Sweden Today:

Swedes content with EU membership / Welcoming disadvantaged children for Christmas / More provisions to find failed asylum seekers / Prince couple paints home without permission / Viking museum to open in Stockholm 

  • At the end of 2016, half of Sweden is content with Sweden’s position in the EU, but 72 percent would still vote against changing Swedish currency to the euro.

  • Swedes content with EU membership
    (National) According to the latest statistics, 50.3 percent of surveyed Swedes said they were content with Sweden’s position in the EU. Almost 21 percent were against EU membership, and 28.9 percent said they did not have an opinion. While the majority wish to remain in the EU, 72 percent stated they would vote against changing Swedish currency to the euro.

  • So far this year there have been 1687 asylum requests from children who have entered Sweden alone.

  • Welcoming disadvantaged children for Christmas
    (Lifestyle) Robert Moldén, 25, is opening his home in Stockholm to disadvantaged children who may not otherwise celebrate the holiday. As a child, Robert felt disadvantaged and faced a period when life was difficult. Having volunteered for charities and social work in the past, he now invites some of Sweden’s disadvantaged children to eat a Christmas dinner, play video games, and pet a friendly dog in his home. There is no limit to the number of kids who may join him; Moldén says if too many children come, he’ll just rent a gymnasium.

  • Villa Solbacken (Villa Sunny Hill), located on Djurgården in Stockholm, was bequeathed to Prince Carl Philip from his uncle, Prince Bertil. Photo by Holger Ellgaard/wikimedia

  • More provisions to find failed asylum seekers
    (National) Proposals are being submitted to the government requesting more provisions for finding and deporting individuals who have had their asylum applications rejected. Proposals suggest that police be allowed to search a person’s body or home for hidden identity documents, better coordination between authorities, extending the travel ban to the Schengen area, simplified regulations at the border and providing Migrationsverket with information on their whereabouts.

  • Reconstruction of an iron Viking helmet. The somewhat different original is from Germundbu, Norway, and one of the very few known Viking-Age helmets. Courtesy the Swedish History Museum in Stockholm, Sweden

  • Prince couple paints home without permission
    (Culture) Villa Solbacken, located on Djurgården in Stockholm, was bequeathed to Prince Carl Philip and has been undergoing renovation in anticipation of him living there with his family. The couple, however, is now facing criticism for painting the exterior of the villa without the permission of a curator. The color selected by the royal couple is a yellow slightly lighter than the original, but a curator is usually involved in the process to ensure the cultural and historical value of the building is preserved.

  • The Viking hat with horns - a myth a new museum in Stockholm intends to clarify. (But school principal Joseph Powers donned the distinguishing hat in celebration of and sharing duties with the California high school class that took their hand-built Viking ship on its maiden voyage.)

  • Viking museum to open in Stockholm
    (Culture) A new museum opening in Stockholm next year aims to cater to tourists and dispel myths of viking warriors. "The Vikings are the most falsified figures in our country. Practically nothing that the tourist industry claims about them is true,” said Swedish historian Dick Harrison. The museum is set to open in April 2017 on Djurgåden.