1.
Sceptre
–
A sceptre or scepter is a symbolic ornamental staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty, either right or cruel, the ancient Indian work of Tirukkural dedicates a separate chapter each on the ethics of the right sceptre and the evils of the cruel sceptre. The Was and other types of staffs were signs of authority in Ancient Egypt, for this reason, they are often described as sceptres, even if they are full-length staffs. One of the earliest royal sceptres was discovered in the 2nd Dynasty tomb of Khasekhemwy in Abydos, kings were also known to carry a staff, and Pharaoh Anedjib is shown on stone vessels carrying a so-called mks-staff. The staff with the longest history seems to be the heqa-sceptre, the Bronze Age rulers of Mesopotamia are not regularly depicted with sceptres. However, in instances, they are shown armed, with bow and arrow. Use of a rod or staff as representing authority can be traced to the beginning of Classical Antiquity. Among the early Greeks, the sceptre was a staff, such as Agamemnon wielded or was used by respected elders, and came to be used by judges, military leaders, priests. It is represented on painted vases as a staff tipped with a metal ornament. When the sceptre is borne by Zeus or Hades, it is headed by a bird, when, in the Iliad, Agamemnon sends Odysseus to the leaders of the Achaeans, he lends him his sceptre. Among the Etruscans, sceptres of great magnificence were used by kings, many representations of such sceptres occur on the walls of the painted tombs of Etruria. The British Museum, the Vatican, and the Louvre possess Etruscan sceptres of gold, the Roman sceptre probably derived from the Etruscan. Under the Republic, a sceptre was a mark of consular rank. It was also used by generals who received the title of imperator. In the First Persian Empire, the Biblical Book of Esther mentions the sceptre of the King of Persia. Esther 5,2 When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight, so Esther came near, and touched the top of the scepter. Under the Roman Empire, the sceptrum Augusti was specially used by the emperors, the codes of the right and the cruel sceptre are found in the ancient Tamil work of Tirukkural, dating back to between the first and the third centuries BCE. With the advent of Christianity, the sceptre was tipped with a cross instead of with an eagle
2.
Key (lock)
–
A key is a device that is used to operate a lock. A key is usually intended to one specific lock or a small number of locks that are keyed alike. The key serves as a security token for access to the area, only persons having the correct key can open the lock. Keys provide an inexpensive, though imperfect, method of control for access to physical properties like buildings, vehicles. As such, keys are a feature of modern living. It is common for people to carry the set of keys they need for their activities around with them, often linked by a keyring. The earliest known lock and key device was discovered in the ruins of Nineveh, Locks such as this were later developed into the Egyptian wooden pin lock, which consisted of a bolt, door fixture, and key. When the key was inserted, pins within the fixture were lifted out drilled holes within the bolt, when the key was removed, the pins fell part-way into the bolt, preventing movement. The warded lock was also present from antiquity and remains the most recognizable lock, the first all-metal locks appeared between the years 870 and 900, and are attributed to the English craftsmen. It is also said that the key was invented by Theodore of Samos in the 6th century BC, affluent Romans often kept their valuables in secure boxes within their households, and wore the keys as rings on their fingers. The practice had two benefits, It kept the key handy at all times, while signaling that the wearer was wealthy and important enough to have money and jewelry worth securing. The lever tumbler lock, which uses a set of levers to prevent the bolt from moving in the lock, was perfected by Robert Barron in 1778. His double acting lever lock required the lever to be lifted to a height by having a slot cut in the lever. This type of lock is currently used today. The lever tumbler lock was improved by Jeremiah Chubb in 1818. A burglary in Portsmouth Dockyard prompted the British Government to announce a competition to produce a lock that could be opened only with its own key, Chubb was awarded £100 after a trained lock-picker failed to break the lock after 3 months. In 1820, Jeremiah joined his brother Charles in starting their own lock company, the Chubb brothers also received a patent for the first burglar-resisting safe and began production in 1835. The designs of Barron and Chubb were based on the use of levers, but Joseph Bramah
3.
Sweden
–
Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
4.
