Swedish Academy
The Swedish Academy, founded in 1786 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies of Sweden. It has 18 members; the academy makes the annual decision on who will be the laureate for the Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded in memory of the donor Alfred Nobel. The Swedish Academy was founded in 1786 by King Gustav III. Modelled after the Académie française, it has 18 members; the academy's motto is "Talent and Taste". The academy's primary purpose is to further the "purity and sublimity of the Swedish language". To that end the academy publishes two dictionaries; the first is a one-volume glossary called Svenska Akademiens ordlista. The second is a multi-volume dictionary, edited on principles similar to those of the Oxford English Dictionary, entitled Svenska Akademiens Ordbok; the SAOL has reached its 14th edition while the first volume of the SAOB was published in 1898 and, as of 2017, work has progressed to words beginning with the letter "V". The building now known as the Stockholm Stock Exchange Building was built for the bourgeoisie.
The bottom floor was used as a trading exchange, the upper floor was used for balls, New Year's Eve parties, etc. When the academy was founded, the ballroom was the biggest room in Stockholm that could be heated and thus used in the winter, so the King asked if he could borrow it; the academy has had its annual meeting there every year since, attended by members of the Swedish royal family. However, it was not until 1914 that the academy gained permanent use of the upper floor as their own, it is here that the academy meets and, amongst other business, announces the names of Nobel Prize laureates. This task arguably makes the academy one of the world's most influential literary bodies. Dag Hammarskjöld's former farm at Backåkra, close to Ystad in southern Sweden, was bought in 1957 as a summer residence by Hammarskjöld Secretary-General of the United Nations; the south wing of the farm is reserved as a summer retreat for the 18 members of the Swedish Academy, of which Hammarskjöld was a member.
Prior to 2018 it was not possible for members of the academy to resign. This happened twice to Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt, excluded in 1794, re-elected in 1805 and excluded again in 1811. In 1989, Werner Aspenström, Kerstin Ekman and Lars Gyllensten chose to stop participating in the meetings of the academy, over its refusal to express support for Salman Rushdie when Ayatollah Khomeini condemned him to death for The Satanic Verses, in 2005, Knut Ahnlund made the same decision, as a protest against the choice of Elfride Jelinek as Nobel laureate for 2004. On 25 November 2017, Lotta Lotass said in an interview that she had not participated in the meetings of the academy for more than two years and did not consider herself a member any more. In April 2018, three members of the academy board resigned in response to a sexual-misconduct investigation involving author Jean-Claude Arnault, husband of board member Katarina Frostenson. Arnault was accused by at least 18 women of sexual harassment; the three members resigned in protest over the lack of what they felt appropriate action against Arnault.
Two former permanent secretaries, Sture Allén and Horace Engdahl, called the current leader, Sara Danius, a weak leader. On 10 April, Danius resigned from her position with the academy, bringing the number of empty seats to four. Frostenson voluntarily agreed to withdraw from participating in the academy, bringing the total of withdrawals to five; because two other seats were still vacant after the Rushdie affair, this left only 11 active members. The scandal was seen as damaging to the credibility of the Nobel prize in Literature and the authority of the academy. "With this scandal you cannot say that this group of people has any kind of solid judgment," noted Swedish journalist Björn Wiman. On 27 April 2018, the Swedish Economic Crime Authority opened a preliminary investigation regarding financial crime linked to an association run by Arnault and Frostenson, which had received funding from the academy. On 2 May 2018, the Swedish King amended the rules of the academy and made it possible for members to resign.
The new rules state that a member, inactive in the work of the academy for more than two years can be asked to resign. Following the new rules, the first members to formally be granted permission to leave the academy and vacate their chairs were Kerstin Ekman, Klas Östergren, Sara Stridsberg and Lotta Lotass. On 4 May 2018, the Swedish Academy announced that following the preceding internal struggles the Nobel laureate for literature selected in 2018 will be postponed until 2019, when two laureates will be selected. Since 1901, the Swedish Academy has annually decided who will be the laureate for the Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded in memory of the donor Alfred Nobel; the Swedish Academy annually awards nearly 50 different prizes and scholarships, most of them for domestic Swedish authors. Common to all is that they are awarded without application; the Dobloug Prize, the largest of these at $40,000, is a literature prize awarded for Swedish and Norwegian fiction. Swedish: Stora Priset the Big Prize, was instituted by King Gustav III.
