From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
A 19th-century poster image of (from left to right) Norwegian, Danish and Swedish soldiers joining hands
A meeting of Scandinavian students in Uppsala, Sweden, 1856. Parade marching next to Svandammen.

Scandinavism, also called Scandinavianism,[1] Pan-Scandinavianism,[2] is an ideology that support various degrees of cooperation among the Scandinavian Countries. Scandinavism and Nordism are interchangeable terms for the literary, linguistic and cultural movement that focuses on promoting a shared Nordic past, a shared cultural heritage, a common Scandinavian mythology and a common linguistic root in Old Norse, and which led to the formation of joint periodicals and societies in support of Scandinavian literature and languages.[3][dead link]


The only time in the history of Scandinavia when it was united was during the time of the Kalmar Union (1397 to 1523).

Pan-Scandinavianism as a modern movement originated in the 19th-century,[1] the Pan-Scandinavian movement paralleled the unification movements of Germany and Italy.[4] As opposed to the German and Italian counterparts, the Scandinavian state-building project was not successful and is no longer pursued,[2][4] it was at its height in the mid-19th century and supported the idea of Scandinavian unity. It was spurred on by philological and archaelogical discoveries of the 18th century and 19th centuries, the rise of Pan-Germanism (and Pan-Slavism[5]) and a general fear of Russian expansionism.[1]

The movement was initiated by Danish and Swedish university students in the 1840s, with a base in Scania;[6] in the beginning, the political establishments in the two countries, including the absolute monarch Christian VIII and Charles XIV with his "one man government", were suspicious of the movement.[6][dead link] The movement was a significant force from 1846 to 1864, however the movement eventually dwindled and only had strong support among the Swedish-speaking population of Finland.[1][7]

The collapse of Pan-Scandinavianism came in 1864 when the Second Schleswig-Holstein War broke out. King Charles XV who was the King of Sweden-Norway from 1859 until his death in 1872 who in spite of championing Pan-Scandinivianism failed to help Denmark in the war.[8]

Author Hans Christian Andersen became an adherent of Scandinavism after a visit to Sweden in 1837, and committed himself to writing a poem that would convey the relatedness of Swedes, Danes, and Norwegians.[9] It was in July 1839, during a visit to the island of Funen in Denmark, that Andersen first wrote the text of his poem, Jeg er en Skandinav ("I am a Scandinavian").[9] Andersen composed the poem to capture "the beauty of the Nordic spirit, the way the three sister nations have gradually grown together", as part of a Scandinavian national anthem.[9] Composer Otto Lindblad set the poem to music, and the composition was published in January 1840, its popularity peaked in 1845, after which it was seldom sung.[9]

Despite the movement severely dwindling there was a resurgence of Pan-Scandinavian sentiment in the latter part of the 20th century.[1]

In literature[edit]

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • 'Denmark, Norway, and Sweden: Pan-Scandinavianism and Nationalism' by Mary Hilson[10]


  1. ^ a b c d e "Pan-Scandanavianism". Encyclopedia Britannica. 
  2. ^ a b "Pan-Scandinavianism". (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 29, 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
  3. ^ The Literary Scandinavism Archived 2007-06-23 at the Wayback Machine.. Øresundstid, 2003. Retrieved 6 May 2007.
  4. ^ a b Ola Tunander (1999). "Nordic cooperation", UDA085ENG. In Nytt fra Norge, ODIN – Information from the government and the ministries, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway. See also Tunander, Ola (1999). "Norway, Sweden and Nordic cooperation". In The European North – Hard, soft and civic security. Eds. Lassi Heininen and Gunnar Lassinantti, the Olof Palme International Center/Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, 1999. pp. 39–48. ISBN 951-634-690-1.
  5. ^ J. P. T Bury. "The New Cambridge Modern History: Volume 10". 
  6. ^ a b The Students Archived 2007-08-13 at the Wayback Machine.. Øresundstid, 2003. Retrieved 6 May 2007.
  7. ^ "Charles XV". Encyclopedia Britannica. 
  8. ^ "About Pan-Scandinavianism. Reference Points in the 19th Century (1815-1864)". 
  10. ^ "Denmark, Norway, and Sweden: Pan-Scandinavianism and Nationalism". University of Portsmouth. 

External links[edit]