A site for people interested in Sweden and swedish genealogy. Maybe you have swedish roots and want to explore your family history?
If you want some help in your genealogy, visit www.lommabukten.se
"Princess Lilian died peacefully during the afternoon in her home on Djurgården inStockholm," the statement read.
Roger Lundgren, royal expert and editor of Kungliga Magazine called Princess Lilian a "beloved royal" who was "very, very close" with the royal family.
"She was the grandmother the royal children never had, that's what Lilian was. All of them just adored her," he told the TT news agency.
Princess Lilian was born on August 30th, 1915 in Swansea, South Wales. She had a first marriage to actor Ivan Craig which ended in divorce in 1945.
She worked as a fashion model before taking a job in a factory during in the early years of World War II.
The text of the Swedish national anthem, "Du gamla, Du fria," was written by folklorist and ballad writer Richard Dybeck (1811-77) and set to a folk tune from the province of Västmanland in the middle of the 19th century. By the end of the century, the song was so popular that it became the Swedish national anthem. Although the Swedish constitution makes no mention of a national anthem, Du gamla, Du fria enjoys universal recognition and is used, for example, at government ceremonies as well as sporting events. It first began to win recognition as a patriotic song in the 1890s, and the issue of its status was debated back and forth up until the 1930s. In 1938, the Swedish public service radio company Sveriges Radio started playing it at the end of transmitting in the evenings, which marked the beginning of the de facto status as national anthem the song has had since.
Despite a widespread belief that it was adopted as the national anthem in 1866, no such recognition has ever been officially accorded. A kind of official recognition was when the King Oscar II rose in honour when the song was played, the first time in 1893. In 2000 a Riksdag committee rejected, as "unnecessary", a proposal to give the song legally official status. However, there have since been repeated motions with a similar intent.
Richard Dybeck wrote the original lyrics in 1844.
The original lyrics were written by Richard Dybeck in 1844, to the melody of a variant of the ballad Kärestans död.
Dybeck himself originally wrote the beginning as "Du gamla, Du friska" (Thou ancient, Thou hale), but in the late 1850s personally changed the lyrics to "Du gamla, Du fria" (Thou ancient, Thou free). The song was already published in several song books and sung with "Du gamla, Du friska", but a priest who had known Dybeck got the opportunity to tell the singer most associated with the song, opera singer Carl Fredrik Lundqvist, about the change in the year 1900. From that point on, printings of the "friska" version ceased to be seen in song books.
While the Scandinavist Richard Dybeck originally wrote the text with reference to the three Nordic kingdoms, later it was thought to apply mainly to the two united kingdoms Sweden and Norway. However, the union under the Bernadotte dynasty was considerably more popular in Sweden than in Norway. The royal family and the circles around them were among the most strong adherents of the union, which may explain the popularity of the anthem in these circles. In 1905, the Swedish-Norwegian union was dissolved. Since then, in general, in this anthem, the word "norden" is interpreted as a synonym of "Sweden".
By the early 20th century, many regarded the song unsuitable as a national anthem. In the 1890s it started getting printed in song books in the section for patriotic songs, but as late as in the 1920s it was occasionally published just as "folk music". In 1899 a contest was held for writing a national anthem. It led to Verner von Heidenstam writing his "Sverige", but did not lead to any new national anthem.
Patriotic sentiment is notably absent from the text of the original two verses, due to them being written in the spirit of Scandinavismpopular at the time (Norden in general refers to the Nordic countries in Swedish, Norwegian and Danish). After the song started to acquire its informal status as the national anthem, various people wrote additional verses to increase the "Swedishness" of the song. Louise Ahlén wrote two verses which are occasionally printed still to this day, not the least lately on the Internet. For a long time, they were very seldom published, and are still largely unknown to the public; however, recently they have become popular in Swedish extreme nationalistic circles.
