Scandinavia is called the region with a common culture and history, located on the Scandinavian peninsula plus Denmark.
Scandinavia is a geographical region in Northern Europe consisting of the Kingdoms of Norway, Denmark and Sweden. These three countries, together with Iceland, Finland and the possessions of Denmark, which include the largest island in the world, Greenland, as well as the much smaller Faroe and Frisian Islands, form the so-called Scandinavian countries.
Most likely, "Scandinavia" comes from "Skaðin", which in the language of the Germanic peoples means "danger", and "awjo" - "island". This name may be related to the shoals near the southernmost part of Scandinavia
Norwegian, Swedish and Danish belong to one language group - the group of North Germanic languages. Finnish is also related to these languages, although its roots come from the Finno-Ugric language group.
The name Sweden was first recorded in the 1st century AD. by the Roman historian Tacitus. He writes that on an island in the sea lives the tribe of the Svioni (alternatively the Svei), living off the sea, and describes them as masters of weapons and ships. The Svei ships were unusual for their time because they had bows on both sides - what is now known as the Viking style.
In the 6th century, Scandinavia was inhabited by 13 tribes of Goths, each with its own leader.
During the Viking Age (9th - 10th centuries), the Swedish Vikings traveled eastward to the Baltic states, Russia, around the Black Sea, as far as Constantinople and southern Europe.
During the Middle Ages, Denmark, Norway and Sweden (including the territory controlled by Sweden, today Finland) were united within the Kalmar Union, established in 1397 under the crown of Margaret I of Denmark. Sweden left the union in the 16th century and fought long-term wars with its neighbors - mainly Russia, Denmark and Norway. In the 17th century, Swedish supremacy and control was established over the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Baltic States and areas of present-day Germany. After the death of Charles XII in 1718, Swedish domination ended. In 1809, the eastern part of Sweden, Österland, and the eastern part of Norrland were separated into a semi-autonomous region - the Grand Duchy of Finland. By 1814, Sweden had lost all its territories outside the Scandinavian peninsula. In 1814, Norway was forced into an alliance with Sweden that lasted until 1905. Since 1814, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining an impartial foreign policy in peacetime and neutrality in wartime.
The climate ranges from temperate, with cold, cloudy winters and cool, partly cloudy summers in the southern parts to subarctic in the northern parts. Rainfall is frequent.
The northern parts of the country are covered with extensive forests, while in the southern part the Skåne Plain is used mainly for agricultural crops.[10] Availability of minerals is mostly in the northwestern parts of the country. Of industrial importance are iron ore, copper ore, zinc, lead, silver, and in smaller quantities uranium, tungsten and gold are present.
There are 28 national parks in Sweden, of which the most famous are Gotska-Sandjon, Fulufelet and Söderösen.
based on material on Wikipedia