Stockholm Palace
–
Stockholm Palace or The Royal Palace is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch. Stockholm Palace is located on Stadsholmen, in Gamla stan in the capital, the offices of the King, the other members of the Swedish Royal Family, and the offices of the Royal Court of Sweden are located here. The palace is used for representative purposes by the King whilst performing his duties as the head of state. This royal residence has been in the location by Norrström in the northern part of the Gamla stan in Stockholm since the middle of the 13th century when the Tre Kronor Castle was built. In modern times the name relates to the building called Kungliga Slottet, the palace was designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger and erected on the same place as the medieval Tre Kronor Castle which was destroyed in a fire on 7 May 1697. Due to the costly Great Northern War which started in 1700, construction of the palace was halted in 1709, when Tessin the Younger died in 1728, the palace was completed by Carl Hårleman who also designed a large part of its Rococo interior. The palace was not ready to use until 1754, when King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika moved in, as of 2009 the interior of the palace consists of 1,430 rooms of which 660 have windows. The palace contains apartments for the Royal families, representation and festivities such as the State Apartments, the Guest Apartments, the National Library of Sweden was housed in the northeast wing, the Biblioteksflygeln, until 1878. As of 2014 it houses the Bernadotte Library, the Slottsarkivet is housed in the Chancery Wing. In the palace are the offices of the Royal Court of Sweden, the Royal Guards has guarded the palace and the Royal Family since 1523. A comprehensive renovation of the began in 2011, to repair weather damaged parts made from sandstone. The repairs are estimated to cost approx,500 million crowns during a period of 22 years. The first building on site was a fortress with a core tower built in the 13th century by Birger Jarl to defend Lake Mälaren. The fortress grew to a castle, eventually named Tre Kronor for the towers spire top decorated with three crowns. At the beginning of the 17th century, King Gustavus Adolphus made plans for a new royal palace, contemporaneous copperplates from 1654 shows de la Vallée’s idea of a more visible castle on a raised plateau with a connecting bridge over the Norrström. Queen Christina remodelled and embellished the castle extensively, but no new castle was built during her reign. In 1661, he presented the first draft for a conversion of the row which his son, Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, would later rework. A map of the Stadsholmen from the 1650s, illustrates de la Vallées suggestion for the conversion of the old castle, the project also brought about an adjustment of the Slottsbacken, making it partially enclosed by buildings
5.
Oscar II of Sweden
–
Oscar II was King of Sweden from 1872 until his death and King of Norway from 1872 until his dethronement in 1905. He was the third of four sons of King Oscar I, as his eldest brother Charles XV was without heirs and his brother Prince Gustaf died in 1852, it was he who succeeded his brother as king. Oscar II was king during a period when Sweden was undergoing a period of industrialization, the declining Union of Sweden and Norway was finally dissolved in 1905 and Oscar became the last Bernadotte king of Norway. He died in 1907 and was succeed as King of Sweden by his son, at his birth in Stockholm, Oscar Fredrik was created Duke of Östergötland. He entered the navy at the age of eleven, and was appointed lieutenant in July 1845. Later he studied at Uppsala University, where he distinguished himself in mathematics, on 13 December 1848, he was made an honorary member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. On 6 June 1857 he married in Wiesbaden-Biebrich, Germany, Princess Sophia Wilhelmina, from 1859, when his father died, he was first in line to the Swedish throne after his oldest brother King Charles, who then had no male heirs. His middle brother Gustaf had died in 1852 and he succeeded his brother Charles XV / IV on 18 September 1872. At the accession he adopted as his motto Brödrafolkens väl / Broderfolkenes Vel, the political events which led up to the peaceful dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905 could hardly have been attained but for the tact and patience of the king himself. He was dethroned on 7 June 1905 by the Norwegian Parliament and he declined, indeed, to permit any prince of his house to become king of Norway, but better relations between the two countries were restored before his death. He died in Stockholm on 8 December 1907 at 9,10 AM and his acute intelligence and his aloofness from the dynastic considerations affecting most European sovereigns gave the king considerable weight as an arbitrator in international questions. At the request of Great Britain, Germany and the United States in 1889 he appointed the justice of Samoa. He was the 1, 027th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Spain, the office of prime minister was instituted in 1876. Louis De Geer became the first head of government in Sweden to use this title, the most known and powerful first minister of the Crown during the reign of Oscar was the conservative estate owner Erik Gustaf Boström. Boström served as Prime Minister in 1891-1900 and 1902-1905 and he was trusted and respected by the king, who had much difficulty approving someone else as prime minister. Over a period of time, the king gave Boström a free hand to select his own ministers without much royal involvement and it was an arrangement that furthered the road to parliamentarism. Himself a distinguished writer and musical amateur, King Oscar proved a friend of learning. In 1858 a collection of his lyrical and narrative poems, Memorials of the Swedish Fleet, published anonymously, obtained the second prize of the Swedish Academy
6.
