When we hear “Scandinavia”, most of us envision Denmark, Norway and Sweden – three countries sharing cultural heritage as well as mutually intelligible North Germanic languages – but there is much more to Scandinavia than meets the eye.
Athens is a colorful mosaic of ancient traditions and modern innovation, from stylish minimalist design to environmental sustainability initiatives.
Geography
Scandinavia is a region comprised of four countries–Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland–which share geographical, cultural and historical ties. Although traditionally defined as including Iceland as well as Estonia Latvia Lithuania as part of Scandinavia, Wikivoyage excludes these nations in their definition.
Scandinavia has an incredibly varied landscape, from Norway’s fjords and mountains to flatlands and archipelagos in Denmark, lakes in Sweden and Finland, forests and wide rivers of southern Norway as well as many of Europe’s biggest lakes. This diversity can be attributed to Scandinavia being situated around both the North and Baltic seas as well as being home to some of Europe’s biggest water bodies – both large seas surrounded by hundreds of rivers that run into them.
Copenhagen and Stockholm compete to be considered Scandinavia’s unofficial capital; both cities offer large, prosperous urban environments with great public transportation systems. Other Nordic centres of culture include Oslo and Helsinki as well as university towns like Ume. Wildlife includes big animals such as the moose (known in Norway as “hirvi”, Swedish as “algi”, English as “elk”) and reindeer; hunting these creatures for fun during autumn hunting season is popular activity and their antlers may even appear as road warning signs or in rural homes during autumn hunting sessions!
Southern Scandinavia was home to hunter-gatherers of the Kongemose culture during the 6th millennium BC, who fished and foraged for food in both coastal waters and forests, covering temperate broadleaf species with wisents, aurochs, and moose as inhabitants. Large portions of Northern Scandinavia were covered by tundra with an Arctic climate called snaufjell, vidde, duottar or tunturi climate zones – these terms being utilized interchangeably throughout Norwegian culture for their inhabitants.
Culture
Scandinavia is home to various distinct cultural identities; yet one thing remains constant across its members – an emphasis on equality and social justice that is expressed through the welfare state developed during the 20th century, comprising both public and private ownership with its operations operating within parliamentary political democracies.
The Nordic countries are widely revered for their design ethos and craftsmanship, which blend tradition with forward-thinking innovation. Denmark stands out with its minimalist approach offering harmony between form and function while Sweden excels in green technology innovations and Norway has long-held maritime traditions that fuel its advancement of marine industries and renewable energy production.
Viking legacy remains deeply embedded into Scandinavian culture today, visible through language and names. Vikings were an industrious people that used any available natural material – including animal horn – in their crafts, while also developing an extensive hunting culture centered on whales, seals, and walruses.
At the height of the Viking Age, Scandinavian tribes raided Roman territories for gold which they used to craft weapons, household wares, jewellery and much more. Furthermore, silversmithing became an art form among this elite society; their creations could even be found buried among grave bodies in Denmark, Schleswig and southern Sweden in 5th to 6th century burial bogs that contain artefacts like jewellery and even an ornate silver drinking horn made of silver!
The Vikings also developed farming cultures on their homelands. Southern Sweden and Denmark enjoyed mild temperatures perfect for cultivating rye and wheat crops, along with vast forests and abundant fisheries. Northern Sweden and Norway, on the other hand, saw shorter summers, making hunting especially lucrative activities – whaling being especially lucrative among Vikings hunters.
Languages
Some years back, there was much discussion surrounding the Nordic region (or Scandinavia), including whether it consisted of one region or several. Unfortunately, even amongst experts in this field this remains somewhat confusing.
Scandinavia is commonly defined as comprising Denmark, Norway and Sweden; however it can also refer to the entire region or the Nordic countries more generally. Nordic is used more broadly, including Finland, Iceland and Greenland in addition to providing cultural identity and groupings within Scandinavia.
Language-wise, Scandinavian languages belong to the North Germanic family; although not mutually intelligible, they do share a history and cultural community spirit.
These languages have been heavily influenced by Middle Low German and standard German, yet their original complex inflectional systems remain relatively intact. Differences are mostly evident in vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar usage.
Many assume Scandinavian languages are extremely difficult to learn; this isn’t always the case. Danish, Swedish and Norwegian are relatively straightforward as all three share similar alphabets and sounds; Norwegian is considered “middle child” of these Scandinavian tongues due to having both sounds from Swedish and Danish but its own distinct pronunciation.
Recently, SKAM’s popularity has led to an increased interest among young people for learning Norwegian – this may have positive ramifications on teaching of Norwegian in schools as well as increase tourism to Norway.
Economy
Nordic countries are widely known for their extensive social safety nets and public funding of services like universal health care, higher education and childcare. Such generous spending requires a substantial tax base – making Scandinavian nations some of the highest taxed in the world.
As a result, this combination has resulted in an economic model which combines elements of socialism and capitalism with private ownership of businesses and limited government intervention. While critics argue this model cannot withstand bad times, it seems to work well now: Nordic economies are some of the most competitive and productive in Europe with low unemployment rates and strong workforce participation rates; their startups include Spotify for music streaming services; Skype for telecommuting purposes and Klarna for e-commerce transactions.
General, Nordic countries are well known for their openness and adaptability when responding to shifts in global economy, which has allowed them to avoid some of the issues plaguing other developed nations such as overheated housing markets or stock market bubbles. Furthermore, this region boasts many world-leading companies; 60 Nordic firms were listed by Forbes magazine among their global public corporation list in 2016.
Recent quarters have seen Swedish growth impeded by slowing household consumption, weaker industrial inventories, and reduced construction activity. Yet Sweden is projected to rebound and expand further by 2024-2025 owing to ongoing disinflation, more favorable financing conditions, and strong export competitiveness which should aid this recovery process.
Politics
Though many outsiders argue vigorously for social democracy or against welfare states, Nordic countries seem quite content to work their issues out collectively to become some of the happiest people worldwide. Their model produces equality and free access to decent public services – including some of the best education and healthcare in the world – with low levels of inequality all due to healthy national finances that spread benefits more equally across society rather than only benefitting a select few.
Scandinavia is an area comprising five constitutional monarchies (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland) each with their own parliaments and executive branches; Denmark is part of the European Union while Faroe Islands and Greenland depend on Denmark for support. Power is split among legislative, judicial and executive domains – Icelandic and Finnish presidents hold ceremonial roles similar to Scandinavian monarchies while Denmark Norway Sweden have prime ministers as heads of government.
Political culture in Korea is marked by openness and transparency as well as high trust between individuals. Politicians from different parties often collaborate together in coalition government arrangements – this is evidenced by relatively few electoral boycotts and high voter turnout rates at elections.
The Nordic model of society is defined by equality, solidarity and mutual aid; coupled with strong senses of civic responsibility and the ability to address problems collectively. Furthermore, Nordic countries are known for being efficient and well-managed due to highly educated workforces with increased productivity and low unemployment levels.
Trip-ready gear from Amazon
As an Amazon Associate, grandgo.com earns from qualifying purchases. Links below are affiliate links — clicking them may earn us a small commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and availability are shown on Amazon.co.uk.
- Insulated water bottle Hydroflask — Keeps liquids ambient.
- Warm winter gloves travel — Aurora watching essential.
- Lonely Planet Scandinavia guide — Multi-country Nordic guide.