The 500 Years Anniversary of Swedish Independence

I am originally from Sweden, but I’ve lived in Texas for more than 20 years and in the US for 30 years. Therefore, I forgot June 6, which is the Swedish National Day. It is still June 6 in California and Hawaii but not in Texas and certainly not in Sweden, so I am a day late. I forgot. A blogger who isn’t even Swedish incidentally reminded me. It is also a special National Day because it is the 500-year anniversary of Sweden’s independence from Denmark.

Image showing the Swedish flag. It is yellow and blue. From Wikimedia commons.
Swedish Flag

Christian the Tyrant, or as the Danes call him Christian the Good, was a very bad man who chopped people’s heads off. The Danish version of history is that Christian the Good was a very good man who tried to save the Union. He still chopped off heads though. Luckily, we had this guy Gustav Vasa (or Gustav Wasa) who resisted, and he became king of Sweden on June 6, 1523, which is 500 years ago. He was also really good at skiing.

Portrait of Gustav Vasa of Sweden (from Wikipedia Commons).
Portrait of Gustav Vasa (from Wikipedia Commons).

Therefore, I have decided to post a couple of photos of the only Swedish Leonberger I’ve ever met personally, I haven’t been back to Sweden a lot. Her name is Amie, and she is from my neck of the woods, the high coast in northern Sweden. We met her at the top of a mountain, called the Skule mountain. Therefore, she is also the only Leonberger mountaineer I’ve ever met. To check out my original Amie post click here.

A female Leonberger standing on top of a bench on top of a mountain
Amie at the top of the Skule Mountain.
A female Leonberger standing on top of a bench on top of a mountain
Amie was playful but very well behaved.

Amie was very happy and playful despite having climbed a mountain. Below is what Amie and we saw from the mountaintop.

View from mountain top showing bays, fjords, mountains in the High Coast.
View from the Skule Mountain top (skull mountain).

I am also posting a few more photos from Sweden.

My three kids around an ice table in the lobby of the ice hotel in northern Sweden.
My kids at the ice hotel in northern Sweden (Jukkasjärvi).
My wife Claudia and our three kids in a dogsled.
My wife and kids getting ready for a dogsled tour in northern Sweden
Photo of a dogsled with 8 dogs. My wife and kids are on the sled in the back.
The dog sled. My wife and kids in the back.

One thing that is pretty unique about Sweden is the different concept of private property. You can own the fruits of property, a farmer’s field, a mine, but the land belongs to everyone regardless of who owns it. Well almost everywhere, there are a few exceptions such as military reservations and you have stay at least 200 meters away from dwellings. It’s called “Allemansrätten”, or all-peoples-right translated roughly. This means that you can walk, hike, camp, pick berries and mushrooms, etc., anywhere without having to worry about trespassing. You just can’t walk off with the gold from a goldmine or a farmer’s crop. This is very different from how it works in Texas. However, everyone in Sweden love it and we certainly take advantage of it when we visit. In the picture below we were hiking, and we stopped at this small forest lake and someone had hung a tire from a branch.

My son is jumping off a tire hanging from a branch and into a forest lake
My son is jumping off a tire into a forest lake.
The guard at Stockholm Castle and my kids
The guard by Stockholm Castle and my kids

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Author: thomasstigwikman

My name is Thomas Wikman. I am a software/robotics engineer with a background in physics. I am currently retired. I took early retirement. I am a dog lover, and especially a Leonberger lover, a home brewer, craft beer enthusiast, I’m learning French, and I am an avid reader. I live in Dallas, Texas, but I am originally from Sweden. I am married to Claudia, and we have three children. I have two blogs. The first feature the crazy adventures of our Leonberger Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle as well as information on Leonbergers. The second blog, superfactful, feature information and facts I think are very interesting. With this blog I would like to create a list of facts that are accepted as true among the experts of the field and yet disputed amongst the public or highly surprising. These facts are special and in lieu of a better word I call them super-facts.

49 thoughts on “The 500 Years Anniversary of Swedish Independence”

      1. It’s Maggie, her dad, my great grandfather, was a miner. They lived in Malmberget. I’m not sure I want to go there exactly! They moved to a small mining town in Canada when she was a child. But I’d love to see that part of my heritage.

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    2. I’ve been to Gällivare / Malmberget. I did part of my Swedish Army service there. It might not be the most exciting place to visit but it just a little bit more than hour drive to the Ice hotel in Jukkasjärvi, which I featured above. The Ice hotel is a fun place.

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  2. Wonderful you share your Swedish National Day. Nice your knowledge & experience. Wonderful your kids photography. Beautiful your son jumping off tire into a forest Lake. I like. I inspiring. Beautiful Amie picture.

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  3. Cool stories, though hearing about chopping people’s heads off always freaks me out!
    Your children are absolutely adorable!!! The dog sleigh and ice castles seem like so much fun!

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    1. Yes they could be pretty brutal back in renaissance times. Thank you so much for your kind comment Maryanne. My children are all grown up now and the oldest is getting married next Saturday.

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  6. Hi Thomas, my knowledge of Norway is limited to what Roald Dahl wrote in The Witches. But, I do know about the Ice Hotel and your family is fortunate to have visited it. I started your book last night and I am loving it. You have a lovely natural writing style.

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    1. Wow that is so nice of you to say Roberta. Coming from you that means something. Thank you so much Roberta. I should mention it is Sweden. Norway is next doors and they have even more beautiful mountains.

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      1. Oh sorry, Thomas, that was quite silly of me. I do know the difference between Norway and Sweden and it is Norway that Dahl mentions in his book. I don’t think I’ve read a book that involves Sweden then. I’ll have to look for one.

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    2. Thank you Roberta, Norway/Sweden, it is almost the same place and language (I get that language for free without studying it), and they used to be the same country for a while. Swedish books that comes to mind right now is the Stieg Larson trilogy, the girl with the dragon tattoo, etc., and the Astrid Lindgren children’s books, Pippi Long stocking and Emil in Lönneberga.

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    1. Thank you Rosaliene. Yes I was just reading about the fact that “Allemansrätten” is a major tourist attraction for Sweden because a lot of other Europeans come to visit of it. They too can roam around, hike, camp, fish in lakes, and pick any amount of berries (as long as aren’t farmed) anywhere they like in Sweden. The country is open to everyone.

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  16. You liked I liked back! So cool as I too am a dog person. I had a chance to work in an ice house long ago. It was surprisingly warm and my tools would melt into the floor which would heal almost immediately. Congrats on the pending marriage.

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    1. Thank you ryinger. Nice to meet and thank you for the marriage congrats. I should say the ice hotel had to stay below minus eight degrees Celsius at all times, or the ice would soften, so it was pretty cold. Well that depends on ones perspective of cold.

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  17. This was a very great article, especially talking about a piece of Swedish history that I found interesting. The European Nordic countries have a very fascinating and rich history and I would love to visit them one day.

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  18. Pingback: Gustav Vasa – Super Facts

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