Stockholm History Tour

 

Parliament Building

As a self-proclaimed history lover, the walking history tour of Stockholm was right up my alley. Our guide, Znid, did an amazing job of making Sweden's long history easy to understand by breaking it into chunks based off of what is in front of us. I also really loved his sense of humor which made the tour even more fun. In American public high schools, Swedish history is not something that is taught so almost all of the information was brand new to me. One of my favorite facts was that in order to maintain the Swedish monarchy, the king had the amazing idea of adopting a 47-year-old French man. This decision led to what would be the biggest war on European soil until World War I. I was also surprised by the general lack of celebration for Sweden's independence. But it makes sense that since it happened so long ago there really is not much to celebrate at this point. The biggest takeaway from the history tour was the love that Sweden has for Gustav II. Lovingly referred to as the 'Lion King" the city is filled with various lion statues and sculptures that honor him. When he died in the 1600s, the church bells rang for a week straight to commemorate his life and what he accomplished for Sweden.

Royal Church