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| Sunday, 30 October 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
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Sweden : Fourth largest country in Europe
Stockholm is Sweden's capital and largest city. Sweden falls into two main geographical regions: the north (Norrland), comprising about two thirds of the country, which is mountainous and the south (Svealand and Gotaland), which is mostly low-lying and where most of the population lives. About 65 per cent of Sweden's land area is forested. Along Sweden's rocky coast,comprising bays and inlets, are many islands, the largest of which are Gotland and Oland. The great majority of the nation's population speaks Swedish and is descended from Scandinavian tribes; there is a sizable Finnish-speaking minority and a small Lapp-speaking minority. About 12 per cent of the population is foreign born. The educational and cultural level in Sweden is high, and the school system is outstanding. There are universities at Goteborg, Karlstad, Linkoping, Lund, Orebro, Stockholm, Umea, Uppsala, and Vaxjo. The Nobel Prizes (except the Peace Prize) are awarded annually in Sweden. The southern part of Sweden is the most densely (heavily) populated and is inhabited by people called Scanians, a kind of Swedish-speaking Dane. They are proud to tell you that they were once a part of Denmark and that they have absolutely nothing in common with the rest of the country. Indeed they are geographically closer to Berlin than to Stockholm. The southern part of Sweden is the gateway to Europe and the rest of the world. The north of Sweden is inhabited by northerners (Norrlanningar) and the Sami (Laplanders), an ancient hunting and fishing nomadic people who live in tents and speak a Finno-Urgic language they themselves can hardly understand. Norrland, as this area is called, stretches across 60 per cent of Sweden and is not very populated that the inhabitants hardly ever meet anyone to talk to. In central Sweden lies the capital, Stockholm. Stockholm is inhabited by 'zero eights', so called because of their telephone area codes. The exact age of the Swedish Flag is not known, but the oldest recorded pictures of a blue cloth with a yellow cross date from the 16th century. As decreed in a royal warrant of 1569, the yellow cross was always to be borne on Swedish battle standards and banners, as the Swedish Coat of Arms was blue divided quarterly by a cross of gold. The design of the Swedish flag is probably taken from the Danish flag, and its blue and yellow colours possibly come from the Coat of Arms. Since 1916, June 6 has been celebrated as the Swedish Flag Day. This finally also became Sweden's National Day in 1983. The Swedish national anthem
National Coats of Arms As laid down in the National Coats of Arms Act of 1982, Sweden has two Coats of Arms, the Lesser and the Greater.The Lesser Coat of Arms, the one more frequently used, is blue with three crowns of gold, two over one. The Greater Coat of Arms is that of the monarch, and is used on special occasions by the Government and by Parliament. Alfred Nobel and the Nobel prizes The Nobel Prizes, awarded annually in Stockholm, Sweden and Oslo, Norway, are internationally recognised as the world's most coveted civil honours. They were created by Alfred Nobel, tireless Swedish inventor and global industrial magnate, linguist, philosopher and humanist. **** National name: Konungariket Sverige Sovereign: King Carl XVI Gustaf (1973) Prime Minister: Goran Persson (1996) Capital and largest city: Stockholm Monetary unit: Krona Language: Swedish, small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities Population : 9,001,774 Ethnicity/race: indigenous. Swedes and Finnish and Sami minorities; foreign-born or first-generation immigrants: Finns, Yugoslavs, Danes, Norwegians, Greeks, Turks Religions: Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Muslim, Jewish,
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Sweden is officially known as the Kingdom of Sweden and occupies the
eastern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula. It is the fourth largest
country in Europe. 
The text of "Du gamla, Du fria" was written by folklorist and ballad
writer Richard Dybeck (1811-77) and set to a folk melody from the province
of Vastmanland in the middle of the 19th century. Around the turn of the
century it started to be sung more frequently, and in the course of time
it has come to be regarded as the Swedish national anthem 
