Stockholm (Civ6)/Civilopedia

The earliest written documentation of Stockholm dates back to 1252 AD and describes the city as an iron trading town, but in some Norse sagas it is claimed to be the lost city of Agnafit (where legendary King Ange was hanged by his captive bride Skjalf). Another tale states that the city was founded by the Swedesman Birger Jarl to protect the fledgling country from invading navies. Regardless of whichever (if either) is correct, the city quickly grew into a center for commerce, mining, and fishing … eventually joining the Hanseatic League.
In the 15th Century, a national independence movement began to form in Stockholm as the people of Sweden yearned to overthrow their Danish rulers. The Revolution did not go well, unfortunately, and in 1520 the Danish King Christian II entered the city and incited the Stockholm Bloodbath, a massacre of most of the Swedish opposition forces. Further uprisings across the country in the coming years were more successful and broke up the Kalmar Union (the pleasant name for Danish control of Scandinavia), and Sweden finally gained its independence. The first king of Sweden, Gustav Vasa, was crowned in 1523, and the population of Stockholm began to boom. Within a hundred years, the citizenry increased six-fold.
During the latter half of the 20th century Stockholm became one of the great seats of learning in Europe. The Military Academy Karlberg, one of the world’s oldest, was founded in 1792; the Karolinska Institutet, one of Europe’s most prestigious medical schools, in 1811; the Royal Institute of Technology in 1827. But oldest of all is the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, home of the Nobel Prizes, which was founded by famed naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1739. The city has continued to move away from its roots of fishing, mining, and shipping and move towards high-tech research, modern manufacturing, and giving away millions to otherwise obscure scientists.