näslund, Peter Forsberg, Mats Sundin, Daniel Alfredsson, Niklas Lidström, Börje Salming and Pelle Lindbergh. Second to soccer, horse sports have the highest number of practitioners, mostly women. Thereafter follow golf, track and ...

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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 - 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

Read more here: » Sweden: Encyclopedia II - Sweden - Sports

Before the 11th century, people of Sweden adhered to Norse religion, worshipping Æsir gods, with its centre at the Temple in Uppsala. With Christianisation in the 11th century, the laws of the country were changed, forbidding worship of other deities. After the Protestant Reformation in the 1530s the Church and State were united, abolishing the authority of the Roman Catholic bishops, and in the long run allowing only Lutheranism to prevail. This was not a process completed until the Uppsala Synod 1593. During the era following the R ...

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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 - 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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It is often claimed that the game dates back to the Viking Age and survived on Gotland, but this seems to be a marketing ploy by manufacturers of Kubb games, and is unverifiable. There is anecdotal evidence of Kubb being played in various places in Sweden in the early 20th century, but how similar those rules are to the ones used today is unknown. It is significant to show that Föreningen Gutnisk Idrott (The Society of Gutnic Games), formed in 1912, did not (and still does not) list Kubb as one of the traditional games from Gotland. ...

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

Read more here: » Kubb: Encyclopedia II - Kubb - History

Swedish authors of worldwide recognition include Carolus Linnaeus, Emanuel Swedenborg, August Strindberg, Selma Lagerlöf, Vilhelm Moberg, Harry Martinson and Astrid Lindgren. Many well-known inventions and discoveries, historical and modern, were made by Swedes. Some notable figures are Alfred Nobel, Anders Celsius, Baltzar von Platen, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, Jöns Jakob Berzelius, John Ericsson, ...

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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 - 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

Read more here: » Sweden: Encyclopedia II - Sweden - Culture

Sweden has one of the world's highest life expectancies. As of approximately 12 August 2004, the total population of Sweden for the first time exceeded 9,000,000, according to Statistics Sweden. The country's population includes some 17,000 indigenous Samis. Some 50,000 of the ethnic Finns of Sweden also constitute an indigenous minority, although many more of the Sweden Finns descend from 20th century immigrants. Sweden has been transformed from a nation of emigration ending after World War I to a nation of immigration from Wo ...

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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 - 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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Despite courtly life, he found time for work of the most various description, including a series of domestic reforms (see History of Denmark). He also did much for the national armaments. New fortresses were constructed under the direction of Dutch engineers. The Danish navy, which in 1596 consisted of but twenty-two vessels, in 1610 rose to sixty, some of them being built after Christian's own designs. The formation of a national army was more difficult. Christian had to depend mainly upon hired troops, supported by native levies recr ...

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Christian IV of Denmark, Christian IV of Denmark - The King as Reformer, Christian IV of Denmark - The Kalmar War, Christian IV of Denmark - The Thirty Years' War, Christian IV of Denmark - Court Intrigues and Foreign Adventures 1629-1643, Christian IV of Denmark - Renewed War with Sweden, Christian IV of Denmark - Last Years and Legacy

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Sweden enjoys a mostly temperate climate despite its northern latitude, mainly due to the Gulf Stream. In the south of Sweden leaf-bearing trees are prolific, in the north pines, spruces and hardy birches dominate the landscape. In the mountains of northern Sweden a sub-Arctic climate predominates. North of the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets for part of each summer, and in the winter, night is unending for a corresponding period. The country is similar in size to the U.S ...

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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 - 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

Read more here: » Sweden: Encyclopedia II - Sweden - Geography

From Scandinavia, the Goths migrated and set up a kingdom in Scythia ( modern-day Ukraine and Belarus). In the third century, the tribe split into two: the Ostrogoths remained in Scythia, while the Visigoths migrated to Dacia (modern-day Romania) to set up an independent kingdom. The Visigoths sacked Byzantium in the year 267, but by 271, were driven back to Dacia by the Byzantines. Hun domination of the Ostrogoth kingdom began in the fourth century, but was defeated by the year 450. Both the Ostrogoths and Visigoths became heavily Romanized ...

