Saturday, October 18, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Sweden celebrates 500 years since its victory in the war of independence

Today, June 6, Sweden celebrates its national day - this year marking 500 years since Gustav Vasa's successful rebellion against foreign rule. Here is the dramatic and unlikely story of how Sweden became an independent kingdom again.

Published 6 June 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Gustav Vasa calls for rebellion against the Danes.
5 minute read

On June 6, 1523, Gustav Eriksson (Vasa) was elected king by the Riksdag in Strängnäs. The event marked the end of a Swedish war of liberation – and also of the so-called Kalmar Union that had been established 126 years earlier.

Initially, the Kalmar Union was a joint arrangement between Sweden, Norway and Denmark, whereby the three countries would be ruled by a single monarch. However, dissatisfaction with the union grew in Sweden, and several rebellions attempted, with mixed success, to break away from the union in order to elect their own independent kings or governors – rather than being subject to rulers of Danish or German origin.

In particular, the Swedes refused to recognize the Danish Kristian II as King of Sweden. Therefore, in January 1520, Kristian launched an invasion of Sweden with German and Danish troops to recapture the country from the Swedish governor Sten Sture the Younger and his allies. In what is known as the battle of Bogesund, Kristian’s troops and Sten Sture’s peasant army met on the ice of lake Åsunden near Ulricehamn, where the Swedish army was defeated and Sten Sture was badly injured and died soon afterwards.

Without a leader, Stockholm and other Swedish bastions soon surrendered. With the help of his foreign soldiers and the threat of more violence, Kristian was crowned King of Sweden in November 1520.

Stockholm bloodbath

However, Kristian II’s character was not of the forgiving type. After a three-day coronation celebration, he and his advisors chose to take the opportunity to execute their political opponents. Large parts of the Swedish aristocracy were killed in what became known to posterity as the ‘Stockholm Bloodbath’.

The Stockholm bloodbath in a depiction from 1676.

It is estimated that up to 100 people were executed between November 7 and 9. Nobles were beheaded, mayors and councilmen were hanged, and Sten Sture himself was dug up from his grave and thrown on a funeral pyre in order to desecrate the young ruler. After the massacre, the Danish king became known in Sweden as ‘Kristian Tyrann’ – Kristian Tyrant.

Gustav Vasa himself was not present at the massacre. He had been taken hostage by the Danes in 1518, after the Battle of Brännkyrka, but had managed to escape to Lübeck in Germany the following year. He was wanted by the Danes and did not return to Sweden until May 1520, where he stayed in hiding with sympathizers.

In addition to his father, two of his uncles and several other relatives were executed in the Stockholm bloodbath, while his female family and relatives were imprisoned in Copenhagen and all property was confiscated by Kristian. With Kristian’s opponents executed, there was no obvious leader to organize further resistance to the Danes. However, Gustav Vasa had decided to take matters into his own hands.

Gustav Vasa builds a resistance movement

Gustav Vasa embarked on a project to seek the support of the Dalesmen in Dalarna, a large province north west of Stockholm known for its flourishing mining industry as well as a disdain for undue authority. They had a long history of fighting for freedom and honored the memory of Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, who in the 1430s led a rebellion against the Kalmar Union’s rule that temporarily pushed Danish forces out of Sweden.

Initially, the Dalesmen were said to be very skeptical about participating. However, when envoys came to tell them about King Kristian’s actions at the Stockholm bloodbath, how Sten Sture’s body was mutilated and other atrocities committed, they are said to have changed their minds. In the end they decided to support the young Gustav as their commander. He was assigned a personal bodyguard of 16 men – the prototype of the Svea Livgarde – the Svea Life Guards.

Depiction of Gustav Vasa at Livsrustkammaren, the Royal Armoury, in Stockholm.

After initially taking Falun and capturing the Danish bailiff, the resistance movement gained support from other parts of Sweden and the rebel army grew in numbers. Also Gävle joined Gustav and a number of Swedish nobles, resentful of the execution of their relatives in Stockholm, chose to join the fight against Danish rule.

The greatest of the major battles was at the Brunnbäck ferry outside Avesta in Dalarna and was also a significant Swedish victory. This meant that King Kristian now definitely understood that the Swedish resistance had by no means been crushed by the bloodbath in Stockholm and that the situation for his rule was now very serious.

The Danes strengthened their military presence in an attempt to crush the rebel army. However, Gustav Vasa continued to make progress and Västerås was taken, although the pro-Danish force in the castle did not surrender until January 1522. Overall, it was very difficult for the peasant army to take castles.

By April 1521, Gustav Vasa had full control of Dalarna and was supported by Gästrikland, Västmanland and Närke. In August the same year, he was recognized as Sweden’s chieftain and governor in Vadstena – at the same time as Kristian’s puppet government fled Sweden.

