About Sweden
Click here to see a map of Sweden.Sweden has it all, magnificent National Parks, thousands of untouched islands, fascinating historic towns, amazing museums, beautiful castles, and many attractive churches. Once you see one attraction in Sweden, you may want to see them all. There is an abundance of National Parks in Sweden, set in all different types of Landscapes. Probably the most scenic of these are the huge Sarek and the tiny Abisko in Lappland. Another is the forest at Tiveden at the north end of Lake Vattern. Sweden definitely has no shortage of islands. With over 24,000 islands off Stockholm and more around the long coastline, there are endless opportunities for exploration. You must visit Gotland and Oland, which are unique because of their rare raukar rock forms and flora. Sweden has many fascinating historic towns to visit. The best of these are Birka, a Viking town on an island near Stockholm, and Eketorp fortified village on Oland. Some other great examples that are worth a visit are Lund, which is the oldest remaining town in Sweden, Sigtuna, Kalmar, Ystad, Stockholm, Linkoping and Eksjo. Sweden boasts hundreds of colourful museums. Stockholm has the largest proportion of these, with over 50 museums. The most interesting in Stockholm would be Skansen, which combines folk-life, wildlife and livestock. Kulturen in Lund, Jamfli in Ostersund and Malmohus castle in Malmo are also fascinating and well worth a visit. If you want to see some stunning examples of Castles, then Sweden is the place for you. Stockholm alone is home to more than ten castles. The best castles to visit are Drottningholm near Stockholm, Skokloster slott by Lake Malaren and Vadstena slott, Kalmar, Orebro, Borgholm on Oland, Uppsala slott and Malmohus. Sweden has 3,000 churches, built during the last 900 years. There are 100 medieval churches in Gotland, 240 in Skine and more than 130 in the Stockholm-Uppsala region. There are 14 wooden medieval structures. There are all styles of cathedrals; the domkyrkor of Lund (Romanesque), Uppsala (Gothic) and Kalmar (baroque) are fine examples of each style. It's also well worth visiting the wooden Sarna gammelkyrka in upper Dalarna.
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Culture
Swedish is a Germanic language, belonging to the Nordic branch, and is spoken throughout Sweden and in parts of Finland. Most Swedes speak English as a second language. Sweden has a Lutheran state church, which all citizens in principle join, about 95% of citizens are members. The state, however, guarantees religious freedom. The most common food eaten in Sweden is fish, which is usually poached or fried in fat. Potato is usually eaten with each meal. Strong beer, wines and spirits are sold by the state monopoly Systembolaget at outlets in the cities and towns, which are open weekdays.
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