Why Sweden celebrates two years in 2023 – Royal Central
While many are familiar with the golden jubilee celebrations planned for King Carl XVI Gustaf, Sweden is celebrating two significant anniversaries this year.
The country is not only celebrating Carl Gustaf’s 50 years on the throne, but they are also celebrating 500 years of modern Sweden.
Most celebrations will revolve around the reigning monarch and his achievements; but on June 6, the festivities will focus on a different monarch.
This year marks 500 years since Gustav Vasa was elected monarch in Sweden; this was the beginning of the modern Sweden that we see today.
National Day in Sweden is held annually on June 6, but this year the celebration will be bigger and a little more special as Sweden marks such an important moment as a nation.
On June 6, 1523, Gustav Vasa was appointed king of Sweden; this also ended the Kalmar Union, which was ruled by the Danes.
The king has been called the “father of the nation” for Sweden when he broke the union with Denmark and Norway, as well as the monarchy’s connection to the Roman Catholic Church. Gustav Vasa founded the Church of Sweden (Lutherism), which is the religion the Swedish royal family still adheres to. It is also the largest Christian community in Sweden to date. The king also transformed Sweden from an elective monarchy to a hereditary one.
His family, the House of Vasa, ruled Sweden until 1654 when the House of Pfalz-Zweibrücken took the throne. The houses of Hessen-Kassel and Holstein-Gottorp then ruled until the current House of Bernadotte took the throne under King Carl XIV Johan in 1818.
King Gustav Vasa reigned as King of Sweden from June 6, 1523 until his death on September 29, 1560; he was succeeded by his eldest child, Erik XIV.
National Day was first observed in 1919 to celebrate King Gustav Vasa’s election as king. Until 1983, the holiday was called Swedish Flag Day.