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Swedish authors of worldwide recognition include Henning Mankell, Carolus Linnaeus (the father of botany), Emanuel Swedenborg, August Strindberg, Selma Lagerlöf, Vilhelm Moberg, Harry Martinson and Astrid Lindgren, the author of the beloved Pippi Longstocking books. Sweden's most well-known artists are painters Carl Larsson, Anders Zorn, and Alexander Roslin, and the sculptors Tobias Sergel and Carl Milles. Many well-known inventions and discoveries, historical and modern, were made by Swedes. Some notable figures are Alfred Nobel, Anders Celsius, Baltzar von Platen, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, Jöns Jakob Berzelius, John Ericsson, Anders Jonas Ångström, Lars Magnus Ericsson, Svante Arrhenius, Arvid Carlsson, Håkan Lans. Swedish 20th century culture is noted by pioneering works in the early days of cinema, with Mauritz Stiller and Victor Sjöström. In the 1920s–1980s, the filmmakers Ingmar Bergman and Bo Widerberg received Academy Awards, and actresses Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman, Ann-Margret, Lena Olin, Zarah Leander, and Anita Ekberg made careers abroad. The actors Max von Sydow, Stellan Skarsgård, and Peter Stormare are also worth mentioning. More recently, the films of Lukas Moodysson and Lasse Hallström have received international recognition. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s Sweden was an international leader in what is now referred to as the "sexual revolution", with gender equality particularly promoted. Many Swedish films reflected a very liberal view of sexuality, including scenes of love making that caused international outrage, and introduced the concept of the "Swedish sin". However, Sweden was at that time not as sexually liberal as people believed, and even today while Swedes typically have a rather nonchalant attitude about sex, Swedes are generally no more sexually active than people of many other countries. Sweden has also become in recent decades very liberal regarding homosexuality, as is reflected in the popular acceptance of films such as Fucking Åmål, and the popular writer Jonas Gardell, among others. In Sweden many gay and lesbian celebrities live openly without causing a stir.
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Sweden has a rich musical tradition, ranging from medieval folk ballads to house music. The music of the Vikings has been lost to history, although there have been historical attempts to recreate how it could have sounded based on instruments found in Viking sites. Instruments used were the lur (a wooden trumpet), simple string instruments, wooden flutes and drums. It is possible that the Viking musical legacy lives on in some of the old Swedish folk music. Carl Michael Bellman, Wilhelm Stenhammar, Wilhelm Peterson-Berger, Hugo Alfvén, Franz Berwald, and Johan Helmich Roman are among Sweden's great classical composers. The best-known opera singers are the 19th century soprano Jenny Lind and the 20th century tenor Jussi Björling, who had great success abroad. Björling is considered by many to be the epitome of a great tenor. Also sopranos Christina Nilsson, Birgit Nilsson, and tenor Nicolai Gedda, baritone Håkan Hagegård and the contemporary mezzo-soprano Anne-Sofie von Otter have become known in the world of opera. Evert Taube, Povel Ramel, Cornelis Vreeswijk are all popular modern troubadours, considered to be classics in Swedish music. ABBA is without a doubt the most well-known music group from Sweden, and in fact one of the most well-known in the world. ABBA was made up of Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, and Benny Andersson, whose names form the word ABBA. With ABBA, Sweden entered into a new era, in which Swedish pop music gained international prominence. Sweden is in fact, after the US and the UK, the largest producer of music in the world. Some of the most successful post-ABBA popular music artists from Sweden are Roxette, Ace of Base, Carola, Army of Lovers, Robyn, A*Teens, The Cardigans, Europe, Alcazar, and guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen. A number of bands with less emphasis on pop music have come out of the country in recent years, including Eskobar, Clawfinger,The Sounds, José González, The Hives, Millencolin, Sahara Hot nights, The Hellacopters, Kent, The Ark, Infinite Mass, and Loop troop. In underground circles, Sweden is known for a large number of heavy metal (mostly death metal and melodic death metal), as well as Progressive bands. Prominent metal acts