Sweden is one of the world's oldest sovereign nations, with a 1,000-year history. This Scandinavian country is also the eighth-oldest kingdom on the planet and it was founded by Eric the Victorious in 970 AD. Since 1917, the country has been a constitutional monarchy with parliamentary democracy.
Denmark. Denmark was unified in the 10th century, and is among the world's oldest independent countries. Furthermore the ruling house on the Danish throne is one of the oldest reigning houses in existence. The Danish Empire included Norway and Iceland for many centuries, as well as territories around the Baltic Sea.
Other parts of Europe were already populated at this time. The first-known Scandinavian was the Koelbjerg Man, dated to around 8,000 BC.
Scandinavia's first town, Ribe, was built on Danish soil. Until now archaeologists have thought that Ribe was built in the end of the eighth century, now a new study suggests the town was built in the early eighth century. "Ribe was where the urbanisation of all Scandinavia began.
Beginning in the 7th century, the Vikings, a seagoing people from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, roamed widely over much of the planet, founding settlements in far-off lands and trading with, or raiding, the local inhabitants.
People started settling in Scandinavia and calling it home soon after the region emerged out of the icy grip of the last ice age around 12,000 years ago. Archaeological finds show that people lived in the area 11,700 years ago. But researchers have long wondered who these settlers were, and where they had come from.
The first human settlers to inhabit Denmark and Scandinavia permanently were the Maglemosian people, residing in seasonal camps and exploiting the land, sea, rivers and lakes. It was not until around 6,000 BC that the approximate geography of Denmark as we know it today had been shaped.
Stockholm is The Capital of Scandinavia.
Where did the Vikings live? The Vikings originated from the area that became modern-day Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. They settled in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Iceland, Greenland, North America, and parts of the European mainland, among other places.
The homelands of the Vikings were in Scandinavia, but the countries of Scandinavia as we know them today did not exist until the end of the Viking Age. Wherever they lived, the Viking-age Scandinavians shared common features such as house forms, jewellery, tools and other everyday equipment.
Experts say natural selection, combined with a good animal protein diet, makes these Nordic locals taller than their counterparts elsewhere in the world. The Norwegians, like some of the other tallest people in the world have some great genetic backgrounds. Average height of Norwegians: 5 feet 7.97 inches.
At the battle of Ashdown in 871, Alfred routed the Viking army in a fiercely fought uphill assault.
It both begins and ends with an invasion: the first Roman invasion in 55 BC and the Norman invasion of William the Conqueror in 1066. Add 'in between were the Anglo-Saxons and then the Vikings'.
The name Scandinavia comes from that of a region in southern Sweden called Skåne or Scania. The terms Norden and Nordic, both meaning “North,” have also been used to refer collectively to the five Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands).
Turku And Hanko, Finland: The Youngest Nordic Nation.
Finland was part of Sweden for almost 700 years from around 1150 until the Finnish War of 1809 after which Finland became an autonomous part of the Russian Empire as the Grand Duchy of Finland.
No, Vikings aren't a Germanic tribe. The fact of the matter is that Germanic tribes consisted of an umbrella of various tribes that speak different languages commonly grouped together. Moreover, Vikings were only a subgroup of different peoples that included the Germans.
The events of 1066 in England effectively marked the end of the Viking Age. By that time, all of the Scandinavian kingdoms were Christian, and what remained of Viking “culture” was being absorbed into the culture of Christian Europe.
Although Viking rule returned to the north of England later in the tenth century, the violent death of King Erik Bloodaxe in 954 marked the end of independent Viking power in the north.
In general, Scandinavia denotes Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
Remember: until 1814, Denmark and Norway were actually united under one kingdom (hence their joint love of hygge). After that time, Norway and Sweden were under one kingdom until Norway's independence in 1905. “Scania” and “Scandinavia” are considered to have the same etymology.
Copenhagen, Denmark
Lying on the islands of Zeeland and Amager, the city is one of the most beautiful Scandinavian capital cities. It's famed for its charming canals, green parks, impressive galleries, trendy cafes, and even the longest shopping street in Europe.
Economic problems were by far the greatest reason why most Danes left for foreign shores. In the mid-1800s the Danish population increased rapidly. This meant there were not enough jobs, and unemployment increased.
Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Faroese, and Icelandic all descend from a language called Old Norse, which was the language the Vikings spoke during the Early Middle Ages. In fact, the people of Scandinavia are the direct descendent of the Vikings.
The term “Dane” generally refers to the Vikings from Denmark, while “Norse” typically refers to Vikings from Norway.