Instrumental performances tend to differ from the original version in one of the following aspects or both: the last line of the melody is often played once first as an introduction, and furthermore, many instrumental recordings are of only one verse. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du_gamla,_Du_fria
Gustavus Adolphus Day is a theme day which is celebrated on November 6 in memory of Gustavus Adolphus's death in 1632, and is a public flag day in Sweden. Gustavus Adolphus was killed in the Battle of Lützen, which was the sixth november ac...
cording to the Julian calendar, according to the Gregorian calendar was the date of 16 november.
The day has been celebrated since the early 1800's and is still popular especially in Göteborg. To celebrate you are eating Gustavus Adolphus pastries. The day is also celebrated in Finland under the name Swedish day.
Gustav II Adolf was born in 1594. He was the son of Karl IX and his wife
Kristina of Holstein-Gottorp. He married Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg who gave
birth to a daughter who later would become Queen Kristina of Sweden.
His
relations to the Swedish aristocracy were very good. The aristocracy had
strengthened its power position after the death of Karl IX. For instance, the
King had to consult the Council of Aristocrats before initiating or ending a
war. During his regime, many aristocrats were awarded estates in conquered
territories, and others were able to buy land, originally belonging to the
state. The good relations between the King and the aristocracy created a stable
political climate.
During Gustav II Adolf´s period as king, a number of
new cities were built, among them the most important, Göteborg. Today you can se
the statue of the king on Gustav II Adolf square.
As King, he
immediately had to deal with a war against Denmark. In this war the Danes, among
other things, occupied the fortress of Älvsborg in Göteborg. The Swedish state
had to pay a ransom to get it back. During the 30 Years War, Gustav II Adolf
personally led his troops in Germany. At Breitenfelt in 1631, he won a great
victory in spite of numerical inferiority. However, one year later, in 1632 , he
was killed in the Battle of Lützen. In the peace of Westfalia in 1648, Sweden
was established as a Great Power.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics to Professor Serge Haroche of France and Professor David Wineland of the U.S. for their "groundbreaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems."
The moose is common all over Sweden, except for on Gotland. It is the largest deer animal in the world, 2 metres in height and weighing up to 400-500 kilograms. Show more
The moose is common all over Sweden, except for on Gotland. It is the largest deer animal in the world, 2 metres in height and weighing up to 400-500 kilograms.
Sweden has a very large population with about 250,000 moose, that makes Sweden the country with the highest density in the world. There are good chances of getting to see moose in the wild, and there are both guided tours and special Moose parks for visitors interested in meeting the King of the Forest. The fact that the moose is very common and also a very large animal is also a great security problem on the Swedish roads. Warning signs are put up along extra frequent crossovers and, fences protect the main highways.
Swedish food sales in the UK have
risen by almost 30% in the past five years, with Norway and Denmark also
reporting an increase in exports destined for our dining tables. So why is
Scandinavian cuisine getting so popular here?
It began with the warm, creamy, cut-price meatballs designed to fuel
flat-pack furniture fans seeking a break from the aisles of Ikea. But over the
past few years Scandinavian cuisine has been spreading beyond Britain's retail
parks and creeping into supermarkets and restaurants. By Maddy SavageBBC News
The new Swedish movie “The Hypnotist”, based on a thriller in the Stieg Larsson
Millennium tradition, is this year’s Swedish entry for nomination as the Best
Foreign Film at the Academy Awards, but attracting even more attention is the
fact that it is directed by Lasse Hallström, filming again in Sweden for the
first time in 25 years.
In fall the forests in Sweden are filled with muschrooms of all sorts. . The Right of public access allows people to roam the woods in search of their favourite mushroom.
Right of public access
The Right of Public Access is a unique institution. It gives us all the freedom to roam the countryside. But we must also take care of nature and wildlife, and we must show consideration for landowners and for other people enjoying the countryside. In other words: Don’t disturb – don’t destroy! In protected areas such as national parks and nature reserves there are special rules designed to protect valuable natural and cultural features. Some rules restrict the Right of Public Access, others expand it.
The name "Viking"
origin is probably the Swedish word for bay, "vik". This shows the close
connection between the people and the sea. The Vikings are often considered wild, drunken, merciless robbers. In
fact, their main occupation was farming and trade. The Viking expeditions were
mostly trade expeditions that sometimes degenerated to looting. But to be
honest, there were also expeditions whose main purpose was to loot foreign
coastal regions.
