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Sweden

Hammarby Sjöstad was originally engineered to have a carbon footprint 50 percent lower than the rest of Stockholm.

This Stockholm Neighborhood Was Built on Ambitious Sustainability Goals. When It Came Up Short, It Doubled Down and Became a Blueprint for Others

The original plan for Hammarby Sjöstad was for an eco-village aimed at attracting the Olympics. They never came, but the locals moved in and, with upgrades, hope to be carbon neutral by 2030

By age 20, autism diagnoses are almost equal among men and women in Sweden, a new study suggests.

Is Autism Really a Male-Dominated Condition? A New Study Suggests Women Have It Just as Often, but Are Diagnosed Later in Life

Researchers examined the prevalence of autism among nearly three million people born in Sweden over the past four decades

The cache includes a mix of coins and other treasures.

Cool Finds

This Fisherman Was Digging for Worms in Sweden When He Stumbled Upon a Trove of Medieval Silver

Experts think that someone may have buried the copper cauldron full of coins and jewelry to keep it safe during a tumultuous period in the 12th century

A superb fairy-wren calls to a Horsfield's bronze-cuckoo. Brood parasites like cuckoos lay eggs in other birds' nests and leave them behind for the host birds to raise.

Birds Make an Alarm Call That Spans Species and Continents—and May Offer Insight Into the Evolution of Human Language

More than 20 species make a nearly identical noise to warn nearby birds of brood parasites, a behavior that bridges the “sharp division between animal communication systems and human language”

Valborg “Mama” Gravander baking her signature cookies with neighbor children

For This Prize-Winning Swedish Weaver in California, Craft Was Intertwined With Culture—and Cookies

Valborg “Mama” Gravander helped build a community based on her heritage and skill. A piece of her legacy is now on display at the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery

Sweden's fans wave IKEA flags before a soccer game between Austria and Sweden in Vienna in 2023.

Sweden Releases an Official Cultural Canon That Features IKEA and ‘Pippi Longstocking’—but Not ABBA

Critics of the list, which features 100 artworks and other cultural creations from before 1975, say the selections are exclusionary

The church was towed at a speed of 0.31 to 0.93 miles per hour.

To Save This Historic Church, Workers Loaded It Onto Trailers and Rolled It Across Town. See How They Pulled It Off

The 672.4-ton church is one of several buildings that have been relocated in the Swedish town of Kiruna, where Europe’s largest underground iron ore mine is weakening the ground beneath the city center

No winners are declared. No medals are handed out. There is no podium. The only aim for riders of the Vätternrundan is to complete the challenge, and doing so is a rite of passage. 

How Sweden’s Vätternrundan Became One of the Biggest Recreational Bike Rides on the Planet

For 60 years, cyclists have descended on the city of Motala in June to ride 196 miles around Lake Vättern and promote healthy living

The antler fragment seen from multiple angles

New Research

This Intricately Decorated Deer Antler Was Used as a Battle Ax Before Being Repurposed as a Fishing Harpoon

During the sixth millennium B.C.E., carvers in present-day Sweden etched patterns into the artifact before redecorating it in a new style. It was likely deposited into a river as part of a ritual

Researchers Daniel Cerveny and Marcus Michelangeli collecting salmon from the Dal River in Sweden.

Salmon Are Being Exposed to Our Anti-Anxiety Medication, and It’s Making Them Take More Risks, Study Suggests

Atlantic salmon exposed to a common anti-anxiety drug migrate faster, according to new research. That’s not necessarily a good thing

Peter Pentz, a curator at the National Museum of Denmark, sees many similarites between the stamp and the Sutton Hoo helmet.

Britain’s Famous Sutton Hoo Helmet May Have Come From Denmark, Not Sweden, New Discovery Suggests

A small metal stamp discovered on a Danish island bears many similarities to the iconic seventh-century helmet

An unidentified man found the armlet in a wetland last fall.

Cool Finds

Eagle-Eyed Man Discovers Rare Viking Arm Ring That May Have Been Lost in a Marsh in Sweden 1,000 Years Ago

Archaeologists say the iron armlet could also have been buried deliberately in a sacrificial bog

Train Smoke, Edvard Munch, 1900

See the Breathtaking Landscape Paintings Inspired by the Boreal Forest, From Europe to North America

Titled “Northern Lights,” a new exhibition in Switzerland showcases artworks of the taiga made between 1888 and 1937

Visitors look at posters in the Third Man Museum in Vienna.

Eight Movie Museums Cinephiles Need to Visit

From Chaplin’s World in Switzerland to Popeye Village in Malta, these spots celebrate much-loved films and filmmakers

In Sweden, a popular pie is topped with bananas, cheese, curry and salty ham.

Bananas and Curry on Pizza? That’s How the Swedish Do It

Before you turn your nose up at the sweet and spicy combination, consider its roots in the country’s post-World War II food culture

Brahe's mansion, Uraniborg, was located on an island in Sweden. His basement laboratory is represented by the bottom left room in this drawing.

New Research

Was This Renaissance Alchemist Ahead of His Time?

New research suggests that Tycho Brahe isolated tungsten nearly 200 years before the metal was identified as an element

Tomasz Stachura, one of the divers who found the wreck, saw bubbles inside some of the Champagne bottles.

Cool Finds

Divers Find Crates of Unopened Champagne in 19th-Century Shipwreck

Discovered near Sweden, the vessel was loaded with bottles of sparkling wine, mineral water and porcelain

Saxophonist Dexter Gordon at Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen in 1964

Why the Nordic Countries Emerged as a Haven for 20th-Century African American Expatriates

An exhibition in Seattle spotlights the Black artists and performers who called Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden home between the 1930s and the 1980s

Researchers Johan Rönnby and Rolf Warming examine the stern of the ship that sunk over 500 years ago off the coast of Sweden.

Cool Finds

Weapon Chest With Tools for Making Ammunition Found in 500-Year-Old Shipwreck in Sweden

The mercenaries on board the “Griffin” lived during a time of great change in naval warfare

An artistic representation of the Gotlant burial of a Viking-era woman with a modified skull

New Research

Vikings May Have Used Body Modification as a ‘Sign of Identification’

A recent study analyzes Scandinavian examples of filed teeth and elongated skulls dating to the Viking Age

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