Cultural life and well-known Swedes

Science, engineering, invention
18th century. Carl Linnaeus – natural scientist, father of the modern classification of flora and fauna.
Anders Celsius
19th century. Alfred Nobel – invented dynamite and instituted the Nobel Prizes.
Lars Magnus Ericsson started his company, now one of the largest telecom companies in the world.
20th century. Erik Wallenberg invented the Tetra Pak
Modern ball bearings

Authors
Strindberg, Astrid Lindgren (Pippi Longstocking),
Selma Lagerlöf, Henning Mankell (Wallender detective
stories)

Cinema
Ingmar Bergman, Greta Garbo, Ingrid Bergman

Music
A significant folk music scene including Sami “joik”, now part of world music.
Strong tradition of choral singing.
Classical composers: Franz Berwald, Hugo Alvén, Dag Wirén.
Celebrated singers: Jenny Lind, Jussi Björling, Birgit Nilsson, Elisabeth Söderström, Nicolai Gedda
Pop music – ABBA.

Tourism
* All water sports in the vast number of lakes and rivers.
* Sailing in the Stockholm Archipelago.
* Exploring Sami culture in the land of the Midnight Sun and Aurora Borealis.
* Cross country hiking and skiing.
* Simple summer living by lakes and in forests in small wooden chalets.

Food and drink
* Swedish meatballs
* Smörgåsbord (lavish cold buffet)
* pancakes, lingonberry jam
* Akvavit – distilled alcohol