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Sweden

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Sweden

BACKGROUND

Information: A country.

Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country on the Baltic Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north and Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge-tunnel.

Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats (Swedish Götar) and Swedes (Svear) and constituting the sea peoples known as the Norsemen.

The Swedish Viking Age lasted roughly from the 8th century to the 11th century. It is believed that Swedish Vikings and Gutar mainly travelled east and south, going to Finland, the Baltic countries, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Black Sea and even as far as Baghdad, Iraq.

Sweden was officially neutral during World War I, although, under German pressure, they did take steps which were detrimental to the Allied powers, thus closing it to Allied shipping, and allowing the Germany to use Swedish facilities and the Swedish cipher to transmit secret messages to their overseas embassies. As in the first world war, Sweden remained officially neutral during World War II, although its neutrality during World War II has been disputed. Sweden was under German influence for much of the war, as ties to the rest of the world were cut off through blockades. The Swedish government felt that it was in no position to openly contest Germany, and therefore made some concessions.

In recent decades Sweden has become a more culturally diverse nation due to significant immigration. The influx of immigrants has brought new social challenges.

National Dances: Polska, Hambo

Location: Scandinavia

Language: Swedish

Religion: Church of Sweden


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