Sweden and Finland Celebrate Separation

The year 2009 marks 200 years since the break up of the two Nordic countries Sweden and Finland. This week Swedish royalty gathered together with the Finnish president and both governments jointly celebrated their common heritage. Here's more from our correspondents.
In Stockholm, prominent leaders and royalties together celebrate the mark of the two countries as seperate nations. It was also to mark the two countries good relations and their prosperous developement. Before 1809 Sweden & Finland had been one country for 600 years. In 1809 the Russian Tzar Alexander, with the support of the French emperor Napoleon, defeated Sweden in a large war and made Finland an åttonomus region under Russia.

This marked the beginning of Sweden and Finland as separate countries but still with lots in common in their cultural and institutional heritage.

[Per Unckel, Stockholm Mayor] "1809 Sweden lost one third of its country to Russia, thats formally what happened after the war in 1809. But more important, 1809, could be seen both in Sweden and in Finland as the birth of the two nations, Finland and Sweden, as they are today. These are two small countries in a world perspective, its five-six million people I Finland, and 9 million people in Sweden. But we are 15 million people together. We have some of the best businesses in the world when it comes to ICT. I guess that whats you think when you combine Ericsson and Nokia, we are not ashemed to meet anybody with that combination

[Per Westerberg, Spokesman]
After 1809 I think, Sweden have benefited from about 200 years of peace, constant peace. Sweden and Finland was 1809 two of the poorest countries in the Europe, and today two of the richest countries in the world.




During the year there will be political events, seminars, sports and cultural happenings - focusing on the common history and the future

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• ntd
• sweden
• finland
• nordic countries
• heritage
• stockholm
• tzar alexander
• french emperor napoleon
• russia

[umpisuoli87]

I guess Russia won't celebrate with finns in 2017

[hannesH3]

@Mannerheimer Sweden was an empire for circa 200 years, it included parts from Germany, norway, finland, estonia, latvia and so on. Therefor an empire!

[Hyyra]

@VTBbank

then why are u watching this vid, stupid:))

[PohjolaNorden]

@mieroth I wasn´t ot directly contradicting. The point was to clarify the situation about "the old Sweden". And I have nothing against it, if someone is using term "empire" here. But in that time there was a relatively small areas under Sweden witch wasn´t counted to Sweden proper + a relatively small amount of people. It was less than 1,5 million as it´s best. Sweden was then a regional big power and her army was doing pretty well, but eating much small resources on the otherhand.

[mieroth]

@PohjolaNorden: Not sure how this contradicts anything I've said... o.o

[PohjolaNorden]

@mieroth I have seen models to describe Sweden in different times. Center-Periphery model shows the nature of the country also to those who watch that from nationalistic ancle´, when it didn´t have any meaning. The center was of course in Stockholm, the core areas included Upsala and Turku/Åbo and it´s surroundings for a long time and later also Göteborg. The most important area of the country was the east west line from Wyborg to Göteborg. Other areas were more peripherical.

[PohjolaNorden]

"But of course you'll get the odd person claiming all lands not making up Sweden today were somehow part of colonial expansions in the sense which simply doesn't make sense." And all parts of Sweden today wasn´t part of that Sweden. For example Halland & Skåne were some time, specially in "stormaktstiden" understood as occupied region. Before year 1600 Sweden in many sense was much more binded to a Baltic Sea Country than today.

[mieroth]

@PohjolaNorden: Also, at the time of the Swedish empire Finland was part of Sweden so colonial expansion is hardly referring to Finland. Rather it refers to Swedish expansion to the east and the north (into what is today Germany, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Russia.) But of course you'll get the odd person claiming all lands not making up Sweden today were somehow part of colonial expansions in the sense which simply doesn't make sense. Such ignorance should be ignored, however...

[mieroth]

@PohjolaNorden: When speaking English there's no other term to use to describe this period in Swedish history. It's not a fact of "the Swedes who use that term" but rather "the Swedes who go on about this time." And yes, there's a strong correlation between nationalists and a love of history (especially military history). Half the people I bump into on Swedish history vids are neo-nazis and they're hardly a good representation for the population as a whole. o.O

[PohjolaNorden]

@mieroth I mean It was not like hannesH3 states above. Finland was a part of Sweden proper then even it sounds a bit strange nowdays when modern nationalism has done the split as much as the Russkies.

[PohjolaNorden]

@mieroth Well, I have met only a bit nationalistic orientated swedes who have used that term. But you could be right. It might be because I have quite seldom a possibility to a conversation about "Old Sweden" with anyone else. And in Finland it´s like you said. As her most powerful era Sweden was easily stronger than Russia, but the foreingn areas under occupation were still limited.

[mieroth]

@PohjolaNorden: And Swedes like I said do not use the term emperium to describe this time. Ironically the fact that you're Finnish is precisely why you don't recognise the use the term. All Nordic countries see empires as something foreign due to the "lagom" mentality that exists in our cultures. So Swedish historians prefer using the literal term "time of great power" instead of the term empire because the latter sounds too grand. But foreigners do use the term empire for obvious reasons.