A Flatpack History of Sweden

Of course the first episode back after a Swedish Christmas has to include a healthy dose of herring! We round off the 1300s with a quick tale about Novgorod and more developments on Gotland, before diving into the great herring markets of Skåne to start off the new century. The 1400s was a time of great trade in Skåne and herring was of vital importance to the entire Kalmar Union. What happened if...

A special episode for a special time of year! We celebrate the festive season with a visit to one of Sweden's most famous Christmas symbols and a discussion about symbols of the country in general. From the flag to the Three Crowns, we discuss the most common things people think of when they think of Sweden - we even include the Dala Horse by special request!  Read more about the Christmas goat he...

A surprise arrival on the island of Gotland leads to our biggest digression yet! There's drama all over the north of Europe as we cover the backstory of these new players in the Swedish story - although some of them aren't that new. The Teutonic Knights are here and they're ready to take some new land!  Note: The joke section at the end is not the announcement of a new project...! :) 

We have building up to this big meeting for quite a while now and trust us, it is worth it! A formal union between old enemies Denmark, Sweden and Norway is agreed in a major historical milestone. Erik will be crowned King of this new entity and it is a certainly a win for Margareta. But what was actually agreed on and was the meeting even that important at the time? Sources are confused and there...

Margareta is now truly in charge after capturing King Albert in battle last time around. In Sweden, her heir Erik is elected king at Mora Stenar, despite Margareta really being in charge. A sign of this power is how she curtails noble power and continues to make laws strengthening royal control over her three countries. Meanwhile, the Baltic Sea is still a bit of a haven for pirates though, and th...

The situation on the Baltic Sea is about to go from bad to worse as piracy takes hold. The Dukes of Mecklenburg assemble a giant fleet to try and keep Stockholm resupplied and terrorise all merchants foolish enough to risk a voyage on the water. It gets so bad that even the Dutch and the English are annoyed! Just like 100 years previously, icy water plays its part in naval combat, and two sides fi...

The 1380s is drawing to a close and the decade ahead has been described by historians as "one of the most troublesome, bloody and unstable times in the history of the nations around the Baltic sea.” Queen Margareta has lost her son King Olof and now her enemies in Mecklenburg won't give in. It is time for the two sides to meet in battle, namely at Åsle in February 1389. In this episode we'll cover...

We're back in the late 1380s after our two recap episodes. We pick up the story of Scandinavia after the death of the last of the Bjälbo dynasty, King Olof of Norway and Denmark. But fear not, his mother Margarete is ready to step up and take the reins. We'll see how she enforces her will on both Denmark and Norway, with the help of her allies in the Danish court. We then rewind and focus on her t...

We continue with part two of our double episode recap. We start with the first Swedish King and end up with King Albert in the late 1300s, where we left off in the last chronological episode. We see royal drama, powerful jarls, dukes, Queens, Kings and much more. There's so much to cover, so let's get going! Remember to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more Swedish history content and check o...

After two and a half years, and after a request by a listener, we thought it was a good time to start recapping everything we have covered in the podcast so far. We open the Flatpack Archives and discuss a few highlights from each episode in the first half of our back catalogue. We'll finish this recap next time! Remember you can find all our episode pictures, maps, family trees, Swedish phrases a...

In the spirit of a title from Åsa's favourite TV show, this is the one where everyone dies. Sorry about the spoilers...  In this episode, everything we have come to know and love/hate about Scandinavian politics for the last 30-40 years or so and that we have covered over the last 10 episodes comes crashing down. Who will be left standing at the end of the episode and who will fall victim to the G...

We continue with the whirlpool that is late 14th century Swedish politics. Rebelling Swedish noblemen, with Bo Jonsson Grip at the helm, are ready to take the fight to King Magnus, with the help of their new allies Mecklenburg. Young Albert of Mecklenburg will eventually be placed on the Swedish throne, but he's really just a figurehead, as behind the scenes it is his dad and the council that wiel...