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

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The national parliaments of Iceland, Norway and Denmark all have names that incorporate thing: Alþingi - The Icelandic General Thing Folketing - The Danish People's Thing Storting - The Norwegian Great Thing The parliaments of the self-governing territories of Åland, Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Isle of Man also have names that refer to thing. Lagting - The Åland Law Thing Løgting - The Faroese Law ThingSee also:

Thing assembly, Thing assembly - Viking and medieval society, Thing assembly - National parliaments and current institutions

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Main article: List of rivers of Europe Important rivers of Europe with approximate length: Volga 3,690 km Danube 2,860 km Ural 2,428 km Dnieper 2,290 km Don 1,950 km Pechora 1,809 km Kama 1,805 km Oka 1,500 km Belaya 1,430 km Dniester 1,352 km Rhine 1,320 km Elbe 1,165 km Vistula 1,047 km < ...

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Geography of Europe, Geography of Europe - Geology, Geography of Europe - Rivers, Geography of Europe - Lakes and inland seas, Geography of Europe - Major islands, Geography of Europe - Plains and lowlands, Geography of Europe - Mountain ranges, Geography of Europe - Geography by country

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Main article: List of mountain ranges of Europe Some of Europe's major mountain ranges are: Ural Mountains, which separate Europe and Asia Caucasus Mountains, which also separate Europe and Asia, and is the namesake of the Caucasian race, not to be confused with Caucasian peoples Carpathian Mountains, a major mountain range in Central and Southern Europe Alps, the famous mountains known for their spectacular slopes Apennines, which run through Italy Pyrenees, the natural ...

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Geography of Europe, Geography of Europe - Geology, Geography of Europe - Rivers, Geography of Europe - Lakes and inland seas, Geography of Europe - Major islands, Geography of Europe - Plains and lowlands, Geography of Europe - Mountain ranges, Geography of Europe - Geography by country

Read more here: » Geography of Europe: Encyclopedia II - Geography of Europe - Mountain ranges

Our earliest evidence of Germanic is from names, recorded in the 1st century by Tacitus, and in a single instance in the 2nd century BC, on the Negau helmet. From roughly the 2nd century AD, some speakers of early Germanic dialects developed the Elder Futhark. Early runic inscriptons are also largely limited to personal names, and difficult to interpret. The Gothic language was written in the Gothic alphabet developed by Bishop Ulfilas for his translation of the Bible in the 4th century. Later, Christian priests and monks who spoke and read ...

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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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All Germanic languages are thought to be descended from a hypothetical Proto-Germanic, united by their having been subjected to the sound shifts of Grimm's law and Verner's law. These took place probably during the Pre-Roman Iron Age of Northern Europe from ca. 500 BC, but other common innovations separating Germanic from Proto-Indo European suggest a common history of pre-Proto-Germanic speakers throughout the Nordic Bronze Age. From the time of their earliest attestation, the Germanic dialects are divided into three groups, West, Ea ...

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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

Read more here: » Germanic languages: Encyclopedia II - Germanic languages - History

Götaland is made up of the following ten provinces: Bohuslän Blekinge Dalsland Gotland Halland Skåne Småland Öland Östergötland Västergötland Of these, Skåne, Blekinge and Halland were Danish lands (known as the Scanian lands) until the Treaty of Roskilde ceded them to Sweden in 1658. Fur ...

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Götaland, Götaland - Provinces, Götaland - Geography, Götaland - History

Read more here: » Götaland: Encyclopedia II - Götaland - Provinces

Every Christmas, in Sweden and Norway people traditionally have the Christmas porridge and the whole family is gathered around the table. Still, in many homes, an extra bowl of porridge is served and carried outdoors, because this is a meal shared with the guardian of the homestead, the tomte/nisse, a landwight. In the old days, it was believed that he would leave the homestead if he was not served, an event which would lead to ruin, and so this blót has survived unt ...

