Sweden

1. Sweden

2. Location Sweden, officiallytheKingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsulain Northern Europe. SwedensharesborderswithNorway to thewest and Finland to the east, and isconnected to Denmark by ØresundBridge.

3. Viking and Middle Ages The Swedish Viking Age lasted roughly between the 8th and 11th centuries. During this period, it is believed that the Swedes expanded from eastern Sweden and incorporated the Geats to the south. It is believed that Swedish Vikings and Gutar mainly travelled east and south, going to Finland, the Baltic countries, Russia, Belarus, Ukrainethe Black Sea and further as far as Baghdad. Their routes passed through the Dnieper down south to Constantinople, on which they did numerous raids. The Byzantine Emperor Theophilosnoticed their great skills in war and invited them to serve as his personal bodyguard, known as the varangian guard. The Swedish Vikings, called "Rus" are also believed to be the founding fathers of Kievan Rus.Theirboatscalledlongboats.

4. Boats of Vikings Conquests of Vikings wouldn't be possible without takingcontrol by them of the ability of the structure of boats supplied with the rectangular sail.The biggest ship of Vikings – longboats – which had over 60 oars.These ships had most often belonged to leaders and theyperformed the formal function in the fleet. During the majority of expeditions smaller boats were being used – snekkary – moving thanks of work 30 - 40 rowers. They could take on the deck including from 40 to 100 warriors

5. TheSwedish National Anthem 1. Dugamla, dufria, dufjällhögaNord,dutysta, duglädjerikasköna!Jag hälsardig, vänaste land uppåjord,din sol, dinhimmel, dinaängdergröna,din sol, dinhimmel, dinaängdergröna. 2. Dutronarpåminnenfrånfornstora dar,dåäratdittnamnflögöverjorden.Jag vet, attduär och dublirvadduvar.Ja, jag villleva, jag villdö i Norden!Ja, jag villleva, jag villdö i Norden! 3. Thouancient, thoufreeborn, thoumountainous North,In beauty and peaceourheartsbeguiling,I greetthee, thouloveliest land on theearth,Thysun, thyskies, thyverdantmeadowssmiling.Thysun, thyskies, thyverdantmeadowssmiling. 4. Thythronerests on mem’riesfrom great days of yore,When worldwide renown was valour’sguerdon.I know to thynamethouarttrue as before.In theeI'll live, intheeI'lldie, thou North Land,In theeI'll live, intheeI'lldie, thou North Land.

6. The Swedish National Anthem and The King's Song 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.

7. Religion At the end of 2009, 71.3% of Swedes belonged to the Church of Sweden (Lutheran); this number has been decreasing by about 1% a year for the last two decades. However, only approximately 2% of the church's members regularly attend Sunday services. Despite a high formal membership rate in the Church of Sweden, some studies have found Sweden to be one of the least religious countries in the world, with one of the highest levels of atheism. According to different studies, between 46% and 85% of Swedes do not believe in God. In the Eurostat survey, 23% of Swedish citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", whereas 53% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 23% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, God, or life force".

8. Music Sweden has a rich musical tradition, ranging from mediaeval folk ballads to hip hop music. The music of the pre-Christian Norse has been lost to history, although historical re-creations have been attempted based on instruments found in Viking sites. ABBA was one of the first internationally well-known popular music bands from Sweden, and still ranks among the most prominent bands in the world, with about 370 million records sold. With ABBA, Sweden entered into a new era, in which Swedish pop music gained international prominence. In 1974 ABBA won Eurovisionwith song „Waterloo”.

9. Abba The group vocal-instrumental, established in 1970. Constitution of the team: F. Lyngstad, and. Fältskog, B. Andersson, B. Ulvaeus (a rhythm section accompanied the quartet on changeable composition). The group achieved the international success in 1974, winning at the Festival of the Eurovision with song Waterloo. The team acted up to the beginning of years 80.

10. Technology In the 18th century Sweden's scientific revolution took off. Previously, technical progress had mainly come from mainland Europe. In 1739, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences was founded, with people such as Carolus Linnaeus and Anders Celsius as early members. Many of the companies founded by early pioneers are still remain major international brands. GustafDalén founded AGA, and received the Nobel Prize for his sun valve. Alfred Nobel invented dynamite and instituted the Nobel Prizes

11. Culture Sweden has many authors of worldwide recognition including August Strindberg, Astrid Lindgren, and Nobel Prizewinners Selma Lagerlöf and Harry Martinson. In total seven Nobel Prizes in Literature have been awarded to Swedes. The nation's most well-known artists are painters such as Carl Larsson and Anders Zorn, and the sculptors Tobias Sergel and Carl Milles. Swedish 20th-century culture is noted by pioneering works in the early days of cinema, with Mauritz Stiller and Victor Sjöström. In the 1920s–1980s, the filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and actors Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman became internationally noted people within cinema. More recently, the films of Lukas Moodysson and LasseHallströmhave received international recognition.

12. Theday of the flag On the turn of the XIX and XX age, in the period of the eruption of romantic national emotions, many enthusiasts wanted Sweden also to have its national holiday. However in the period of the First World War, on one's own initiative, people started getting around the 6 of June as the Day of the Swedish Flag.That day in 1523 Gustaw 1 Waza which broke off the union thrown for the late Middle Ages with Denmark, he wasappointed for the king of Sweden, and in 1809 one of Swedish constitutions was signed

13. Cuisine Swedish cuisine, like that of the other Scandinaviancountries (Denmark, Norway and Finland), was traditionally simple. Fish (particularly herring), meat, potatoes and dairy products played prominent roles. Spices were sparse. Famous dishes include Swedish meatballs, traditionally served with gravy, boiled potatoes and lingonberry jam; pancakes, lutfisk, and Smörgåsbord, or lavish buffet. Akvavit is a popular alcoholic distilled beverage, and the drinking of snaps is of cultural importance. The traditional flat and dry crisp bread has developed into several contemporary variants. Regionally important foods are the surströmming(a fermented fish) in Northern Sweden and eelin Scania in Southern Sweden. Swedish traditional dishes, some of which are many hundreds of years old, others perhaps a century or less, are still a very important part of Swedish everyday meals.

14. Climate Most of Sweden has a temperate climate, despite its northern latitude, with four distinct seasons and mild temperatures throughout the year. The country can be divided into three types of climate; the southernmost part has an oceanic climate the central part has a humid continental climateand the northernmost part has a subarctic climate. However, Sweden is much warmer and drier than other places at a similar latitude, and even somewhat farther south, mainly because of the Gulf Stream.For example, central and southern Sweden has much warmer winters than many parts of Russia, Canada, and the northern United States.[Because of its high latitude, the length of daylight varies greatly. North of the Arctic Circle, the sun never sets for part of each summer, and it never rises for part of each winter. In the capital, Stockholm daylight lasts for more than 18 hours in late June but only around 6 hours in late December. Sweden receives between 1,100 to 1,900 hours of sunshine annually