SWEDEN 



5646 



SWEDEN 



Sclma Lagcrliif, a novelist who won the Nobel 

 Prize for literature in 1909. 



Education. Illiteracy is almost unknown in 

 Sweden. Education is free and compulsory, 

 and an excellent system of elementary and 

 high schools is maintained, under governmental 

 supervision. There are fifteen normal schools 

 and many technical and navigation schools. 

 The universities are at Lund and Upsala; the 

 latter, founded in 1477, is one of the oldest 

 universities in Europe. 



The Land. The mountainous sections of 

 Sweden are confined to the northern part of 

 the country, called Norrland, and to the range 

 of rocky precipices and mountains along the 

 Norwegian frontier. The most rugged scenery 

 and highest peaks 

 are in the north, 

 where the lofty, 

 snow - crowned 

 Sarjektjokko and 

 Kebnekaisse rise 

 7,000 feet. 

 Among the deep 

 ravines and steep 

 precipices of these 

 mountainous re- 



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LOCATION MAP 



The present boundaries of 

 gions there are Swe den reduce it to the rank 

 green meadows of one of the small countries 

 of Europe in area, but its 



and beautiiul commercial importance is not 

 lakes, and their to be meas ured by its size, 

 long, eastern slopes are scarred by many tor- 

 rents which in the lowland sections widen into 

 broad channels and innumerable lakes. South- 

 east of the lowlands of Central Sweden are the 

 rolling, forest-clad hills of the Smaland Up- 

 lands, and in the extreme south lie the fertile 

 plains of Scania, the best agricultural region in 

 the country. 



The wooded and rocky coast of Sweden is 

 picturesque, but it has not the rugged grandeur 

 of the fiords of Norway. The entire eastern 

 coast is penetrated by bays and sounds, and 

 is bordered by many islands, which are most 

 numerous near the city of Stockholm. Gotland 

 and Oland, two of the largest islands in the 

 Baltic Sea, belong to Sweden. The coast and 

 islands of the Gulf of Bothnia are rugged, but 

 not lofty. On the Baltic, gleaming white klints, 

 or cliffs, alternate with low beaches, but gloomy 

 fields of bare cliffs border the shores of the 

 Cattegat and Skagerrack, and dangerous rocks 

 lurk just below the surface of their waters. 



Rivers and Lakes. Most of Sweden's many 

 rivers rise in the highlands along the Nor- 

 wegian border and flow southeast to the Gulf 



of Bothnia and the Baltic Sea. Among the 

 largest of these rivers are the Tornea, flowing 

 290 miles through large lakes and forming the 

 boundary with Russia; the swift Lulea, the 

 Pitea, the Skelleftea, the Indals, the Dal and 

 the Angermann, which is navigable seventy 

 miles by seagoing vessels. The Klar, rising in 

 Norway, flows south to Lake Wener, and the 

 Gota, the most important commercial river, 

 flows from Lake Wetter to the Cattegat. Six 

 beautiful falls in the latter river, at Trollhattan, 

 furnish 700,000 horse power, making this city 

 the chief industrial center of Sweden. Naviga- 

 tion is extended beyond the falls by means of 

 locks, and the river, connecting with canals and 

 lakes, forms a water boulevard across the coun- 

 try (see Transportation, below). 



The numerous picturesque lakes, bordered by 

 wooded shores, not only furnish some of the 

 greatest beauties of Swedish scenery but also 

 are of vast importance in navigation, and they 

 abound in fish. The lakes of the lowland re- 

 gion are larger than the mountain tarns. Lake 

 Wener has an area of 2,114 square miles, and 

 Lake Wetter of 715 square miles. Other large 

 lakes are Hjelmar and Malar; the latter washes 

 the shores of 1,300 islands, and on its shores 

 Stockholm, "the Venice of the North," is situ- 

 ated. 



Climate. Although the moderating influence 

 of the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Bothnia is felt 

 on the eastern coasts, no part of Sweden has 

 so equable a climate as that of Southern Nor- 

 way, where the seasons are tempered by the 

 Atlantic winds. There is a wide difference in 

 the annual temperature of. the northern part 

 of the country, which lies within the Arctic 

 Circle, and that of Scania, which is 900 miles 

 farther south. Winters in the north last nine 

 months, and in the south they are only two 

 months shorter. The seasons of spring and 

 autumn are very short, and in some regions are 

 lacking altogether. At Stockholm the average 

 temperature for July is 63 and for January 

 24. The rainfall averages about twenty inches. 

 It is heaviest during August, and the greatest 

 amount falls in the south. In the northern part 

 of the country the precipitation rarely exceeds 

 thirteen inches. 



Agriculture. Sweden has always been pre- 

 dominantly an agricultural country, but owing 

 to the recent development of manufacturing 

 and other industries the population is now 

 about equally divided between farmers and 

 those who follow other pursuits. The farms are 

 generally small and are owned by independent 



