Timeline of Swedish history

This is a timeline of Swedish history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Sweden. To read about the background to these events, see History of Sweden. See also the list of Swedish monarchs and list of prime ministers of Sweden.

1st century – 5th century +YearDateEvent

6th century – 9th century YearDateEvent530Posited date of possibly legendary Battle on the Ice of Lake VänernGetica of Jordanes, history of the Gothic people, written in Constantinople750–790Trade center Birka, island on Lake Mälaren near present-day Stockholm, established750sBeginnings of Scandinavian colonisation along Varangian trade routes (Baltic states to Black Sea)c. 793Approximate beginning of Viking Age800Rök runestone carved829Ansgar's first mission to introduce Christianity to Sweden850sOlof I campaigns in Courland (present day western Latvia)

10th century YearDateEvent960Settlement at Birka abandoned980City of Sigtuna founded984Battle of Fyrisvellir near present day Uppsala; Swedish and Geat tribes unite for first time under Eric the Victorious990City of Lund founded995Olof Skötkonung, first Swedish king of whom there is substantial historical knowledge, succeeds to throne

11th century YearDateEvent1000Gothi (pagan chieftain-priest) Þorgeirr Ljósvetningagoði endorses Christianity1004Olof Skötkonung baptized; begins adoption of Christianity as official religion1020The city of Lund is founded1036Ingvar the Far-Travelled leads unsuccessful Viking attack against Persia1085City of Helsingborg founded1087Temple at Uppsala, the central place of worship within Ancient Norse paganism, destroyed at order of King Inge the Elder.

12th century YearDateEvent1100Vreta Abbey, first Christian convent in Sweden, established1187Estonians, Curonians or/and Karelians invade and pillage Sigtuna killing archbishop JohannesEnn Tarvel (2007). Sigtuna hukkumine. Haridus, 2007 (7–8), pp. 38–41City of Nyköping founded

13th century YearDateEvent1208Battle of Lenac. 1215Eskil Magnusson, first historically attested lawspeaker of Thing of all Swedes (held in Tiundaland, present day Uppland)c. 1220Gutalagen law book (also containing the Gutasaga)1240Battle of the Neva1252City of Stockholm founded1280Ordinance of Alsnö gives birth to the frälse, a class of tax-exempt secular nobility

14th century YearDateEvent130629 SeptemberHåtuna games: coup against King Birger by his brothers, Eric and Valdemar Magnusson1310Peace of Helsingborg settles conflicts between Sweden, Norway and DenmarkES Ol&sig=ACfU3U26Khx WrE932NT-ME5khWBSHp92w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjsvd2Uw6rgAhUGShUIHfztBL4Q6AEwCnoECAEQAQ#v=onepage&q=treaty%20of%20helsingborg%201310&f=false Lester B Orfield, The Growth of Scandinavian Law (2002), p. 140Sanderson Beck, Scandinavia, 1250-1400131711 DecemberNyköping Banquet, Christmas celebration, after which King Birger imprisons his two brothers and starves them to death1319Sweden and Norway first unite1323Treaty of Nöteborg establishes peace between Sweden and the Novgorod Republic1344Bridgettine Order founded by St. Bridget (Heliga Birgitta)1350Black Death arrives in Sweden1359Magnus IV summons first Riksdag (parliament of Sweden)Elizabeth Elgán, Iren Scobbie: Historical Dictionary of Sweden (2015), p.236138924 FebruaryBattle of Åsle; King Albert deposed1397Sweden, Denmark and Norway unite into the Kalmar Union (1397-1523)1398Gotland conquered by Teutonic Knights

15th century YearDateEvent1409Teutonic Order sells Gotland to the Kalmar Union1434Start of Engelbrekt rebellion against King Erik of Pomerania1435Assembly of Swedish nobility at Arboga, considered first Riksdag of the Estates1436Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson assassinated1471Battle of Brunkeberg 1477Foundation of Uppsala University1495Russo-Swedish War (1495-1497)

16th century YearDateEvent1505First Kalmar Bloodbath1520Christina Gyllenstierna defends Stockholm but is defeated by the Danes under Christian II of Denmark; Christian is crowned king of Sweden and orders Stockholm bloodbath1523Gustav Vasa liberates Stockholm, leading Sweden out of the Kalmar Union and initiating monarchical rule of the House of Vasa1524Treaty of Malmö signed: The Danish king formally renounce his claim to Sweden; Sweden in return renounces claims to Scania and Blekinge1525First Dalecarlian Rebellion occurs in parallel with attempt by Christina Gyllenstierna and Sören Norby to take Swedish throne1526First Swedish translation of New Testament published1529Westrogothian Rebellion1531Third Dalecarlian Rebellion, also known as the Bell Rebellion (Klockupproret) begins; suppressed two years later1535War with Lübeck leads to expulsion of Hanseatic traders, ending previous Hanseatic League monopoly on foreign trade1540First full Swedish translation of Bible, the Gustav Vasa Bible, published1542Nils Dacke starts peasant uprising in Småland, defeated the following year1554Border skirmishes between Sweden and Russia lead to outbreak of Russo-Swedish War (1554-1557)1555A Description of the Northern Peoples (Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus) by Olaus Magnus published1561Estonia becomes a Swedish dominion1567Sture Murders carried out on the orders of Eric XIV157726 FebruaryEric XIV dies in imprisonment1584City of Karlstad founded1592Poland and Sweden enter into a short-lived personal union following crowning of Sigismund III Vasa as King of Sweden1598Conflict between Duke Charles, later King Charles IX, and Sigismund, King of Sweden and Poland, leads to outbreak of the War against Sigismund25 SeptemberBattle of Stångebro1599War against Sigismund ends, resulting in deposition of King Sigismund; Sigismund's followers targeted in second Kalmar Bloodbath and the Åbo Bloodbath