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Blót, Blót - Rites and beliefs, Blót - Dates for the blóts, Blót - Locations, Blót - Uppsala Sweden, Blót - Gotland, Blót - Lejre Denmark, Blót - Mære Norway, Blót - Elven blót, Blót - The Völse blót, Blót - Later times, Blót - Sources

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Main articles: Old Uppsala and Temple at Uppsala. The German chronicler Adam of Bremen has described how it was done at the Temple at Uppsala at Old Uppsala in Sweden, ca 1070: Thor was the most powerful god and ruled over thunder and lightning, wind and rain, sunshine and crops. He sat in the centre with a sceptre (Mjolnir) in his hand, and on each side were Odin, the god of war, in full armour and Frey, the god of peace and love, attributed with an enormous erected phallus. All the pagan gods have their priests w ...

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Blót, Blót - Rites and beliefs, Blót - Dates for the blóts, Blót - Locations, Blót - Uppsala Sweden, Blót - Gotland, Blót - Lejre Denmark, Blót - Mære Norway, Blót - Elven blót, Blót - The Völse blót, Blót - Later times, Blót - Sources

Read more here: » Blót: Encyclopedia II - Blót - Uppsala Sweden

Snorri Sturluson relates of a meeting between the peasants of Trøndelag and king Haakon I of Norway, a meeting which ended in a religious feud centered around the blót. Haakon was raised at the Christian English court and had returned to claim the throne of his father Harald Fairhair (the unifier of Norway) and intended to Christianize the country. In spite of the fact that the peasants had elected Haakon king at the Ting they opposed his religious ideas. It was an old custom, that when there was to be sacrifice all the bon ...

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Blót, Blót - Rites and beliefs, Blót - Dates for the blóts, Blót - Locations, Blót - Uppsala Sweden, Blót - Gotland, Blót - Lejre Denmark, Blót - Mære Norway, Blót - Elven blót, Blót - The Völse blót, Blót - Later times, Blót - Sources

Read more here: » Blót: Encyclopedia II - Blót - Mære Norway

The Elven blót was small scale and was celebrated at the homestead and led by its mistress. We don't know much about the rites, since it was surrounded by secrecy and strangers were not welcome during the time of the rituals. However, since the elves were collective powers closely connected with the ancestors we can assume that it had to do with the ancestor cult and the life force of the family. In Austrfaravísur, Sigvatr Þorðarson, the skald of Olaf II of Norway has related an event connected with the blót. Once, ...

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Blót, Blót - Rites and beliefs, Blót - Dates for the blóts, Blót - Locations, Blót - Uppsala Sweden, Blót - Gotland, Blót - Lejre Denmark, Blót - Mære Norway, Blót - Elven blót, Blót - The Völse blót, Blót - Later times, Blót - Sources

Read more here: » Blót: Encyclopedia II - Blót - Elven blót

Several of the terms in the table below have had semantic drift. For example, the form 'Sterben' and other terms for 'die' are cognate with the English word 'starve'. There is also at least one example of a common borrowing from a Non-Germanic source (ounce and its cognates from Latin). 1: The cognate 'epl(i)' means 'potato'. ...

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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

Read more here: » Germanic languages: Encyclopedia II - Germanic languages - Vocabulary comparison

Our only source for early Gothic history is Jordanes' Getica, (published 551), a condensation of the lost twelve-volume history of the Goths written in Italy by Cassiodorus. Jordanes may not even have had the work at hand to consult from, and this early information should be treated with caution. Cassiodorus was well placed to write of Goths, for he was an essential minister of Theodoric the Great, who apparently had heard some of the Gothic songs that told of their traditional origins, related in turn by Jordanes with the remark "for ...

