Sweden is a Scandinavian nation in Europe with thousands of inland lakes and coastal islands, glaciated mountains, and great boreal forests. The capital of Sweden is Stockholm, which is built on fourteen islands. This is just a small introduction about Sweden, but if you’re interested in knowing more, here are five more interesting facts about this country.

The Northern Lights

If you’re planning to have your trip in the winter season, you should consider the Northern Lights in Sweden. One of the interesting Sweden facts that we are going to tackle is this famous magical sight. The Northern Lights, also called Aurora Borealis, is a unique astronomical phenomenon that appears during September and ends in early April.

Northern Lights are created when there is a collision of electrically charged Sun’s particles and the Earth’s atmosphere. Sweden is famous for the Northern Lights. These mystical lights can be seen throughout the Swedish Lapland. The best time to witness Northern Lights’ most fantastic display in Sweden is around ten to eleven in the evening.

World’s Oldest Newspaper

Post-och Inrikes Tidningar is the world’s oldest continuously published newspaper from Sweden. It’s the oldest newspaper that is still in production and first published in the year 1645 by Sweden’s Queen Christina. In 2007, it became a web-only publication. The Swedish Academy now owns the newspaper and sold the publishing rights to a government agency of Sweden.

The Largest Country in Northern Europe

Sweden is the fifth largest country in the entire Europe and the largest in Northern Europe. Sweden covers a total area of 450, 295 square kilometers, which makes it larger than California and twice the size of Great Britain with an area of 242,495 km2. Sweden shares maritime borders with Germany, Russia, Denmark, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia.

With a country this big, you’d expect that this also comes with a vast population. But on the contrary, since 2019, Sweden’s population has reached 10.23 million people and is mostly concentrated in the country’s southern part.

IKEA

One of the famous multinational groups is IKEA of Sweden. Everyone knows what IKEA is and what it is for. To refresh your memory, IKEA is a Swedish company that retails home furnishings and the largest furniture seller in the 21st century. It was founded by Ingvar Kamprad in the year 1943 and now runs more than 400 physical stores worldwide.

You can also see the largest IKEA store in the south of Stockholm, Sweden, which opened in 1965. It exhibits its origins, from the store exteriors to its logo, decorated in the Swedish flag’s colors, blue and yellow. IKEA specialized in affordable goods and is known for furniture sold in a flat-pact form ready to be assembled in your homes.

Famous People of Sweden

Now, let’s talk about the famous people in Sweden. Did you know that ABBA, the iconic pop supergroup was from Stockholm, Sweden? Yes, they were Swedish, and so are the actors Stellan Skarsgård with his sons, Bill Skarsgård, which is known for playing Pennywise, the dancing clown from the movie It, and Alexander Skarsgård in his movie The Legend of Tarzan.

The late DJ Avicii was also Swedish, and so is the YouTuber Felix Kjellberg, also known as PewDiePie. One of the many famous people from Sweden is the chemist Alfred Nobel known for his dynamite invention and founded the Nobel Prizes. When it comes to sports, Sweden has Björn Borg, the former world number one tennis player.

Takeaway

Sweden is a beautiful country that has many to offer. There are still plenty of interesting facts about Sweden, and you could search for them if you want. If ever you want to visit Sweden, it is best to learn more about the country first. Not only do you get to check their tourist spots, but you also get to know some of their cultures.