17th century YearDateEvent160020 MarchLinköping Bloodbath1610Ingrian War between Russia and Sweden begins1611Denmark declares war on Sweden, initiating Kalmar War1613Treaty of Knäred ends Kalmar War: Sweden obligated to pay Älvsborg Ransom of one million rixdollars for return of fortress of Älvsborg1614City of Kristianstad founded161727 FebruaryTreaty of Stolbovo ends Ingrian War: Russia cedes province and fortress of Kexholm, southwestern Karelia and province of Ingria to Sweden, laying foundation for Sweden's rise as a Great Power1621City of Gothenburg founded162810 AugustSinking of the Swedish warship Vasa1630Sweden enters the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648)163113 AprilBattle of Frankfurt an der Oder7 SeptemberBattle of Breitenfeld16326 NovemberBattle of Lützen: King Gustav II Adolf killed1638Colony of New Sweden established along the Delaware River in North America1648Thirty Years' War ends, with Sweden among the winners; Peace of Westphalia grants Sweden the provinces of Western Pomerania, Wismar, and the bishoprics of Bremen-Verden1650Colony of Swedish Gold Coast established on Gulf of Guinea in present-day Ghana1654Queen Christina abdicates throne and converts to Roman Catholicism, creating major scandal165826 FebruaryTreaty of Roskilde: Denmark-Norway cedes provinces of Blekinge, Bornholm, Bohuslän, Scania, Trøndelag and Halland to Sweden1663Colony of the Swedish Gold Coast seized by Denmark, and integrated into Danish Gold Coast1666Foundation of Lund University 1668Foundation of Sweden's central bank, Sveriges Riksbank 167424 DecemberSweden invades Brandenburg, triggering Swedish-Brandenburg War1675Denmark invades Scania, triggering Scanian War16761 JuneBattle of Öland17 AugustBattle of Halmstad4 DecemberBattle of Lund167726 JuneSiege of Malmö14 JulyBattle of Landskrona1678Invasion of Rügen167923 AugustTreaty of Fontainebleau signed, restoring all Danish conquests during the Scanian War to Sweden1680City of Karlskrona foundedGreat Reduction of 1680 enacted, returning to the Swedish Crown lands that had earlier been granted to the nobility16977 MayCastle of Tre Kronor burns down, destroying a significant portion of Sweden's national library and royal archives

18th century YearDateEvent170022 FebruaryAlliance consisting of Denmark-Norway, Saxony, Poland and Russia declares war on Sweden, initiating Great Northern WarBattle of Narva17028 JulyBattle of Kliszów17063 FebruaryBattle of Fraustadt ends in slaughter of captured prisoners by victorious Swedish army170613 OctoberInvasion of Poland by Sweden results in Treaty of Altranstädt forcing King Augustus the Strong to renounce claim to Polish throne and break Treaty of Narva, his alliance with Russia17081 JanuaryCharles XII crosses Vistula, opening attempted Swedish invasion of Russia170927 JuneBattle of Poltava: destruction of Charles XII's invading Swedish army by defending Russian forces of Peter the Great marks beginning of Sweden's decline as a great power171028 FebruaryBattle of Helsingborg: final failed attempt by Denmark to regain Scania17131 FebruarySkirmish at Bender, battle to remove Charles XII and the remnants of his army from the Ottoman Empire171830 NovemberCharles XII killed at Frederikshald1719Treaties of Stockholm, requiring Sweden to cede parts of Swedish Pomerania to Prussia and Bremen-Verden to Hanover1720Treaty of Frederiksborg, requiring Sweden to cede Schleswig to Denmark-Norway1721Treaty of Nystad, requiring Sweden to cede Estonia, Livonia and Ingria to Russia1731Foundation of Swedish East India Company1732Carl Linnaeus departs on his Expedition to Lapland1734 Civil Code of 1734 establishes unified code of law for Sweden1735First edition of Linnaeus' Systema Naturae1737Swedish language Theater of Bollhuset founded17392 JuneFoundation of Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences174123 AugustBattle of Villmanstrand1742Anders Celsius proposes Celsius temperature scale1743Fourth Dalecarlian Rebellion breaks out1747Olof von Dalin begins publication of his Swedish history, Svea Rikes Historia1749Storskifte Enclosure Act begins long period of major land reform in Sweden1756Quelling of attempted coup d'état by Queen Louisa Ulrika and a few devoted nobles to reinstate absolute monarchy in Sweden1757Sweden enters Seven Years' War (1756-1763)176222 MayTreaty of Hamburg concludes Sweden's involvement in Seven Years' War1766Freedom of the Press Act enacted: censorship abolished apart from limitations on vocal opposition to the king and the Church of Sweden1768December Crisis (1768) fails to increase royal power1772Absolute monarchy reintroduced through the Revolution of 17721773Discovery of oxygen by Carl Wilhelm ScheeleRoyal Swedish Opera founded1782Sweden purchases Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy from France178620 MarchFoundation of Swedish Academy1787First secondary education school in Sweden for girls, Societetsskolan, founded in Gothenburg1788Sweden declares war against Russia, initiating Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790)1790Treaty of Värälä concludes Russo-Swedish War, confirming status quo ante bellum with respect to borders179216 MarchKing Gustav III assassinated at a masked ball

19th century