Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [7]
Cycling the Gotlandsleden is an ideal way to see the best of this idyllic island, from sandy beaches to medieval churches.
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TAILORED TRIPS
WORLD HERITAGE SITES
Culture hounds might enjoy a quest to see the best of Sweden as defined by Unesco. To start there’s the vast Laponia area in the north, an entire journey’s worth of territory on its own. Working your way down, there’s Gammelstad church village in Luleå. Höga Kusten (High Coast; ) decorates the coastline from Härnosand to Örnsköldsvik. In Falun there’s the Falu Kopparbergsgruva, and the nearby picnic-friendly Engelsberg Bruk. In the suburbs of Stockholm you’ll find the royal palace and grounds of Drottningholm, plus the unlikely beauty of the Skogskyrkogården cemetery. Also near the capital is the ancient Viking settlement of Birka. Moving south, there’s Tanumshede rock carvings and the well-preserved naval port of Karlskrona. Off the coast are the Hanseatic town of Visby on Gotland and the agricultural landscape of southern Öland. There’s also the historic Varberg Radio Station in Grimeton.
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ACTIVITIES
Outdoorsy types are spoilt for choice in Sweden. There’s excellent hiking and camping many of the country’s national parks, especially Abisko, as well as the more challenging territory of Sarek National Park, and the intermediate Padjelantaleden and Skuleskogen. Closer to Stockholm is the very accessible wilderness of Tyresta.
Cycling is another popular activity, and Sweden is well set up for it. The best areas are found in Skåne and Gotland ; see the cycle tour of Gotlandsleden (opposite) for one suggestion.
For diving, rock climbing and caving, head south to Kullaberg Nature Reserve.
Wintertime brings another batch of activities to the sporting crowd, most notably alpine skiing in resorts such as Åre, Sälen, Hemavan and Riksgränsen. Cross-country skiing is popular along the hiking trail Kungsleden and other long-distance tracks.
Ice skating is a popular activity for kids and adults alike, and it’s easy to do on the frozen winter surfaces of Kung-strädgården and other public areas in Stockholm.
Golf is huge in Sweden – there are more than 400 courses to choose from. The most popular options are in the south, but the quirkier choices are up north, including Björkliden, near Abisko – home to the country’s northernmost course, 240km above the Arctic Circle – and the Green Line Golf Course at Haparanda, where playing a round means repeatedly crossing the Sweden–Finland border.
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History
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EARLY HISTORY
VIKINGS & THE ARRIVAL OF CHRISTIANITY
RISE OF THE SWEDISH STATE
HANSEATIC LEAGUE & THE UNION OF KALMAR
VASA DYNASTY
PEAK & DECLINE OF THE SWEDISH EMPIRE
LIBERALISATION OF SWEDEN
INDUSTRIALISATION
WORLD WARS & THE WELFARE STATE
MODERN SWEDEN
TIMELINE
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EARLY HISTORY
Sweden’s human history began around 10,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age, once the Scandinavian ice sheet had melted. Tribes from central Europe migrated into the south of Sweden, and ancestors of the Sami people hunted reindeer from Siberia into the northern regions.
These nomadic Stone Age hunter-gatherers gradually made more permanent settlements, keeping animals, catching fish and growing crops. A typical relic of this period (3000 BC to 1800 BC) is the gångrift: a dolmen or rectangular passage-tomb covered with capstones, then a mound of earth. Pottery, amber beads and valuable flint tools were buried with the dead. The island of Öland, in southeast Sweden, is a good place to see clusters of Stone Age