Gustav I of Sweden
–
Initially of low standing, Gustav rose to lead the rebel movement following the Stockholm Bloodbath, in which his father perished. As King, Gustav proved an administrator with a ruthless streak not inferior to his predecessors. He worked to raise taxes, end Feudalism and bring about a Swedish Reformation, replacing the prerogatives of local landowners, noblemen and clergy with centrally appointed governors and bishops. Due to a vibrant dynastic succession, his three sons, Erik, Johan and Karl IX, all held the kingship at different points, Gustav I has subsequently been labelled the founder of modern Sweden, and the father of the nation. Gustav liked to compare himself to Moses, whom he believed to have liberated his people. As a person, Gustav was known for ruthless methods and a bad temper and he founded one of the now oldest orchestras of the world, the Kungliga Hovkapellet. Royal housekeeping accounts from 1526 mention twelve musicians including wind players, today the Kungliga Hovkapellet is the orchestra of the Royal Swedish Opera. Gustav Eriksson, a son of Cecilia Månsdotter Eka and Erik Johansson Vasa, was born in 1496. The birth most likely place in Rydboholm Castle, northeast of Stockholm. The newborn got his name, Gustav, from Eriks grandfather Gustav Anundsson, Erik Johanssons parents were Johan Kristersson and Birgitta Gustafsdotter of the dynasties Vasa and Sture respectively, both dynasties of high nobility. Birgitta Gustafsdotter was the sister of Sten Sture the Elder, regent of Sweden, being a relative and ally of uncle Sten Sture, Erik inherited the regents estates in Uppland and Södermanland when the latter died in 1503. Although a member of a family with considerable properties since childhood, according to genealogical research, Birgitta Gustafsdotter and Sten Sture were descended from King Sverker II of Sweden, through King Sverkers granddaughter Benedikte Sunesdotter. One of King Gustavs great-grandmothers was a half-sister of King Charles VIII of Sweden, since the end of the 14th century, Sweden had been a part of the Kalmar Union with Denmark and Norway. The Danish dominance in this union led to uprisings in Sweden. During Gustavs childhood, parts of the Swedish nobility tried to make Sweden independent, Gustav and his father Erik supported the party of Sten Sture the Younger, regent of Sweden from 1512, and its struggle against the Danish King Christian II. Following the battle of Brännkyrka in 1518, where Sten Stures troops beat the Danish forces, it was decided that Sten Sture and King Christian would meet in Österhaninge for negotiations. To guarantee the safety of the king, the Swedish side sent six men as hostages to be kept by the Danes for as long as the negotiations lasted. However, Christian did not show up for the negotiations, violated the deal with the Swedish side, the six members of the kidnapped hostage were Hemming Gadh, Lars Siggesson, Jöran Siggesson, Olof Ryning, Bengt Nilsson – and Gustav Eriksson
7.