include Opeth, In Flames, Meshuggah, The Haunted, At the Gates, Soilwork, Scar Symmetry, Evergrey, Pain Of Salvation, Hammer fall, Arch Enemy, Blind side, Jerusalem,Unleashed, Amon Amarth, Vintersorg, and Entombed. In the synth world, the band S.P.O.C.K is still active after 18 years. Sweden is also responsible for the Swechno scene, offering a distinct house and techno sound, of which artists like Adam Beyer is famous. More recently, the so-called Swedish House Mafia including Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell, and Eric Prydz have topped the house music charts and DJ top 10s around the world. Also worth mentioning is Joakim Thåström and his punk band Ebba Grön. Sweden is also home to several influential emo and hardcore punk bands, such as Fireside, Refused, The Last Days Of April, and Kelly 8. In the world of jazz, Monica Zetterlund achieved international renown, both as a singer and as an actress. Another name worth mentioning is Alice Babs. Some artists/groups who known internationally but more well known in Sweden are Peter Jöback, Lill-Babs Svensson, Ted Gärdestad, Gyllene Tider, Helen Sjöholm, and Patrik Isaksson. Sweden also has a significant folk-music scene, both in the traditional style as well as more modern interpretations which often mix in elements of rock and jazz. Väsen is more of a traditionalist group, using a unique traditional Swedish instrument called the nyckelharpa while Garmarna, Nordman, and Hedningarna have more modern elements. Lena Willemark is a popular folk musician. There is also Saami music, called the joik, which is actually a type of chant which is part of the traditional Saami animistic spirituality but has gained recognition in the international world of folk music as well. ABBA-members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus have been very successful in musical theatre, with their international hit Mamma Mia!, as well as Chess, and Kristina från Duvemåla, which was a huge success in Sweden and an English version is expected to hit Broadway in 2007. |
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Swedes are among the greatest consumers of newspapers in the world, and nearly every town is served by a local paper. The country's main quality morning papers are Dagens Nyheter (liberal), Göteborgs-Posten (liberal), Svenska Dagbladet (conservative) and Sydsvenska Dagbladet (liberal). The two largest evening tabloids are Aftonbladet (social democratic) and Expressen (centrist). The ad-financed, free international morning paper, Metro International, was originally founded in Stockholm, Sweden. The country's news is reported in English by The Local. For many years Swedish television consisted solely of the two channels broadcast by the public service company Sveriges Television, which, as in most other European countries, is financed through a radio and TV license. In 1987 the first commercial Scandinavian channel, TV3, started transmitting from London, and today there are five free broadcast channels in the terrestrial network, which is currently switching from analogue to digital, However, most Swedes have access to numerous other free and pay channels through cable or satellite TV. |
Apart from traditional Protestant Christian holidays, Sweden also celebrates some unique holidays, some of a pre-Christian tradition. They include Midsummer, celebrating the summer solstice; Walpurgis Night on April 30 lighting bonfires; Labor Day on May 1 is dedicated to socialist demonstrations; and December 13, the day of Saint Lucia the light giver. June 6 is National Day of Sweden and as of 2005 a public holiday. Furthermore, there are official flag day observances and a Names days in Sweden calendar. In August many Swedes have kräftskivor (crayfish parties). More regional variants are the surströmming parties in Northern Sweden (surströmming is a type of fermented fish), and ålegillar (eel parties) in Skåne. The Sami, one of Sweden's indigenous minorities, have their holiday on February 6th.
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Swedish cuisine, like that of the other Scandinavian countries (Denmark and Norway), is traditionally simple. Fish, meat and potatoes play prominent roles. Spices are sparse. Famous dishes include Swedish meatballs (köttbullar—traditionally served with gravy, boiled potatoes and lingonberry jam), plättar (Swedish pancakes, served with jam), lutfisk, the smörgås (open-faced sandwich), and the famous 'Smörgåsbord'.
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Sweden Information: Inside |