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

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

Khazars - Formation of the Khazar state. Early Khazar history is intimately tied with that of the Gokturk empire, founded when the Ashina clan overthrew the Juan Juan in 552 CE. With the collapse of the Gokturk empire / tribal confederation due to internal conflict in the seventh century, the western half of the Turk empire itself split into two confederations, the Bulgars, led by the Dulo clan, and the Khazars, led by the Ashina clan, the traditional rulers of the Gok Turk empire. By 670, the Khazars had broken the Bulgar confederation, leaving the three Bulgar remnants on the Volg ...

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Khazars, Khazars - Origins and prehistory, Khazars - Tribes, Khazars - Rise, Khazars - Formation of the Khazar state, Khazars - Khazars and Byzantium, Khazars - Second Khazar-Arab war, Khazars - Khazar religion, Khazars - Turkic shamanism, Khazars - Conversion to Judaism and relations with world Jewry, Khazars - Other religions, Khazars - Government, Khazars - Khazar Kingship, Khazars - Army, Khazars - Other officials, Khazars - Judiciary, Khazars - Economic position, Khazars - Trade, Khazars - Khazar coinage, Khazars - Extent of influence, Khazars - Khazar towns, Khazars - Tributary and subject nations, Khazars - Decline and fall, Khazars - Rise of Rus, Khazars - Kabar rebellion and the departure of the Magyars, Khazars - Rus and Byzantine hostility, Khazars - Khazars outside of Khazaria, Khazars - Late references to the Khazars, Khazars - Jewish sources, Khazars - Muslim sources, Khazars - Kievan Rus sources, Khazars - Byzantine Georgian and Armenian sources, Khazars - Western sources, Khazars - Debate, Khazars - Date and extent of the conversion, Khazars - Khazar ancestry of Ashkenazim, Khazars - In Fiction, Khazars - Resources, Khazars - Books written before 1915

Read more here: » Khazars: Encyclopedia II - Khazars - Rise

Khazars - Turkic shamanism. Originally, the Khazars practiced traditional Turkic shamanism, focused on the sky god Tengri, but were heavily influenced by Confucian ideas imported from China, notably that of the Mandate of Heaven. The Ashina clan were considered to be the chosen of Tengri and the kaghan was the incarnation of the favor the sky-god bestowed on the Turks. A kaghan who failed had clearly lost the god's favor and was typically ritually executed. Historians have sometimes wondered, only half in jest, if the Khazar tendency to occasionally execute their rulers on religious grounds le ...

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Khazars, Khazars - Origins and prehistory, Khazars - Tribes, Khazars - Rise, Khazars - Formation of the Khazar state, Khazars - Khazars and Byzantium, Khazars - Second Khazar-Arab war, Khazars - Khazar religion, Khazars - Turkic shamanism, Khazars - Conversion to Judaism and relations with world Jewry, Khazars - Other religions, Khazars - Government, Khazars - Khazar Kingship, Khazars - Army, Khazars - Other officials, Khazars - Judiciary, Khazars - Economic position, Khazars - Trade, Khazars - Khazar coinage, Khazars - Extent of influence, Khazars - Khazar towns, Khazars - Tributary and subject nations, Khazars - Decline and fall, Khazars - Rise of Rus, Khazars - Kabar rebellion and the departure of the Magyars, Khazars - Rus and Byzantine hostility, Khazars - Khazars outside of Khazaria, Khazars - Late references to the Khazars, Khazars - Jewish sources, Khazars - Muslim sources, Khazars - Kievan Rus sources, Khazars - Byzantine Georgian and Armenian sources, Khazars - Western sources, Khazars - Debate, Khazars - Date and extent of the conversion, Khazars - Khazar ancestry of Ashkenazim, Khazars - In Fiction, Khazars - Resources, Khazars - Books written before 1915

Read more here: » Khazars: Encyclopedia II - Khazars - Khazar religion