Eric XIV of Sweden
–
Eric XIV was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1568. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg and he was also ruler of Estonia, after its conquest by Sweden in 1561. Some scholars claim that his illness began early during his reign, Eric, having been deposed and imprisoned, was most likely murdered. An examination of his remains in 1958 confirmed that he died of arsenic poisoning. Eric XIV was born at Tre Kronor castle, at 9 oclock on the morning of 13 December 1533, before the age of two, he lost his mother. In 1536, his father, Gustav Vasa, married Margaret Leijonhufvud, Erics first teacher was the learned German Georg Norman, whose services were shortly thereafter needed elsewhere within the Swedish state. He was replaced by French Calvinist Dionysius Beurraeus, Dionysius taught both Eric and his brother John, and seems to have been appreciated by both. Eric was very successful in foreign languages and mathematics and he was also an informed historian, a good writer and familiar with astrology. When Eric started to appear in public, he was referred to as the king and after the meeting of parliament in Stockholm in 1560. In 1557, Eric was assigned the fiefdoms of Kalmar, Kronoberg and he took up residence in the city of Kalmar. Against his fathers wishes, Eric entered into negotiations with the future Queen Elizabeth I of England. Tensions between Eric and his father grew, Eric also made unsuccessful marriage proposals to, among others, Mary, Queen of Scots, Renata of Lorraine, Anna of Saxony and Christine of Hesse. He was crowned as Eric XIV, but was not necessarily the 14th king of Sweden named Eric and he and his brother Charles IX adopted regnal numbers according to Johannes Magnuss partly fictitious history of Sweden. There had, however, been at least six earlier Swedish kings with the name of Eric, in domestic politics, Erics ambitions were strongly opposed by the Swedish nobility, including his half-brother, the later John III of Sweden. John was the Duke of Finland and was married to a Polish princess, John pursued an expansionist policy in Livonia which led to contention between the brothers. In 1563, John was seized and tried for treason by Erics order. This expansionism resulted in a clash with his cousin, Frederick II of Denmark, from 1563 onwards, his insanity became pronounced, his rule became even more arbitrary and marked by violence. In 1567, suspicious of high treason, he killed several members of the Sture family, the King probably thought of the killing as an execution rather than murder
8.
Charles IX of Sweden
–
Charles IX, also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I and his wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, brother of Eric XIV and John III. The Swedish kings Eric XIV and Charles IX took their numbers according to a fictitious History of Sweden and he was actually the third Swedish king called Charles. He came into the throne by championing the Protestant cause during the tense times of religious strife between competing sects of Christianity. In just over a decade, these would break out as the Thirty Years War and these conflicts had already caused the dynastic squabble rooted in religious freedom that deposed his nephew and brought him to rule as king of Sweden. His reign marked the start of the chapter of both the Reformation and Counter-reformation. With his brothers death in November 1592, the throne of Sweden went to his nephew and Habsburg ally, Sigismund of Poland, during these tense political times, Charles viewed the inheritance of the throne of Protestant Sweden by his devout Roman Catholic nephew with alarm. Thus, several years of controversy and discord followed. During the period, he and the Swedish privy council ruled in Sigismunds name while he stayed in Poland, after various preliminaries, the Riksens ständer forced Sigismund to abdicate the throne to Charles IX in 1595. In fact, it worsened European politics to the abandonment or prevention of settling events by diplomacy, in 1568 he was the real leader of the rebellion against Eric XIV. However, he took no part in the designs of his brother John III against the king after his deposition. Charless relations with John were always more or less strained and he had no sympathy with Johns High-Church tendencies on the one hand, and he sturdily resisted all the kings endeavours to restrict his authority as Duke of Södermanland on the other. The nobility and the majority of the Riksdag of the Estates supported John, however, in his endeavours to unify the realm, and Charles had consequently to resign his pretensions to autonomy within his duchy. But, steadfast Calvinist as he was, on the question he was immovable. The matter came to a crisis on the death of John III in 1592, the heir to the throne was Johns eldest son, Sigismund III Vasa, already king of Poland and a devoted Catholic. Under the agreement, Charles and the Swedish Privy Council shared power, in the ensuing years 1593—1595, Charless task was extraordinarily difficult. Finally, the Riksdag at Linköping,24 February 1604 declared that Sigismund abdicated the Swedish throne and he was declared king as Karl IX. Charless short reign was one of uninterrupted warfare, in all these struggles, he was more or less unsuccessful, owing partly to the fact that he and his forces had to oppose superior generals and partly to sheer ill-luck
9.