The Swedish vikings went mostly eastwards into Russia and
further on to Byzantium and the Caliphate. You can find runestones and archaeological
artefacts in several places in Sweden A special place is Birka. Birka was a trade centres situated on an island in Lake Mälaren, not far from modern day Stockholm.
Source:sverigeturism.se
Birka was a thriving marketplace and international harbour in the 700´s and one can still see remnants of those glory days. Birka can today be found on the UNESCO World heritage list.
Photo: Ola Ericson/imagebank.sweden.se
The gods lived in a place Asgård. The humans lived in Midgård,
and the giants in Jotunheim. These places was the world and they were situated in the world tree, an
ash tree called Yggdrasil. The highest god was Oden, the lord of gods and
humans.
Of course the Vikings went to battles. When they died Oden took the fallen Vikings to the wonderful place Valhall on his eight leged horse
"Sleipner". He also gave the Vikings a wonderful dinner, where the pigSärimner was slaughtered, theyate him with great appetitealong withthe drinkmead.The next morningthe pigreappearedagain soitcould againbe slaughteredfor the evening
Other gods were Frö sometimes called Frej. He was the god of love and fertility and Fröja/Freja was
the goddess of love and fertility. The most famous god is
Tor, the mightiest warrior of them all. He was the god of thunder and had a
hammer called "Mjölner" which, like a boomerang, returned to his hand after he
had thrown it.
The patronymic naming system was used up to the end of the 19th
century. 90 and 95% of the population used the patronymic
naming system. Every child was eighter the son of or the daughter of the father. If the
father’s name was Anders Eriksson, his son’s name might be Lars Andersson. Anders son = son of Anders. The daughter might that way be named Kersti Andersdotter, Anders dotter= Daughter of Anders. When she was married, she did not adopt her
husband’s name, but kept her patronymic.
Surnames or family names were used by the nobility, the clergy. The nobility had special noble name often used with a prefix as af, von or de. Less than 1% of the population was nobility. Many of the clergy took names with Greek or Latin endings such as "ander" or "ius" often in combination with the place the origin. Examples of names used by the clergy are Fallander and Morelius.
Soldiers and some townspeople adopted family names often from the nature. A military name could for example be associated with the place where the person served.These
names usually would consist of two parts of nature such as Dalberg. Dal
= valley and berg =mountain. If the soldiers didn´t get a nature name they were also very often given names that represented a personal quality like Rapp= quick, or Nöjd = satisfied When leaving
the military service, some soldiers did keep their military name while some
returned to using their patronymic name. When the emigrant moved to a new country, he or she often changed their name.
If they emigrated to English speaking countries, the name was often Anglicized.
Married women would adopt their husband’s surname. Examples of name changes
are:
1. Andersson Anderson (The double s becomes one s.)
2. Bengtsson Benson, Bentson
3. Johansson Johnson
4. Sjöberg Seaberg or Seeberg
It is very important to understand that the name and spelling of a name for
one individual can differ in the various records. It is important to compare
birth dates and other family information to verify that you are tracing the
correct person.
The kurbits paintings places of origin The painting started in Leksand and Rättvik around 1780 and during the 19 th century it was even practised in Mora. The trade was carried out by church decorators, school teachers, soldiers etc, but sometimes because of different kinds of disability, people chose painting as a way of earning a living.
The typical kurbits looks like a vase which explodes into firework display of flowers and petals, the painters were self taught using a style which was both charmingly naïve and colourful.
Öresund- the strait between Sweden and Denmark. Today you can cross by the bridge between Malmö and Copenhagen or go by boat between Helsingborg and Helsinghör
Finding out about your heritage is incredible fun and interesting ! Imagine being able to tell your children and grandchildren about your family's origin! Maybe you´re about doing a trip to Sweden anv want some help making a rout in the steps of your ancestors
You may not have the time and knowledge as necessary as well as language being a barrier. This is where I can help you in this exciting journey! Read more!
