Sweden

Discover Sweden

Fun Foods

Köttbullar (Swedish Meatballs), Gravlax, Toast Skagen, Pyttipanna, Kanelbullar, Prinsesstårta

On August 10, 1628, crowds lined Stockholm’s harbor to watch Sweden’s mighty new warship, the Vasa, set sail for the first time.

It had sailed only about 1,300 meters (less than a mile) when a gust of wind tipped it over. Water rushed in through the open cannon holes, and the Vasa sank right in front of everyone.

The ship was beautiful but top-heavy, with too much weight up high and not enough down low. The king was furious.

For more than 300 years, the Vasa lay at the bottom of the harbor, until divers raised it in 1961.

The cold, dark water of the Baltic Sea had kept the wood from rotting. Today the Vasa is the best-preserved 17th-century ship in the world.

More than 98% of what you see is original, right down to hundreds of carved sculptures.

The Vasa was named after Sweden’s most famous royal family. Back in the 1500s, Sweden was part of a union ruled by Denmark.

A young noble named Gustav Vasa led a rebellion, and in 1523 he was crowned king of an independent Sweden.

Sweden grew into a powerful kingdom, then decided to stay out of wars. It hasn’t fought one since 1814.

During World War II, Sweden stayed neutral, but it also sold iron ore to Nazi Germany. Later in the war, in 1943, it took in about 7,000 Danish Jews fleeing the Nazis.

After more than 200 years of staying out of military alliances, Sweden joined NATO in March 2024.

Sweden also has a painful history with the Sámi, the Indigenous people of the far north who traditionally herd reindeer. For centuries, the government took Sámi land and forced them to give up their beliefs.

Many Sámi children were sent to “nomad schools,” away from their families, and punished for speaking their own language.

In 1922, Sweden opened the world’s first state institute for “racial biology,” which studied Sámi people as if they were lesser. In 2026, a national truth commission urged the government to apologize and pay compensation.

For adventures, see the Vasa at its museum in Stockholm, where kids get in free.

Then head 200 kilometers (125 miles) north of the Arctic Circle to Jukkasjärvi to visit the Icehotel, rebuilt every winter from blocks of ice cut from the frozen Torne River.

Even the beds are made of ice, and in the morning, staff wake guests with hot lingonberry juice. Up north, go husky sledding and watch the northern lights dance across the sky.

For food, try Swedish meatballs with creamy gravy, mashed potatoes, and sweet-tart lingonberry jam.

And join a fika, Sweden’s favorite break, when friends and families stop for coffee or juice and a warm kanelbulle, a swirly cinnamon bun.

Sources: Visit Stockholm: The Vasa Museum, Wikipedia: Swedish Neutrality, and Justice Info (AFP): Truth Commission Demands Compensation for Sweden’s Sámi.