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 you tried to salt your own fish or carried your herring around in a bag? Find out here!

The dust has settled on the Stockholm Bloodbath and King Kristian continues his early reign with more bloodshed. He thinks he has Sweden under his thumb but he has hasn't counted on the return of one young nobleman. After escaping custody thanks to a sneaky ruse, Gustav Vasa tries to gather support for a rebellion by visiting his old uni friends and even has to escape through a toilet at one point to avoid the King's men. But will the peasants of Sweden unite behind this ambitious, snowshoe-wearing rebel leader?

Here is the painting we mention in the episode.

And here is the museum we mention that is older than the USA!

There are expeditions and battles in the east of the Baltic Sea region this week and we see changes in the political landscape back home too.

Sweden also makes a big cultural and scientific leap as the printing press arrives on our shores! The first few books might not exactly be best sellers and they also aren't that imaginatively named either, just like a new castle built over in Finland...

In our 100th regular episode, Gustav Vasa and his merry band of Swedish rebels take on King Kristian and the Danes in a war that will see shifting allegiances, the nobility and peasants fighting side by side once more, and eventually even the birth of the Swedish Navy. King Kristian on the other hand, faces troubles on all fronts and eventually Gustav will take the throne. Is this what spells the end of the Kalmar Union once and for all?

To celebrate the 100th episode, there's a particularly funny blooper left in at the end.

To arms, all guards to the battlements!

Castles have become increasingly important over the last century or so in our story and it is time we look into them in a bit more detail. How were castles built, what purpose did they serve and who worked and lived in them? We look into castles and fortresses in medieval Sweden and focus on a few examples to get a bit more colour on these unique locations in the storyline.