The prize, which consists of a single gold medal, is the most prestigious award that can be awarded by the Swedish Academy. It has been awarded to, among others, Selma Lagerlöf, Herbert Tingsten, Astrid Lindgren, Evert Taube and Tove Jansson; the academy awards around 50 p
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital of Sweden and the most populous urban area in the Nordic countries. The city stretches across fourteen islands. Just outside the city and along the coast is the island chain of the Stockholm archipelago; the area has been settled since the Stone Age, in the 6th millennium BC, was founded as a city in 1252 by Swedish statesman Birger Jarl. It is the capital of Stockholm County. Stockholm is the cultural, media and economic centre of Sweden; the Stockholm region alone accounts for over a third of the country's GDP, is among the top 10 regions in Europe by GDP per capita. It is an important global city, the main centre for corporate headquarters in the Nordic region; the city is home to some of Europe's top ranking universities, such as the Stockholm School of Economics, Karolinska Institute and Royal Institute of Technology. It hosts the annual Nobel Prize ceremonies and banquet at the Stockholm Concert Hall and Stockholm City Hall. One of the city's most prized museums, the Vasa Museum, is the most visited non-art museum in Scandinavia.
The Stockholm metro, opened in 1950, is well known for the decor of its stations. Sweden's national football arena is located north of the city centre, in Solna. Ericsson Globe, the national indoor arena, is in the southern part of the city; the city was the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics, hosted the equestrian portion of the 1956 Summer Olympics otherwise held in Melbourne, Australia. Stockholm is the seat of the Swedish government and most of its agencies, including the highest courts in the judiciary, the official residencies of the Swedish monarch and the Prime Minister; the government has its seat in the Rosenbad building, the Riksdag is seated in the Parliament House, the Prime Minister's residence is adjacent at Sager House. Stockholm Palace is the official residence and principal workplace of the Swedish monarch, while Drottningholm Palace, a World Heritage Site on the outskirts of Stockholm, serves as the Royal Family's private residence. After the Ice Age, around 8,000 BC, there were many people living in what is today the Stockholm area, but as temperatures dropped, inhabitants moved south.
Thousands of years as the ground thawed, the climate became tolerable and the lands became fertile, people began to migrate back to the North. At the intersection of the Baltic Sea and lake Mälaren is an archipelago site where the Old Town of Stockholm was first built from about 1000 CE by Vikings, they had a positive trade impact on the area because of the trade routes they created. Stockholm's location appears in Norse sagas as Agnafit, in Heimskringla in connection with the legendary king Agne; the earliest written mention of the name Stockholm dates from 1252, by which time the mines in Bergslagen made it an important site in the iron trade. The first part of the name means log in Swedish, although it may be connected to an old German word meaning fortification; the second part of the name means islet, is thought to refer to the islet Helgeandsholmen in central Stockholm. According to Eric Chronicles the city is said to have been founded by Birger Jarl to protect Sweden from sea invasions made by Karelians after the pillage of Sigtuna on Lake Mälaren in the summer of 1187.
Stockholm's core, the present Old Town was built on the central island next to Helgeandsholmen from the mid-13th century onward. The city rose to prominence as a result of the Baltic trade of the Hanseatic League. Stockholm developed strong economic and cultural linkages with Lübeck, Gdańsk, Visby and Riga during this time. Between 1296 and 1478 Stockholm's City Council was made up of 24 members, half of whom were selected from the town's German-speaking burghers; the strategic and economic importance of the city made Stockholm an important factor in relations between the Danish Kings of the Kalmar Union and the national independence movement in the 15th century. The Danish King Christian II was able to enter the city in 1520. On 8 November 1520 a massacre of opposition figures called the Stockholm Bloodbath took place and set off further uprisings that led to the breakup of the Kalmar Union. With the accession of Gustav Vasa in 1523 and the establishment of a royal power, the population of Stockholm began to grow, reaching 10,000 by 1600.
The 17th century saw Sweden grow into a major European power, reflected in the development of the city of Stockholm. From 1610 to 1680 the population multiplied sixfold. In 1634, Stockholm became the official capital of the Swedish empire. Trading rules were created that gave Stockholm an essential monopoly over trade between foreign merchants and other Swedish and Scandinavian territories. In 1697, Tre Kronor was replaced by Stockholm Palace. In 1710, a plague killed about 20,000 of the population. After the end of the Great Northern War the city stagnated. Population growth halted and economic growth slowed; the city was in shock after having lost its place as the capital of a Great power. However, Stockholm maintained its role as the political centre of Sweden and continued to develop culturally under Gustav III. By the second half of the 19th century, Stockholm had regained its leading economic role. New industries emerged and Stockholm was transformed into an important trade and service centre as well as a key gateway point within Sweden.