However, Kristian still had the support of nobles in Östergötland, Sörmland and Uppland – and the main Swedish castles and fortresses were still under Danish control. To conquer these, the Swedish Resistance bought warships, cannons and mercenaries from Lübeck, Germany, which enabled them to defeat a Danish fleet off Stockholm in November 1522.

King Gustav

In 1523, only Stockholm and the then very important city of Kalmar were still under Danish control. Kalmar was finally captured on May 27. Gustav Vasa was crowned King of Sweden in Strängnäs on June 6, but it was not until June 17 that Stockholm surrendered. Shortly afterwards, the last Danish-controlled castles in the Finnish part of the kingdom fell and Sweden was under definitive Swedish control again.

Gustav Vasa’s arrival in Stockholm, by Carl Larsson.

It was not until August 1524 that Gustav Vasa and Frederick I, King Kristian’s successor in Denmark, signed the peace treaty that formally ended the war between the Scandinavian countries. It was decided that Blekinge, Skåne and Gotland would remain Danish, that all prisoners on both sides would be released and that Sweden and Denmark would continue to live in peace as good neighbors. Those interested in history are of course well aware that the reality would eventually turn out differently.

A milestone in Swedish history

Gustav Vasa’s coronation as King of Sweden on June 6 is, of course, particularly symbolic in the context of a Sweden that at the time was effectively occupied by a foreign power that had taken control of the country through mass murder and force of arms. Gustav Vasa became a controversial ruler in the annals of history, but his importance for Sweden and his impact on Swedish history can hardly be underestimated.

The tomb of Gustav Vasa and his queens in Uppsala Cathedral. Photo: Adville/CC BY-SA 3.0

Under King Gustav, Sweden abandoned Catholicism in favour of Protestantism, and the kingdom also became a distinct hereditary monarchy that gradually evolved into a more modern and centralised nation-state. Under his grandson Gustav II Adolf, Sweden would later become one of the most influential countries in Europe during the historical era that would become known in Sweden as the “Great Power Era”, where Sweden would influence the political and religious balance of power on the European continent as well.

Gustav Vasa never called himself Vasa during his lifetime - and it is unclear whether anyone else did. The name comes from the well-known symbol - a 'vase' - used as a heraldic device by the nobility to which he belonged.

Only in the second half of the 16th century does the first source appear where Vasa is mentioned as the family name instead of Eriksson, which was his birth name. Gustav Eriksson Vasa is mentioned as such for the first time in 1618 - when he himself had been dead for 58 years.

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Youth unemployment edges down in Sweden

Published 15 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
At the end of September, 363,000 people were registered as unemployed in Sweden.
1 minute read

Unemployment continues to decline and stood at 6.9 percent at the end of September, according to new figures from Arbetsförmedlingen (the Swedish Public Employment Service). Despite the positive trend, the unemployment level remains high compared to the previous year.

At the end of September, just over 363,000 people were registered as unemployed in Sweden. This marks the second consecutive month of declining unemployment figures. However, compared to the same period last year, unemployment has increased, the statistics show.

It is obviously gratifying that unemployment has decreased for two months in a row, but compared to a year ago, approximately 4,000 more people are registered as unemployed. The unemployment level is therefore still high, says Lars Lindvall, chief forecaster at Arbetsförmedlingen, in a press release.

A positive signal is that the number of unemployed young people continues to decrease. At the end of September, 43,554 young people between 18 and 24 years old were registered as unemployed, a decrease from 45,378 the year before.

The statistics also show that 34,668 people found employment during September, an increase from 30,462 in the same month last year. The number of redundancy notices simultaneously decreased sharply, from 7,586 to 5,057 people.

Interest in climate issues declining among young Swedish women

The exaggerated climate crisis

Published 14 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
According to a recent report, an increasing number of young women are turning away from climate alarmist issues.
2 minute read

Engagement with climate issues among young women is declining sharply, according to a recent survey. Meanwhile, issues such as healthcare, education, and crime are being prioritized increasingly higher.

A recently conducted survey reveals that young Swedish women are becoming significantly less passionate about modern left-leaning values such as climate alarmism.

According to the report Youth Focus 2025, climate issues have lost ground among Sweden’s young people. In 2019, 51 percent of young women considered climate the most important issue.

In this year’s report, the corresponding figure has dropped to 15 percent. Among young men, engagement has fallen from 34 to 13 percent.

We don’t talk much about climate, only in school, says 15-year-old Disa Magnusson in Södertälje, a city south of Stockholm, to publicly funded broadcaster SVT.

At the same time, the survey shows that young people today are more engaged in societal issues that affect their daily lives. Healthcare tops the list, followed by education and crime.

In this year’s report, we see a generation that feels concern about certain societal issues and wants to act for society’s benefit here and now, says Sofia Rasmussen, CEO of Rasmussen Analysis.