We're back on track with our chronological narrative. We pick up where we left off after the battle of Visby in the summer of 1361. Gotland continues to suffer under its new Danish masters, but before long King Magnus decides to strike back. What follows is a Danish-Swedish-Norwegian-German-Hanseatic conflict in which alliances change quicker than in a Latin American soap opera.  Make sure you lis...

It is time for another special episode! We recently spent a whole week in the county of Skåne and got to see a load of historical gems. In the chronological timeline, King Magnus has just possession of Skåne, so let's take a look at what he has had taken away from him. Listen as we talk about the tower watchman of Ystad, the stone ship Ale Stenar, the fish of Simrishamn and much more! (Please note...

We've talked about her on and off for a while now, so we thought it was time for a biographical special! Known as Birgitta up until now in the timeline, minor spoilers as we examine the life of the lady known in Swedish history as Saint Birgitta. It will be a journey, both literal and metaphorical, filled with visions, politics and death. She also writes a lot of letters... 

This is an extra special episode for two reasons! For the first time we have enough information to spend a whole episode focusing on just one battle, the Battle of Visby in 1361, and it is also our first ever interview episode.  We speak to Thomas Neijman, PhD candidate in History at Stockholm University, an expert on the Battle of Visby and its modern day perceptions. In addition to his studies,...

This week it is all change in the Bjälbo dynasty in another action packed episode! We start off with King Magnus' son Håkon finally taking the throne of Norway as planned, in a relatively rare peaceful transition of power. This annoys elder brother Erik who attempts to grab more power for himself... We also see the Hanseatic League actually become the Hanseatic League and King Valdemar in Denmark...

Novgorod and Sweden have been involved in on and off conflict for a couple of centuries as we reach the end of the 1340s. Things go into overdrive at the end of the decade, as King Magnus of Sweden heads east, determined to convert the Novgorodians to his version of Christianity and take control over vital trade routes. Battles centre around the Orekhov/Nöteborg castle and things get so bad for No...

The Black Death has arrived in Norway and Sweden. Magnus "hade häcken full" trying to deal with its consequences, as the plague spread throughout the countries. The Black Death affected everything; bringing major building projects to a halt, devastating entire parishes and towns, and putting a stop to potential war plans. Unfortunately, Magnus' best advice doesn't stop the spread of the disease an...

After having purchased Skåne, King Magnus is keen to continue expanding the Swedish territories, but so is King Valdemar in Denmark. The two lock horns over control of land around the Baltic Sea. There is trouble brewing on the island of Gotland, and over in Danish-controlled Estonia, the local population is rising up. Back home King Magnus wants to ensure the line of succession is secured and mak...

King Magnus is now finally old enough to take the reigns of Sweden and after a bit of argument, Norway too. One of the very first things he does is treat himself to some new land by buying Skåne. Åsa's home county is now finally under the rule of a Swedish King for the first! The rest of the episode revolves around money, or lack of it, as Magnus tries to fund his coronation, Eriksgata and wedding...

Our favourite enemy Novgorod is back in the picture, this time with siege engines and a really impressive new castle! This episode will see plenty of war between Sweden and Novgorod, but also a landmark peace treaty. Back home, King Mother Ingeborg causes so much commotion that she's removed from all positions of influence in the Kingdom. Meanwhile, down south, Denmark has time to completely fall...

We're back in the 1300s and just like young King Magnus, it is time for a crash course on the status of his realm. For the first time, a King is monarch of both Sweden and Norway and there is a lot for him to take in and figure out.  Towns are growing and different types of farms are spreading throughout the country. At the same time, Denmark is falling apart and his mother starts meddling in inte...

It is time for another special episode! This time, as we see Swedes win medals in Beijing in 2022, we thought we would look at some of their predecessors and the Swedish athletes who competed in the first modern Olympic Games. Meet Sweden's first Olympians, first medallists and a great old man who would become an Olympic legend! Listen to find out about all this and more, including the mystery of...

Just like at the end of the Viking Age and at the start of the High Middle Ages, we've now covered enough of the Medieval period to warrant an "everything else we haven't mentioned yet" style episode! Lots of things come up in the research that don't fit neatly into the chronological narrative, but they are still worth knowing, so we decided to talk about them in a dedicated episode. Listen and en...