The population grew during this time through immigration. At the end
Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities
The Royal Swedish Academy of Letters and Antiquities called the Royal Academy of Letters or Vitterhetsakademin abbreviated KVHAA is the Swedish royal academy for the Humanities. Its many publications include the archaeological and art historical journal Fornvännen, published since 1906. Now located in Rettigska house at Villa Street 3 in Stockholm, the Academy had origins in the early 1700s CE Uppsala, it was founded in 1753 by Queen Louisa Ulrica, Queen of Sweden and the mother of King Gustav III and dedicated to literature. In 1786 when the Swedish Academy was founded it was reconstituted under its present name with new objectives dedicated to historical and antiquarian preservation; this included a close cooperation with the Swedish National Heritage Board or Riksantikvarieämbetet whose director was, ex officio, the Academy's secretary. The Academy's purpose is "to promote research and other activities in the humanities, religious studies and social science disciplines and cultural heritage".
This is done through financial support and through vibrant publishing. Among the academy's writings are Fornvännen; the Academy's responsibilities have grown to encompass the entire activity of the humanities field in the broad sense, including religion and social studies. At the request of the government or public authority, or on its own initiative, the Academy gives opinions on matters that affect its activity; the Academy owns and operates the Stjernsund Castle in Närke, Skånelaholm Castle in Uppland, Stensjö village in Småland and Borg village on the island of Öland. Vitterhetsakademi's library is included in the Swedish National Heritage Board and operates public scientific special interest libraries, it is open to the public. Academy is composed of up to 30 executive members in each historical, philosophical, philological class and up to ten honorary members. Swedish and foreign "corresponding members" are not limited in number; when a working member reaches 70 years they can choose a new member, while 70-year-olds remain in the Academy as emeritus or emerita.
Therefore, the Academy has around 130 members. Diploma, prizes and awards distributed by the Academy at a formal gathering which takes place annually on 20 March. Academy awards several prizes such as the Gad Rausing's prize for outstanding humanistic research, Ann-Kersti and Carl-Hakon Swenson's Swenson prize and Rettigska price; the Academy awards several medals such as the Gustaf Adolf Medal by the King's consent, the Academy's Medal of Merit in gold, Academy token in gold, Antiquarian medal and silver medal inscriptions in silver. Vitterhetsakdemiens Library Kungl. Vitterhetsakademien website
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences or Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien is one of the royal academies of Sweden. It is an independent, non-governmental scientific organisation which takes special responsibility for the natural sciences and mathematics, but endeavours to promote the exchange of ideas between various disciplines, its purpose is to. Nobel Prizes in Physics and in Chemistry Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel Crafoord Prizes in astronomy and mathematics, geosciences and polyarthritis Sjöberg Prize Rolf Schock Prizes in logic and philosophy Gregori Aminoff Prize in crystallography Tobias Prize Göran Gustafsson Prize for research in mathematics, the natural sciences and medicine Söderberg Prize in economics or jurisprudence Ingvar Lindqvist Prizes for teachers in the fields of physics, chemistry and mathematics. Etc; the academy has elected about 1,700 Swedish and 1,200 foreign members since it was founded in 1739. Today the academy has about 470 Swedish and 175 foreign members which are divided into ten "classes", representing ten various scientific disciplines: Mathematics Astronomy and space science Physics Chemistry Geosciences Biosciences Medical sciences Engineering sciences Social sciences Humanities and for outstanding services to science The following persons have served as permanent secretaries of the academy: Anders Johan von Höpken, 1739–1740, 1740–1741 Augustin Ehrensvärd, April – June 1740 Jacob Faggot, 1741–1744 Pehr Elvius, 1744–1749 Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin, 1749–1783 Johan Carl Wilcke and Henrik Nicander, 1784–1796 Daniel Melanderhjelm and Henrik Nicander, 1796–1803 Jöns Svanberg and Carl Gustaf Sjöstén 1803–1808.
