In our story of Gustav Vasa, the first king of an independent Sweden and the founder of the Vasa Dynasty, we have come to the final chapters – his later years, death and legacy. We…
Gustav Vasa had subdued the rebellion of 1542-43, but he had been shaken by the initial success of the rebels. He needed to secure his position – and that of his descendants. Sweden had…
Gustav Vasa had made many changes since ascending the throne in 1523. The most profound was of course the reformation – turning the country from Catholicism to Lutheranism and changing centuries old traditions and belief…
Gustav Vasa was finally married to a woman of high birth and had a son, Erik. The royal couple must have been thrilled – a son would secure the Vasa Dynasty. But the happiness would…
Gustav Vasa had finally become king. But his troubles were not over. Not everyone accepted his rule, as he was not of royal birth, and he owed the merchants of Lübeck a lot of money.…
We left the last post just when a new rebellion against Danish king Christian II was about to start – the rebellion that would become the Swedish war of independence. To be fair, there were…
During his imprisonment in Denmark, Gustav Vasa heard of plans of a new military campaign against Sweden. According to his chronicler, Gustav became so distressed by this that he escaped in 1519, “with God’s help”. …
I have already posted about the Vasa Queens, and now the turn has come to the kings. I will of course start with the first of the Vasa kings – Gustav Vasa himself. But he…
We have follwed the headstrong princess Cecilia Vasa from her rebellious adolescence to her adventures in England, which she left in haste in 1566, hunted by creditors. In the 1560s religious tension was runnig high…
In the last post we got to know the young Cecilia Vasa, daughter of Swedish king Gustav I. We left her right before the event that would forever give her the reputation of a renaissance…