Question:
What are all the historical capitals of the five Nordic countries?
anonymous
2012-06-21 17:34:17 UTC
For example, I know that in medieval times the capital of Denmark was Roskilde rather than Denmark.
Can anyone provide me with the list of all the cities that have been capitals of the Nordic countries (Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland) and their periods?
Three answers:
Bobby
2012-06-21 20:20:22 UTC
Denmark: Roskilde from 1020-1443 when it was moved to Copenhagen.



Finland: Turku 1809-1812 when it was moved to Helsinki.



Iceland: Reykjavik has been the capital.



Norway: Trodheim from 997 to 1070, Bergen from 1070 to Oslo.



Sweden: Stockholm
anonymous
2012-06-22 10:58:05 UTC
Well, you have already been informed about Iceland. Iceland really lacks any real city, even Reykjavik is basically a large town. Reykjavik became the seat of government after Iceland declared independence because, well, the government was already there.



Denmark had Roskilde and before the official unification in the 900's by Sveyn Forkbeard, the seat of the king was mainly located in Jelling, a small and insignificant place (which is why it was moved to the more central Roskilde). In the mid-1400's Copenhagen became the capital.



Sweden originally had many different temporary seats of government due to the tumultous situation there in the Middle Ages. The most stable one was probably the royal castle at Visingsö. After they exited the Kalmar Union Stockholm was made the capital in 1523.



Norway had the town of Trondheim as capital from roughly 997 to 1217. In 1217 it was moved to the city of Bergen, before it was again moved to the small trading town of Oslo in 1299, where it has remained since (unless you count Copenhagen, the capital of the union, as capital of Norway during the union with Denmark). Oslo must have seemed a strange choice to many, being a tiny trade town of only a few thousand inhabitants. But the king had problems with the loyalty of the East Coast leaders, and wanted to move to more central location where he could keep them in check personally.
Nafnlaus
2012-06-22 02:22:44 UTC
Iceland: The Alþing (parliament) met at Þingvellir (not a city, just a place) from 930 AD until it was banned for a few decades by Denmark in the 1800s, and then was restored in Reykjavík where it exists to this day.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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