The History of Stockholm Trivia Quiz

Answer: True

Stockholm's origins are unclear in both its name and founding. The first known record of the name Stockholm is from 1252, but it is merely mentioned and not described. What is known is that Stockholm became something of a business hub for Germans and the city quickly grew from when it started.

Answer: The Danes

Since Stockholm was such an essential city in Sweden, whoever controlled it controlled Sweden. The Danes and the Swedes were in constant battle over the city. Denmark, led by Christian II, conquered the city in November of 1520. On November 7, the systematic execution of Swedish nobles and other Swedes who supported independence started, which ultimately saw dozens of people executed. Christian II attempted to justify the bloodbath by saying it was necessary to avoid interference from the Pope, but he later backtracked and said his troops went rogue and the attacks were unordered.

Answer: Gustav I

Gustav I took Stockholm at the end of the Swedish War of Liberation. As a result of the war, Sweden became independent and returned two small regions to Norway-Denmark, both of which are now back in Sweden. As king, Gustav I was known to be ruthless, quashing rebellion after rebellion.

However, he also gained popular and prestige by splitting away from the influence of the Pope and the Swedish Lutheran Church grew under his reign. He also is responsible for building many famous Swedish buildings that are still in existence, including the Royal Opera House, although the opera company wouldn't come along until 1773.

Answer: The Old Town

Stadsholmen was believed to be the most populous area of Stockholm at the time. The fire started at a private residence and quickly grew and lasted for three days. About one-fifth of the city was destroyed. However, there had been plans to redesign Stockholm as many nobles and merchants believed Stockholm was not evolving with the times. This fire sped up the city's rebuilding.

Answer: A trade monopoly on the Gulf of Bothnia

As part of several reforms to improve Stockholm, the city was given an export monopoly on the Gulf of Bothnia - in effect, on Swedish trade in the Baltic. This was important because Stockholm was a short distance by sea to Germany, Poland and other Eastern European nations. The Swedish city of Gothenburg had a trade monopoly on the North Sea but Stockholm was far better off as Germany was a more consistent importer of Swedish goods than Gothenburg's trading partners in Western Europe.

Instead of exporting Swedish goods, Stockholm mostly imported goods from Germany and elsewhere, refined them and exported those goods. This process deprived other Swedish cities of the economies they could have achieved elsewise and many of those cities suffered at Stockholm's expense. Uppsala, a city in central Sweden, suffered the most as it was also on the Gulf of Bothnia but could not export.

Answer: Russia

In 1722, the Treaty of Nystad gave Russia the Swedish lands in Estonia and the surrounding areas. This caused Sweden to lose its claim as a major European power. The Bubonic Plague hit Stockholm shortly afterward, causing widespread illness and death.

In addition, Sweden fought in a series of failed wars that only created more unemployment in the city. In 1809, Sweden was forced to give all of Finland to Russia.

Answer: Steam engine

The steam engine was brought to the city by Samuel Owen. However, it took decades before Stockholm built the necessary infrastructure to sustain such a large industry. As a result, poverty and homelessness continued during those decades. However, once everything was set in place, the economic conditions improved as more and more industries used the harbor at Stockholm.

Answer: Anti-war socialists

Socialists throughout Europe feared a peace treaty to end World War I would subsequently lead to another war if it were negotiated by government officials or the pope. They also believed the common worker would suffer the most. The conference came up with its own manifesto for pace, which argued that the general people must be the ones to form new socialist government.

It should be noted that while the details of the manifesto were not revealed publically, it was written weeks before the October Revolution that overthrew the Russian monarchy, a revolution which loosely met the goals the conference was advocating for.

Answer: Operation Barbarossa

Although Sweden was considered neutral, neither axis or allied powers fully believed so. The Axis had been upset that Sweden took in Jewish refuges from Denmark, Norway and Hungary (the latter rescued by Raoul Wallenberg.) Allies were upset that Sweden was shipping iron ore and other metals to Germany. Nonetheless, it would appear that Sweden did work loosely with the allies.

When Arne Beurling cracked the cypher and learned of Operation Barbarossa, Sweden was not trusted and the Soviet Union ignored the warning.

Answer: Unknown

Olof Palme was an outspoken critic of many world policies during his tenure including the Cold War, the Vietnam War, Apartheid in South Africa and numerous dictators in Europe. This has led to many conspiracy theories that any number of national governments and organizations could have been involved.

In 1988, Christer Pettersson was convicted of the assassination after being identified by Mrs. Palme. However, his conviction was soon overturned for lack of evidence. Pettersson later admitted to killing Palme, but this was seen as a ploy for attention and money rather than a serious confession.

The murder is officially considered unsolved.