In parallel, other major series have appeared and gone: Öfversigt af Kungl. Vetenskapsakademiens förhandlingar Bihang till Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar Vetenskapsakademiens årsbok The academy started publishing annual reports in physics and chemistry, technology and zoology; these lasted into the 1860s. Starting in 1887, this series was once again split into four sections, which in 1903 became independent scientific journals of their own, titled "Arkiv för...", among them Arkiv för matematik, astronomi och fysik. Further restructuring of their topics occurred in 1949 and 1974. Current publicationsAmbio Acta Mathematica Arkiv för matematik Acta Zoologica Levnadsteckningar över Vetenskapsakademiens ledamöter, biographies of deceased members Porträttmatrikel, portraits of current members Zoologica Scripta, jointly with the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The academy was founded on 2 June 1739 by naturalist Carl Linnaeus, mercantilist Jonas Alströmer, mechanical engineer Mårten Triewald, civil servants Sten Carl Bielke and Carl Wilhelm Cederhielm, statesman/author Anders Johan von Höpken.
The purpose of the academy was to focus on useful knowledge, to publish in Swedish in order to disseminate the academy's findings. The academy was intended to be different from the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala, founded in 1719 and published in Latin; the location close to the commercial activities in Sweden's capital was intentional. The academy was modeled after the Royal Society of London and Academie Royale des Sciences in Paris, which some of the founding members were familiar with. Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Official website Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences video site
Johan Tobias Sergel
Johan Tobias Sergel was a Swedish neoclassical sculptor. Sergels torg, the largest square in the centre of Stockholm and nearby his workshop, is named after him. Johan Tobias Sergel was born in Stockholm in 1740, he was the son of the decorator, Christoffer Sergel and Elisabet, was the brother of the decorator, Anna Brita Sergel. His first teacher was Pierre Hubert Larchevêsque. After studying in Paris, he went to Rome, he sculpted a number of groups in marble. Besides subjects from classical mythology such as the Diomedes Stealing the Palladium, which he sold to the British collector, Thomas Mansel Talbot, in 1772, he sculpted a colossal representation of The Muse of History Recording the Deeds of Gustavus Adolphus, in which are depicted the achievements of King Gustav II Adolf before the Chancellor, Axel Oxenstierna, it was in Rome that he modelled the statue of King Gustav III, subsequently cast in bronze and purchased by the city of Stockholm in 1796. While a sculptor, Sergel drew sequential picture stories, an early form of comic strip.
Summoned by Gustav III, Sergel continued to work there. Among the monuments he created at this time are a tomb for Gustav Vasa, a monument to Descartes, a large relief in the church of St. Clarens, representing the Resurrection, he was an important part of the artistic elite in Stockholm, drawing a portrait of Sweden's bard Carl Michael Bellman among others. He had a relationship with the celebrated actress Fredrique Löwen and was the father of one of her children, he died in his native city on 26 February 1814. Among his works in the Nationalmuseum in Blasieholmen, central Stockholm are his monumental sculptures "Diomedes Stealing the Palladium", "The Muse of History Recording the Deeds of Gustavus Adolphus", a "Bust of Gustavus III". Gilman, D. C.. "Sergel, Johan Tobias". New International Encyclopedia. New York: Dodd, Mead. Attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed.. "Sergel, Johan Tobias". Encyclopædia Britannica. Cambridge University Press.
Johan Tobias Sergel at Lambiek artists archive
Carl Gustaf Tessin
Carl Gustaf Tessin was a Swedish Count and politician and son of architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger and Hedvig Eleonora Stenbock. He was one of the most brilliant personages of his day, the most prominent representative of French culture in Sweden, he was a fine orator. Tessin's art collection became the original core of the collection of Sweden's Nationalmuseum. Carl Gustaf Tessin was born in Stockholm, his father's family were burghers. This genealogy led some to regard him as a social climber compared to real aristocracy. On the other hand, members of his paternal line had shown high talent artistically and aesthetically, he married Ulrika Sparre in 1727. He began his public career in 1723, at which time he was a member of the Holstein faction, which promoted the claims of the young Duke Carl Frederick of Holstein to the Swedish throne. In 1725 Tessin was appointed ambassador at Vienna, in that capacity counteracted the plans of the Swedish chancellor, Count Arvid Horn, for joining the anti-Russian Hanoverian Alliance.
