Sweden celebrates its 500th anniversary as an independent nation on Tuesday, with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson celebrating the transformation of his country from one of Europe’s poorest into a thriving welfare state and strong democracy.
U. Kristersson, in his speech on Sweden’s National Day, called the country’s development a “fantastic journey” and said that Sweden is one of the strongest democracies in the world. “We have a lot to be grateful for,” he said.
But the leader of the Conservative government stressed that his country of 11 million people have problems with delinquency and integration. In just 12 years, nearly 700,000 people have acquired Swedish citizenship. people. Many of them work, support themselves and contribute to society, but there is also a lot of exclusion. It’s stressful, he says.
King Carl XVI Gustaf, 77, and Queen Silvia, 79, who was born in the German city of Heidelberg, celebrated the birthday earlier at celebrations held in Strengnes, west of Stockholm.
In the Swedish capital itself, the 45-year-old heir to the throne, Princess Victoria and her husband, 49-year-old Prince Daniel, along with their children, 11-year-old Princess Estelle and 7-year-old Prince Oscar, opened the gates of the royal palace to interested visitors in the morning.
Open Day is a Swedish National Day tradition. In the evening, the royal family plans to attend traditional festivities at the Skansen open-air museum in Stockholm.
On June 6, 1523, Gustav Vaza, also known as Gustav I, was elected King of Sweden at Rogeborgen Castle in Strengnes. On this day, a new era begins for Sweden, when it leaves the Union of Kalmar with Denmark and Norway and becomes an independent nation-state. However, historians point out that Sweden itself is well over 500 years old.
Source: The Delfi
