7.3.1 Sweden History: A Chronology Of Important Dates
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This article is from the Nordic countries FAQ, by Antti Lahelma and Johan Olofsson, with numerous contributions by others.
7.3.1 Sweden History: A Chronology Of Important Dates
829 The German bishop Ansgar introduces Christianity to Sweden.
1004 (ca)
Olof Skötkonung was baptized, and made Christianity the official
religion of Sweden. Several pagan kings followed him, though.
1104 With the first bishop of Lund, Scandinavia was made a separate church
province, no longer belonging to Hamburg.
1155 Securing (conquering) of Finland for Catholicism.
1164 A separate arch-bishopric for Sweden was instituted in Uppsala. Until
1152 the archbishop in the Scanian town Lund in Denmark had been the
primate for all of Norden.
1187 Estonians invade and burn Sigtuna.
13th century
The Scanian Law is written down 1210. In the 1220:ies also the Swedish
provinces (landskap) start to write down their landskapslagar. 1240 the
movement has reached Västergötland, and Äldre Västgötalagen is written
down.
1226 Falu copper mine is opened.
1250 Stockholm becomes the capital, after Birka and Sigtuna, founded by
Birger Jarl, earl of Sweden and 1250-1266 guardian for the under age
king Valdemar.
1285 The Swedish king Birger (Ladulås) claims supremacy over Gotland.
1293 Viipuri is established at/as the eastern border of Sweden.
1306 King Birger is imprisoned by his brothers duke Valdemar and duke Erik,
the so called Håtunaleken.
1317 King Birger imprisons his brothers, attempting to let them starve to
death, the so called Nyköpings gästabud, but is forced to escape out of
the country.
1319-1343
Personal union with Norway under king Magnus Eriksson.
1332-1361
Scania, Blekinge & Gotland ruled by the Swedish king after the Scanian
Archbishop and magnates had elected Magnus Eriksson, the king of Sweden
to become also king of the Scanian provinces.
1335 Slavery was abolished.
1344 St. Birgitta (1303-1373), Sweden's most important medieval saint,
starts to write down her Heavenly Revelations and decides to start a
convent in Vadstena. The Brigittine Order exists even today in many
countries.
1350 The Black Death (the Plague)
The first Swedish national law replaced the local landskapslagar.
1361 The Danish king Valdemar Atterdag conquers Gotland.
1397-1521
The Nordic kingdoms are united as the "Kalmar Union", led by Denmark.
1477 Uppsala university founded; the oldest university in the Nordic
countries.
1520 Stockholm blood bath.
1521 Gustav Vasa is elected regent.
1523 Gustav Vasa is elected king of Sweden.
1526 The New Testament and hymnal is printed in the Swedish language - 1541
is the whole Bible ready.
1527 Reformation decided at the diet of Västerås. (Being able to collect
taxes from the Church and pay off national debts had a lot to do with
it).
1542 Nils Dacke leads a rebellion in Småland.
1561 Estonia surrenders to Sweden.
1568 King Erik is imprisoned, and 1577 poisoned.
1593 Lutheranism is confirmed by a Church meeting in Uppsala.
1594-99
The Catholic Sigismund inherits the throne, Sweden in personal union
with Poland.
1600 Linköping's blood bath.
1613 Sweden pays ransom for the fort at Älvsborg, where 1619 Gothenburg is
founded.
1617 Sweden gets the Kexholm province and Ingria ("Ingermanland") in the
peace of Stolbova with Russia.
1629 Poland cedes Livonia to Sweden in the peace of Altmark.
1632 The university in Dorpat is founded.
Gustav II Adolf is killed in the battle of Lützen.
1640 The university in Åbo is founded.
1645 Sweden gets Gotland, Ösel (Saaremaa), Jämtland and Härjedalen from
Denmark in the peace of Brömsebro.
1648 In the peace treaty of Westphalia, Sweden wins the German territories
(Vorpommern, Rügen, Stettin, Wismar, and Bremen-Verden) and becomes a
major power.
1658 The peace treaty of Roskilde gives Sweden Bohuslän and the Scanian
provinces of Skåne, Blekinge and Halland. Bornholm is returned to
Denmark after an uprising 1660. The Swedish territory of today is
thereby collected.
1668 The university in Lund is founded.
1671-1675
Nobel masters have right to sentence their employees.
1676 The battle at Lund
1679 Gotland is annected by Sweden.
1697 The Stockholm Castle ("Three Crowns") burns down.
1700-21
The Great Northern War, with the battles at Narva 1700 and Poltava
1709. Sweden loses most of the German and all of the Baltic
territories. The power shifts from the king to the estates.
1742 The estates confirm the democratic forms for decisions at the village
meeting.
Celsius designs a thermometer.