The same survey also demonstrates declining interest in feminism and gender equality among the country’s youth.

New priorities

Several of the young women who expressed themselves in the survey report that they feel greater trust in more conservative parties. Parties that profile themselves around more traditional values, with emphasis on order and security.

This is a development that could significantly impact Sweden’s future politics, especially when a generation that previously often identified with supposedly progressive left-wing values now shows a shift in interest and engagement.

Interviews with young women show that issues such as friendship, love, and high school are prioritized higher than climate.

People probably think they won’t be alive then, says Disa Magnusson about why climate issues don’t engage as much as before.

The survey demonstrates a clear shift toward issues perceived as more urgent and directly relevant in the daily lives of today’s youth.

At the same time, interest in long-term societal problems remains, but engagement has changed both in form and expression.

About the Youth Focus Survey

Youth Focus 2025, produced for the tenth consecutive year by the King's Foundation for Young Leadership (Konungens stiftelse Ungt Ledarskap) and Rasmussen Analys, aims to highlight young people's values and attitudes and to strengthen their role in society and working life.

This year's report is based on responses from 1,280 people, of which 1,018 are young people between 15–29 years old. The survey was conducted during the period May 13–20, 2025. To enable comparisons with other age groups, the survey also collected 262 responses from people born before 1995.

This makes it possible to distinguish what is unique to the younger generation from broader societal trends, while also enabling an analysis of how older respondents perceive and describe today's youth.

Source: Youth Focus 2025

More minors in Sweden are facing trial for serious offenses

organized crime

Published 14 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
A conviction ruling means that a court determines guilt, but since children under 15 are not criminally responsible in Sweden, no sentence is imposed.
1 minute read

The number of children under 15 who are brought to trial in so-called evidentiary proceedings has increased sharply over the past year. A large proportion of the cases involve murder and attempted murder.

Up to and including September this year, 68 children under 15 have been brought to trial in evidentiary proceedings. This is nearly double compared to the entire previous year, when 38 children were processed in this type of case. The year before that, in 2023, the number was only seven cases, according to the Swedish Prosecution Authority (Åklagarmyndigheten).

Senior prosecutor Maria Franzén at the Swedish Prosecution Authority sees the increase as a consequence of rising crime rates among children and young people.

Since the proportion of children participating in this type of crime is increasing, it’s an expected effect that the number of cases with evidentiary proceedings also increases, she tells Swedish public radio SR.

Not criminally responsible

Of the 68 children, a full 43 are suspected of involvement in murder, preparation for murder, or attempted murder. Among the high-profile cases is a then 13-year-old boy who allegedly shot and killed a person with connections to criminal networks inside a restaurant.

An evidentiary proceeding means that a court determines the question of guilt, but since children under 15 are not criminally responsible under Swedish law, no sentence is imposed.

Evidentiary proceedings are a good tool for social services to implement appropriate interventions for these children who have committed these crimes, says August Knutsson at the Swedish Police Authority’s national operations center.

Swedish deputy PM seeks ban on burqa and niqab

The Islamization of Europe

Published 13 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Busch argues that the veils express a strict interpretation of Islam that conflicts with Swedish values.
2 minute read

Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch proposes a ban on burqa and niqab in public spaces. She argues that the ban is needed to combat honor-based oppression, among other things.

The proposal is part of a “development initiative for increased social cohesion” that a working group within the Christian Democrats (KD) has prepared for the autumn.

Busch argues that niqab and burqa are expressions of a strict interpretation of Islam that is incompatible with Swedish values.

Islam must adapt in Sweden. One can be a proud Swedish Muslim, Christian, Jew, atheist, but it is fundamental Swedish values that must apply to all of us, she tells the Schibsted newspaper Aftonbladet.

She points out that Sweden must “wake up” from the naivety that has placed the country in a culture war where more and more people live under honor-based oppression.

It is that type of very naive liberalism, or lax Social Democrat politics, that has brought Sweden to the situation we are in today. With a failed integration that currently means that approximately a quarter of a million young people in Sweden are estimated to live under honor-based oppression-like circumstances.

“Both women’s oppression and honor-based oppression”

The ban would cover, for example, public places such as squares, shopping centers and healthcare facilities. The proposal has not yet been anchored with the other Tidö parties (the Swedish center-right governing coalition). However, opposition leader Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats (S) says she is prepared to discuss such a ban.

Both burqa and niqab are expressions of both women’s oppression and honor-based oppression, and that is something we Social Democrats distance ourselves from. Exactly how to deal with it, I am prepared to discuss and look at, says Andersson during yesterday’s party leader debate on SVT.

In Denmark, a similar ban was voted through in 2018, which means that covering one’s face in public places is prohibited.

During the Christian Democrats’ party congress in November, the proposal will be put to a vote.

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