Karelia
–
Karelia, the land of the Karelian peoples, is an area in Northern Europe of historical significance for Finland, Russia, and Sweden. It is currently divided between the Russian Republic of Karelia, the Russian Leningrad Oblast, and Finland, various subdivisions may be called Karelia. Finnish Karelia was a province of Finland, and is now divided between Finland and Russia, often called just Karjala in Finnish. The eastern part of this chiefly Lutheran area was ceded to Russia after the Winter War of 1939–40 and this area is the Karelia of the Karelian question in Finnish politics. The Republic of Karelia is a Russian federal subject, including the so-called East Karelia with a chiefly Russian Orthodox population, Karelia stretches from the White Sea coast to the Gulf of Finland. It contains the two largest lakes in Europe, Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega, the Karelian Isthmus is located between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga. In the North there were the nomadic Samis, but no natural border except for huge woods, in historical texts Karelia is sometimes divided into East Karelia and West Karelia, which are also called Russian Karelia and Finnish Karelia respectively. The area to the north of Lake Ladoga which belonged to Finland before World War II is called Ladoga Karelia, White Sea Karelia is the northern part of East Karelia and Olonets Karelia is the southern part. Tver Karelia denotes the villages in the Tver Oblast that are inhabited by Tver Karelians, the Treaty of Nöteborg in 1323 divided Karelia between the two. Viborg became the capital of the new Swedish province, in the Treaty of Stolbovo in 1617 large parts of Russian Karelia were ceded to Sweden. Conflicts between the new Swedish rulers and the population of these areas led to an exodus, thousands of Karelians, including the ancestors of the Tver Karelians. The Treaty of Nystad in 1721 between Imperial Russia and Sweden ceded most of Karelia to Russia, after Finland had been occupied by Russia in the Finnish War, parts of the ceded provinces were incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1917, Finland became independent and the border was confirmed by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, Finnish partisans were involved in attempts to overthrow the Bolshevists in Russian Karelia in 1918–20, such as in the failed Aunus expedition. They also wanted to incorporate the rest of Karelia into Finland and these mainly private expeditions ended after the peace treaty of Tartu. After the end of the Russian Civil War and the establishment of the Soviet Union in 1922, in 1939, the Soviet Union attacked Finland, thus starting the Winter War. The Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940 handed most of Finnish Karelia to the Soviet Union, about 400,000 people, virtually the whole population, had to be relocated within Finland. In 1941, Karelia was liberated for three years during the Continuation War of 1941 to 1944 when East Karelia was occupied by the Finns. As a consequence of the treaty, the Karelian ASSR was incorporated with the Karelo-Finnish SSR 1941–1956
10.
Garnet
–
Garnets are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, the different species are pyrope, almandine, spessartine, grossular, uvarovite and andradite. The garnets make up two solid solution series, pyrope-almandine-spessartine and uvarovite-grossular-andradite, the word garnet comes from the 14th‑century Middle English word gernet, meaning dark red. It is derived from the Latin granatus, from granum, Garnet species are found in many colors including red, orange, yellow, green, purple, brown, blue, black, pink, and colorless, with reddish shades most common. Garnet species light transmission properties can range from the gemstone-quality transparent specimens to the varieties used for industrial purposes as abrasives. The minerals luster is categorized as vitreous or resinous, garnets are nesosilicates having the general formula X3Y23. The X site is occupied by divalent cations 2+ and the Y site by trivalent cations 3+ in an octahedral/tetrahedral framework with 4− occupying the tetrahedra. Garnets are most often found in the crystal habit, but are also commonly found in the trapezohedron habit. They crystallize in the system, having three axes that are all of equal length and perpendicular to each other. Garnets do not show cleavage, so when they fracture under stress, because the chemical composition of garnet varies, the atomic bonds in some species are stronger than in others. As a result, this group shows a range of hardness on the Mohs scale of about 6.5 to 7.5. The harder species like almandine are often used for abrasive purposes, for gem identification purposes, a pick-up response to a strong neodymium magnet separates garnet from all other natural transparent gemstones commonly used in the jewelry trade. Almandine, Fe3Al23 Pyrope, Mg3Al23 Spessartine, Mn3Al23 Almandine, sometimes incorrectly called almandite, is the modern gem known as carbuncle, the term carbuncle is derived from the Latin meaning live coal or burning charcoal. The name Almandine is a corruption of Alabanda, a region in Asia Minor where these stones were cut in ancient times, chemically, almandine is an iron-aluminium garnet with the formula Fe3Al23, the deep red transparent stones are often called precious garnet and are used as gemstones. Almandine occurs in metamorphic rocks like mica schists, associated with such as staurolite, kyanite, andalusite. Almandine has nicknames of Oriental garnet, almandine ruby, and carbuncle, Pyrope is red in color and chemically an aluminium silicate with the formula Mg3Al23, though the magnesium can be replaced in part by calcium and ferrous iron. The color of pyrope varies from red to black. A variety of pyrope from Macon County, North Carolina is a shade and has been called rhodolite
11.