1757 Storskifte, first reform of Swedish farming decided.
1766 The liberty of Press and "Offentlighetsprincipen" was declared as
constitution.
1771 Scheele discovers oxygen.
1772 Gustav III performs a coup and restores absolute monarchy.
1773 Torture is abolished in Sweden.
1778 Freedom of religion for aliens.
1790-91
Bellman publishes Fredman collections.
1792 Gustav III is assassinated at a masked ball.
1807 Enskifte, grand reform of Swedish farming decided. Villages were split
into separate farms, so farmers came to live closer to their land, more
distant from their neighbors.
1808-09
The War of Finland: the whole of Finland (extended also by a part of
the Swedish county Norrbotten) was joined to Russia. A new constitution
is written that puts an end to autocracy. "Offentlighetsprincipen" and
freedom of press get restored.
1810 One of Napoleon's generals, Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, is elected as the
heir to throne. Despite this Sweden joins the British-led anti-Napoleon
alliance. In 1818, he becomes king Carl XIV Johan.
1810-1832
Göta Kanal is built across Sweden from Söderköping to Gothenburg.
1814-1905
Personal-union between Norway and Sweden.
1841 The parish meetings are reformed by law. It's settled that also
craftsmen, tradesmen and industrial workers should have right to vote
(if they earn enough).
1842 A national compulsory public education system, "Folkskolan", is
introduced, and is to be administrated by the parishes, followed 1843
by law on municipal self rule.
1845 Daughters get equal rights as sons to inherit land.
1848 The first Swedish Free Church congregation and baptizing.
1853 Electric telegraph between Stockholm and Uppsala.
1856 Railroad between Örebro and Ervalla.
1858 The prohibition of religious meetings in the absence of a state church
priest is abolished. 1860 it became allowed for Swedish citizens to
switch religious affiliation from the State Church to certain other
approved (Christian) Churches.
1859 Feminist pioneer Fredrika Bremer publishes Hertha.
1864 The estates refuse to live up to the promise by the king to support
Denmark when attacked by Prussia.
The obligation to yearly communion is abolished.
1866 The parliament is reformed. The system of the four estates is abandoned
and a new system of two chambers is introduced. The right to vote
remains dependent on income and gender.
1871 The parish meeting is reformed, majority decisions are enforced instead
of the former tradition of consensus, disciplinary matters are to be
decided by a committee.
1873-1914
Nordic currency and postal union.
1878 The metric system is introduced.
1896 Hjalmar Branting is elected the first Social Democrat in parliament.
1901 First Nobel Prize award.
The universal military service is organized. All men become trained for
defense of the country.
1902 Railroad from Narvik at the Norwegian coast to Kiruna where iron ore
mines get exploit.
1905 Norway declares itself independent of the Swedish king.
1906 Major spelling reform.
1907 Men get equal rights to vote.
1909 Strike by 300'000 Swedish workers, but no revolution.
1913 Law on public pension.
1918 A Swedish troop of 600 man intervene on Åland, attempting to mediate
when the civil war of Finland led to Finnish troops fighting on Åland.
The Finnish and Swedish troops leave after a German fleet had
approached.
1919 Law on eight hours workday (six days a week).
1921 Women get rights to vote equal to men.
1923 A proposition to prohibit alcoholic beverages is narrowly defeated in a
referendum.
1948 Count Folke Bernadotte was assassinated in Jerusalem by a Jewish
terrorist organization (lead by Yitzhak Shamir) when mediating between
Jews and Arabs.
1951 General right for members of the state Church to submit one's
resignation. General freedom of religion for Swedish citizen.
1953 A Swedish computer, BESK, is for a time the fastest in the world.
1957 A referendum supports a Social Democratic proposal for mandatory
participation in a retiring allowance scheme with minimal funds. The
alternative was a voluntary funding system. 40 years later a mandatory
funding system is decided.
1961 ?
The aircraft of Dag Hammarskjöld, the UN secretary general, is shot
down during mediating in Africa.
1971 The Riksdag becomes unicameral. The king loses his political influence
(including. formation of the cabinet). Parliamentarism is written into
the constitution.
1979 Referendum says nuclear power is to be liquidated.
1981 A Russian submarine runs aground in the Blekinge archipelago.
1986 The prime minister Olof Palme is assassinated Feb 28.
April 26th nuclear radiation is discovered outside of the nuclear plant
Forsmark to the north of Stockholm. After some time it turns out to
come from Ukraine, but large areas of Sweden are struck, with slaughter
of reindeers and restrictions against using wild berries and mushrooms
for many following years.
1994 The ferry Estonia sank in Åland's sea. About 900 drowned.
A referendum supports joining of the European Union.
As of January 1st 1995 Sweden became a full member of the EU.
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