Estonian Swedes
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The Estonian Swedes, or Estonia-Swedes, or "Coastal Swedes" are a Swedish-speaking minority traditionally residing in the coastal areas and islands of what is now western and northern Estonia. During World War II, almost all of the remaining Swedish-speaking minority escaped from the Soviet invasion of Estonia and fled to Sweden in 1944. Only the descendants of a few individuals who stayed behind are permanent residents in Estonia today.
Swedish towns and villages in Western Estonia
Swedish church in Hullo, Vormsi
Maria Murman (1911–2004), an Estonian Swede who remained in Estonia after the Second World War, in Vormsi (Ormsö), 1994
![Hullo on Vormsi in 1934 with Vormsi Orthodox Church [et]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Hullu_k%C3%BCla_%28Hullo%29%2C_Vormsi_saar_%28Orms%C3%B6%29_SLS_443_26_-_1934.jpg/640px-Hullu_k%C3%BCla_%28Hullo%29%2C_Vormsi_saar_%28Orms%C3%B6%29_SLS_443_26_-_1934.jpg)
Hullo on Vormsi in 1934 with Vormsi Orthodox Church [et]
Swedish language
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Swedish is a North Germanic language from the Indo-European language family, spoken predominantly in Sweden and in parts of Finland. It has at least 10 million native speakers, the fourth most spoken Germanic language and the first among any other of its type in the Nordic countries overall.
The initial page of the first complete copy of Västgötalagen, the law code of Västergötland, from c. 1280. It is one of the earliest texts in Swedish written in the Latin script.
Front page of Gustav Vasa's Bible from 1541, using Fraktur. The title translated to English reads: "The Bible / That is / The Holy Scripture / in Swedish. Printed in Uppsala. 1541".
August Strindberg, one of the most influential writers in modern Swedish literature.
A sign on the wall of a Swedish hotel, using both the recommended dem and the colloquial dom for the word "them" on the same sign.