A Danish SS soldier was a sperm donor in the 1960s thanks to Sweden's Karolinska hospital. He is the biological father to at least 15 children who now want to know if they are the result of an ideological racial project.
May 1st has been a public holiday in Sweden since 1939, meaning that most people will have the day off from work or studies. But what is the history of May 1st, and why do we get the day off?
The ship, which has yet to be identified, is believed to have been built in the late 1500s, which would make it older than Sweden's iconic 17th-century warship "Vasa".
A 17th century Swedish Navy shipwreck buried underwater in central Stockholm for 400 years has suddenly become visible due to unusually low Baltic Sea levels.
It's mid-December and in Sweden that means Lucia: groups of white-robed people singing with candles on their heads. But what exactly is this strangely beautiful (and beautifully eerie) celebration about, and where did it come from?
With Islam now Sweden’s second-biggest religion, it’s scarcely believable that the country didn’t have a single Muslim citizen until early in the 20th century, after the visiting fur trader Ebrahim Umerkajeff felt the tug of love and decided to stay.
Ever notice how common it is to see bright red buildings in Sweden? The Local contributor Miriam Bade explains why copper mining is the source of the attractive shade spotted around the country.
Sweden's first cardinal, Anders Arborelius, is a convert to Catholicism in the overwhelmingly Protestant Scandinavian country, which is home to one of the world's most secularised societies.
When Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at Harpsund, his official country residence, the two were seen taking to the water in a rowing boat. But they weren't the first to do so. Here's the history of the Harpsund boat.
It's not just kanelbullar, Swedes put great spoonfuls of cinnamon in their porridge, in apple crumbles, in glögg wine, and even use it to jazz up their matjessill herring. What's the history of Swedes' love affair with the spice?
On February 6th Sami communities all over Sápmi – an area spanning the northern reaches of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia’s Kola peninsula – gather to celebrate Sami National Day. To find out more about the past, present and future of the Sami in Sweden, we speak to Charlotta Svonni, a researcher on indigenous education at Umeå University.
Swedish archaeologists have described two Viking graves as 'unique' after they were discovered in central Gothenburg, shedding new light on the history of Sweden’s second-largest city.
Swedish broadcaster SVT recently aired the first episode of its high-profile new series on Swedish history and racists aren't happy about it, The Local's Paul O'Mahony discovers.
At a Halloween party in Gothenburg in 1998, a fire started by four youths led to one of the deadliest disasters of modern Swedish history. Sixty-three young people lost their lives and many more were injured.
Residents of Sweden's major cities who have not spent much time in more rural areas of Sweden may not be aware of the 'raggare' subculture, with key elements including American cars, Confederate flags and Swedish rockabilly music.
Most people who have been to Sweden will have heard of state alcohol monopoly Systembolaget, but did you know that the country also used to have a state-owned version of McDonald's?
On August 23rd, 1973, Jan-Erik Olsson walked into a Stockholm bank high on drugs, agitated and waving a submachine gun. So began a hostage drama that would go on to last six days, and birth the term Stockholm Syndrome.
A man digging in his garden on the west coat of Sweden stumbled up a human skeleton, which he reported to the police, only for it to be dated back to around 1000AD.
In the UK, France and Germany few villages lack their own cosy pub, café or gasthaus, often hundreds of years old. But in Sweden, you're lucky to find a kebab pizza joint. Why is there nowhere decent to eat or drink in the Swedish countryside?
After centuries of persecution, Sweden's indigenous Sami people are beginning to provide testimony about the injustices they experienced in a recently launched "Truth Commission" probing the country's discriminatory policies and their consequences.
Sweden is no stranger to odd stories, but the tale of how North Korea owes the Scandinavian nation millions in unpaid bills for items including a thousand Volvos from the 1970s is definitely one of the weirdest of all.
