To trace the origins of Lithuanian–Swedish relations, one would have to go back to the 6th century, when archaeologists recorded the first contacts between the two regions. These contacts intensified during the Viking Age (11th–13th centuries) and later in the 16th century through the Vasa–Jagiellonian dynastic connections. The 17th–18th centuries marked a period of Swedish expansion in the region.
According to Prof. Dr. Raimonda Ragauskienė of the Lithuanian Institute of History, although contacts between Lithuania and Sweden practically ceased during the Soviet period, Sweden remained in Lithuanian imagination as a symbol of freedom. Even today, several sites in Sweden preserve the memory of the 20th-century Lithuanian struggle for freedom and independence on the other side of the Baltic Sea.
The traces of Lithuania’s fight for freedom discussed in this article by author Gerda Butkuvienė remind us that the marks of Lithuanian history around the world extend far beyond what we know today.
Heritage Commission is an expert and advisor to the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania, President of the Republic of Lithuania and to Government of the Republic of Lithuania regarding the national policy of cultural heritage protection, its implementation, evaluation and improvement.
The article prepared by Gerda Butkuvienė is part of the project “Map of Cultural Heritage Significant to Lithuania in the Kingdom of Sweden” implemented by the National Commission for Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Lithuania. The project was partially funded by the Cultural Heritage Department under the Ministry of Culture.