During the riksdags of 1726–27 and 1731, Tessin fiercely opposed the government, his wit and imposing presence made him one of the foremost protagonists of the party subsequently known as "The Hats". From 1735 to 1736 he was again Swedish ambassador at Vienna. During the riksdag of 1738 he was elected marshal of the Riksdag of the Estates and contributed more than anyone else to the overthrow of the Horn administration the same year. Count On the division of the spoil of patronage he chose for himself the post of ambassador extraordinary at Paris, from 1739 to 1742 delighted Versailles with his brilliant qualities of grand seigneur, at the same time renewing the traditional alliance between France and Sweden, interrupted for more than sixty years, his political ability, was by no means commensurate with his splendid social qualities. It was his sanguine credulity which committed the Hats to their rash and unconsidered war with Russia in 1741–42, though in fairness it must be added that Tessin helped them out of their difficulties again by his adroitness as party leader and his stirring eloquence.
He gained his seat in the senate as a reward for his services on this occasion. In 1743 Tessin attempted to reconcile the long outstanding differences between Sweden and Denmark in a special mission to Copenhagen. In 1744 he was sent at the head of an extraordinary embassade to Berlin to escort to Stockholm Frederick the Great's sister, Louisa Ulrika, the chosen bride of the Swedish crown prince, Adolphus Frederick; as överhovmarskalk of the young court, Tessin speedily captivated the royal pair. He succeeded in extricating the crown prince from the influence of the Russian Empress Elizabeth of Russia, to whom Adolphus Frederick owed his throne when he became king of Sweden in 1751, thereby contributing to the maintenance of the independence of Sweden, he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 1741. From 1746 to 1752 Tessin was president of the chancellery, as the Swedish prime minister was called in those days, his system aimed at a rapprochement with Denmark with the view of counterbalancing the influence of Russia in the north.
It was a dignified and prudent policy, but his endeavour to consolidate it by promoting a matrimonial alliance between the two courts alienated the Swedish crown prince, who, as a Holsteiner, nourished an ineradicable hatred of everything Danish. As, moreover, on the accession of Adolphus Frederick in 1751, Tessin refused to countenance any extension of the royal prerogative, the rupture between him and the court became final. On the occasion of the coronation he resigned the premiership, in 1754 the governorship of the young crown prince Gustavus spending the rest of his days at his estate at Åkerö Manor, where he died, he was given the L’Ordre de l’Harmonie. Carl Gustaf Tessin was an art collector. During his mission in Paris he bought many paintings and drawings, including 2000 drawings from the famous 1741 auction of the former Pierre Crozat collection. Being in debt on his return to Sweden, he was obliged to sell part of his collection to the King Fredrik I, who gave them to Queen Louisa Ulrika.
Part of his art collection is now in the Swedish Nationalmuseum. The collection was on display in New York at the Morgan Library & Museum, "Treasures from the Nationalmuseum of Sweden: The Collections of Count Tessin." Tessin och Tessiniana, autobiographical extracts from Tessin's voluminous manuscript Memoirs in 29 volumes. K. G. Tessins Dagbok, further extracts from the same. En gammal mans bref til en ung Prins, addressed to his pupil, afterwards Gustavus III. Exhibition catalogue, Un Suédois à Paris au XVIIIe siècle - La collection Tessin, Paris, coédition Liénart/Musée du Louvre, 2016. Bellamy Charlotte, Carl Gustav Tessin and Culinary Considerations, Le Monde français du dix-huitième siècle: Vol. 1: Iss. 1, 2016. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Robert Nisbet. "Tessin, Carl Gustaf, Count". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica. Cambridge University Press; this work in turn cites: Robert Nisbet Bain, Gustavus III and his Contemporaries, vol. I. Bernhard von Beskow.
Minne af Grefve K. G. Tessin. Malmström, Bernhard Elis. Sveriges politiska historia från Konung Karl XIIs död till statshvälfningen 1772. "The Art Collection of Carl Gustaf Tessin", Nationalm
Olof Arenius
Olof Arenius was a Swedish portrait painter. Arenius was born in the parish of Bro in Sweden, his father was a vicar in Upplands-Bro. After a period of theology studies at Uppsala University, he studied art under David von Krafft. In 1729, he went to the United Kingdom where he was exposed to the art of portrait painters Godfried Kneller and Mikael Dahl. Returning to Sweden in 1736, he was named court painter by King Frederick I of Sweden, he died at Stockholm in 1766. His portraits and miniatures in oil are much esteemed, are to be found in all the public galleries, as well as in the best private collections, in Sweden. Many of them have been engraved. Attribution: This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Bryan, Michael. "Arenius, Olov". In Graves, Robert Edmund. Bryan's Dictionary of Engravers. I. London: George Bell & Sons. Media related to Olof Arenius at Wikimedia Commons
