SWEDEN and SPAIN: A friendship spanning the centuries Geographically far apart, Sweden and Spain have maintained friendly and sometimes intense relations that go a long way back. Even though the Vikings were the first ones to establish contacts in the 9th century, the Crown has always played a decisive role in the historical bonds between these two nations over the centuries. During the reign of Queen Cristina of Sweden in the 17th century, the ties between Sweden and Spain grew stronger. Sweden took great interest in Spain and all things Spanish. When a professorship in Spanish was created at the Uppsala University in 1647, the Swedish sovereign, who spoke Spanish, recommended that her ministers and educational authorities should also learn the language that was "so useful to know not only at Court but because many remarkable things have been written and described in it". This development and the Spanish airs that exerted such a strong influence in the Nordic region of those times, were largely due to the close friendship between Queen Cristina and the Spanish Ambassador Antonio Pimentel de Prado. There is a legend of a passionate romance between the diplomat and the Sovereign, as designed by Hollywood in a film where Greta Garbo plays the leading role. The particulars of this love affair are not known, but in the archives there are writings and letters from the Queen to the Ambassador, full of tender expressions and nuances. Since then, the myth of the South has constantly permeated the Nordic saga, a phenomenon largely displayed by Erik Gybert in his work Spain in Swedish Literature and by August Strindberg in his Spanish and Portuguese footprints in Swedish history. In the late 1950s, the Swedes rediscovered the Spanish coast and its sunny beaches and the first charter flights landed in Spain. This new ‘Viking invasion’ had a major economic and cultural impact and led to a revival of the friendship between both nations. Thus, while the South cast its glance northwards and the model of the perfect welfare state stirred the illusions of the Spanish politicians, the Swedes enjoyed the arts and sunshine on the shores of a transparent sea in magical Spain. The first official visit to Sweden of the Spanish King and Queen in 1977 marked the heyday of the excellent relations between both nations. Like migrant birds, every year over a million Swedes travel to Spain, and approximately 70,000 students register at Spanish universities in order to learn Cervantes’s language. There are also six Swedish schools in Spain, and the Swedes, for whom the South now means home instead of nostalgia, can be counted by the thousands. The new ‘hispanofilia’ also embraces the culinary delights. Tapas and jabugo are served in the finest parlours, the most sumptuous dinners are washed down with Spanish wines, and the experts on good food praise Spain’s gastronomy. Two monarchies for the future The monarchies of Sweden and Spain have appeared on the international scene offering promising perspectives. Crown Princess Victoria of the Bernadotte dynasty, the only female ruler in the near European future, is a model of affability and genuine informality. Thanks to her happy and extrovert character, it comes naturally to her to connect with ordinary people. Felipe, Prince of Asturias, tenth generation of the Bourbón dynasty and successor of those kings who made Spain, is a man of absolute optimism and self-sacrifice who has fulfilled his obligations in a dignified manner, proving largely his capacity of taking charge of the Crown. These two heirs, great lovers of nature and sports, have an ingrained sense of duty. In the century unfolding before us, Europe needs a solid North and South. One hopes that Felipe and Victoria, bearers of all those values that are the treasure of Europe, will prove in due time that they are able to carry out with dignity the dictates of their respective constitutions and link a glorious past to contemporary democracy. - Carmen Villar Mir de Berg © 2006, Swedish Bulletin. All rights reserved