Scandinavian History Podcast

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Scandinavian History Podcast

A journey through the history of Scandinavia from the last ice age to the dawn of the space age.

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31/12/2025

Everyone here at the Scandinavian History Podcast HQ wishes you a Happy New Year!

30/12/2025

Jean Baptiste Bernadotte was married to Désirée Clary, and when he became crown prince Karl Johan of Sweden, she became crown princess Desideria.

As you already know if you've listened to the latest episode of the Scandinavian History Podcast, she didn't like Sweden, and preferred to live in Paris, and in these two portraits of her, it really shows. In the first one, she's living her best life in Parisian high society. In the second, she's queen of Sweden. You can almost see the desperation shining in her eyes.

29/12/2025

In 1806, France conquered the miniscule Italian principality Pontecorvo, an exclave belonging to the Papal States, but surrounded by the kingdom of Naples. Napoleon granted his marshal Jean Baptiste Bernadotte the title prince of Pontecorvo, and you can see his coat of arms here: a blue shield with the imperial eagle above the curved bridge.

When Bernadotte later became king of Sweden, he incorporated the symbol of Pontecorvo into his royal coat of arms, and that's why you can still find the French imperial eagle and the curved bridge in the inescutcheon of the coat of arms of Sweden.

28/12/2025

This is what he looks like, Carl Otto Mörner, a.k.a. the Ultimate King Maker, the man who offered the Swedish crown to Jean Baptiste Bernadotte. Mörner was an aristocrat and officer, and hoped that a marshal of France would help Sweden reconquer Finland. After becoming crown prince, Bernadotte favored Mörner, and he rose quickly through the ranks. But their chummy relationship broke down soon after Bernadotte became king and Mörner realized that the man he had helped onto the throne wasn't the least interested in even trying to get Finland back from the Russians.

26/12/2025

Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, who was elected crown prince of Sweden in the latest episode of the Scandinavian History Podcast, wasn't born a prince. As you know by now, he was born a commoner in the French provincial town of Pau. Obviously he didn't grow up in a palace, but I still think this house, which happens to be the one Bernadotte was born in, still looks pretty fancy.

25/12/2025

When you watched king Carl XVI Gustaf's traditional Christmas address today, I hope you noticed the bust on the desk. It's the king's ancestor, Karl Johan Bernadotte, who was elected crown prince in the latest episode of the Scandinavian History Podcast.

24/12/2025

Here at the Scandinavian History Podcast we celebrate Christmas in true Scandinavian style, that is already on December 24. That means it's high time to wish all of you:

Glædelig jul!
God jul!
Hyvää joulua!
Gleðileg jól!
God jul!

While you're waiting for Santa to show up, you can pass the time guessing which greeting is in which language.

23/12/2025

In the latest episode, I talked about three possible candidates to replace Karl August as crown prince of Sweden. The election was held at the Riksdag that met in Örebro 1810. The establishment candidate was Karl August's older brother, Fredrik Christian, even though the queen and a few other supporters of the old dynasty still hoped that the deposed ex-king Gustav Adolf's son Gustav would be elected. The third candidate was an unlikely outsider, the marshal of France Jean Baptiste Bernadotte.

In case you're curious, this is what they looked like.

19/12/2025

The world may be preparing for a nice, long Christmas break, but here at the Scandinavian History Podcast we work as usual. To prove it, here's a brand new episode for you to enjoy while decking the halls.

After the death of Karl August, only five months after he had been elected crown prince, the Swedes needed to find another heir to the throne. The main candidate was yet another Danish prince, but there were those who had other ideas.

As usual, you'll find links in the comments.

18/12/2025

In the latest episode, I talked about "the rock bottom of Swedish dishonor", namely the lynching of the marshal of the realm, Axel von Fersen, by an angry mob. Sympathizers with the Men of 1809 had spread the false rumor that von Fersen had murdered the popular crown prince Karl August, and when people saw him participate in the funerary procession, they lost control and beat von Fersen to death.

This depiction is from the 1840s, when the Gustavians were well and truly defeated, and the people in charge wanted to hammer home how horribly wrong displays of opposition could turn.

15/12/2025

I bet you've been losing sleep wondering where the three towns named after ex-queen Fredrika are located. Here's a helpful map to help you find peace.

Fredrika today has 177 inhabitants. The town used to be called Viska until 1799. That earlier name came from the south Sami word "visteke", which means "the place rich in lichen".

Dorotea is a much larger town, with no fewer than 1208 inhabitants. Before it was renamed, the town was called Bergvattnet, or "kraapohke" in south Sami.

Finally, Vilhelmina, is the largest of the three towns with a whopping 6,188 inhabitants. I haven't found any information about an earlier name for this town, but apparently the Vilhelmina Bowling Center has no fewer than eight lanes.

13/12/2025

Even though the Scandinavians have been fiercely Protestant for almost 500 years, they still celebrate at least one Catholic saint--St Lucia. Especially the Swedes take December 13, the feast day of St Lucia, very seriously and mark the day with processions, singing, candles and baked goods.

For more information, check out this short how-to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgxZS4mWSrw

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