Era of Great Power & Gustav Vasa (1523–1718)
Modern Swedish history begins with Gustav Vasa (1496–1560), the founder of the Swedish nation-state. In 1520, the Danish King Christian II had over 80 Swedish nobles executed at the Stockholm Stortorget (the "Stockholm Bloodbath" — → Chap. Stockholm, Gamla Stan). Gustav Vasa, a young noble who escaped the massacre, fled to Dalarna and tried to incite the peasants to revolt. Initially, he failed — disappointed, he set off on skis toward Norway. But the Dala peasants changed their minds and sent their fastest skiers after him. They caught up with him in Sälen, and Gustav turned back to lead the uprising.
This episode is celebrated every year with the Vasaloppet — the oldest and longest cross-country ski race in the world (90 km from Sälen to Mora, since 1922, with over 15,000 participants). Gustav expelled the Danes and was elected king in 1523 — the 6th of June (his coronation day) remains Sweden's national holiday to this day.
Gustav Vasa fundamentally reformed Sweden: He introduced the Reformation (Lutheran, 1527 — mainly to confiscate the rich church property), centralized administration, built up an army and navy, and made Sweden a modern state. He ruled for 37 years with an iron hand, married three times, and had eleven children. He is considered the "Father of the Fatherland" — and was probably a rather unpleasant person.
The Era of Great Power (Stormaktstiden, 1611–1718)
Under the kings Gustav II Adolf (1594–1632) and Charles XII (1682–1718), Sweden became a European great power: The Swedish Empire included Finland, the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, parts of Lithuania), parts of Northern Germany (Western Pomerania, Bremen-Verden, Wismar), and effectively controlled the Baltic Sea as "Mare Nostrum."
Gustav II Adolf — the "Lion of the North" — decisively intervened in the Thirty Years' War in 1630 and saved Protestantism in Europe. The Swedish army, disciplined and innovative (Gustav introduced light artillery and salvo tactics), became the most feared on the continent. In the Battle of Lützen (1632), the Swedes won — but Gustav II Adolf fell. His death ended the era of the greatest Swedish king.
The warship Vasa, which sank in Stockholm harbor in 1628 (now in the Vasa Museum → Chap. Stockholm), is the perfect symbol of this ambitious, sometimes overbearing era of great power: too large, too heavy, too proud — and sunk before everyone's eyes.
The end of the great power came with Charles XII: The "Warrior King" ascended the throne at 15, led Sweden into the Great Northern War (1700–1721), and initially achieved spectacular victories against Denmark, Russia, and Saxony-Poland. Then he attacked Russia. Peter the Great destroyed the Swedish army at Poltava (Ukraine, 1709) — a turning point in European history. Charles XII fled to Turkey, returned years later, and died in 1718 during a siege in Norway — by a bullet whose origin (enemy or own people?) remains unclear to this day. Sweden lost its empire and found itself — diminished and exhausted — in search of a new identity.