Charles X Gustav of Sweden
–
Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav, was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg, after his fathers death he also succeeded him as Pfalzgraf. He was married to Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp, who bore his son and successor and he led Sweden during the Second Northern War, enlarging the Swedish Empire. By his predecessor Christina, he was considered de facto Duke of Eyland before ascending to the Swedish throne and his numbering as Charles X derives from a 16th-century invention. The Swedish king Charles IX chose his numeral after studying a fictitious history of Sweden and this king was the fourth actual King Charles, but has never been called Charles IV. In his early childhood raised in the Swedish court alongside Queen Christina he received an excellent civil education, later Charles X learned the art of war under Lennart Torstenson, being present at the second Battle of Breitenfeld and at Jankowitz. In 1648 he gained the appointment of commander of the Swedish forces in Germany, as the recognized heir to the throne, his position on his return to Sweden was dangerous because of the growing discontent with the queen. He therefore withdrew to the isle of Öland until the abdication of Christina on 5 June 1654 called him to the throne, Charles Gustav was crowned on 7 Jun 1654, the day after Christina abdicated. The beginning of Charles Xs reign concentrated on the healing of domestic discords, on the recommendation of his predecessor, he contracted a political marriage on 24 October 1654 with Hedwig Eleonora, the daughter of Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. He was hoping to secure a future ally against Denmark, the Riksdag which assembled at Stockholm in March 1655, duly considered the two great pressing national questions, war, and the restitution of the alienated crown lands. In 1659 he proclaimed severe punishment for anyone hunting in the game reserve in Ottenby, Öland, Sweden. On 10 July 1655, Charles X left Sweden to engage in a war against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, by the time war was declared he had at his disposal 50,000 men and 50 warships. Hostilities had already begun with the occupation of Dünaburg in Polish Livonia by the Swedes on 1 July 1655, on 25 July the Polish noble levy army capitulated, and the voivodeships of Poznań and Kalisz placed themselves under the protection of the Swedish King. Thereupon the Swedes entered Warsaw without opposition and occupied the whole of Greater Poland, the Polish king, John II Casimir of Poland of the House of Vasa, eventually fled to Silesia after his armies had suffered defeats. A great number of Polish nobles and their personal armies joined the Swedes, many Poles saw Charles X Gustav as a strong monarch who could be a more effective leader than John II Casimir. Meanwhile, Charles X Gustav pressed on towards Kraków, which the Swedes captured after a two months siege, the fall of Kraków followed a capitulation of the Polish Royal armies, but before the end of the year a reaction began in Poland herself. On 18 November 1655 the Swedes invested the fortress-monastery of Częstochowa and this success elicited popular enthusiasm in Poland and gave rise to a nationalistic and religious rhetoric concerning the war and Charles X. He was depicted as tactless and his mercenaries barbaric and his refusal to legalize his position by summoning the Polish diet and his negotiations for the partition of the very state he affected to befriend, awoke a nationalistic spirit in the country
_2014.jpg)
_%26_subsequent_Princes_2014.jpg)