Kalmar Union

The Kalmar Union (Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish: Kalmarunionen; Finnish: Kalmarin unioni; Icelandic: Kalmarsambandið; Latin: Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by widowed Queen Margaret of Norway and Sweden. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then including much of present-day Finland), and Norway, together with Norway's overseas colonies (then including Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland).

Kalmar Union
Kalmarunionen
1397–1523
The Kalmar Union, c.1400
StatusPersonal union
Capital
55°40′N 12°34′E
Common languages
Religion
Catholicism
GovernmentPersonal union
Monarch 
 1397–1442a
Eric of Pomerania (first)
 1513–23b
Christian II (last)
LegislatureRiksråd and Herredag
(one in each kingdom)
Historical eraLate Middle Ages
 Inception
17 June 1397
1434–1436
November 1520
 Gustav Vasa elected as
King of Sweden
1523
 Denmark-Norway was established.
1523
Area
 Total
2,839,386 km2 (1,096,293 sq mi)
CurrencyMark, Örtug, Norwegian penning, Swedish penning
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Kingdom of Denmark
Kingdom of Norway
Kingdom of Sweden
Denmark–Norway
Kingdom of Sweden
  1. Margaret I ruled Denmark 1387–1412, Norway 1388–1389, and Sweden 1389–1412
  2. Christian II ruled Denmark and Norway 1513–1523; Sweden 1520–1521

The union was not quite continuous; there were several short interruptions. Legally, the countries remained separate sovereign states. However, their domestic and foreign policies were directed by a common monarch. Gustav Vasa's election as King of Sweden on 6 June 1523, and his triumphant entry into Stockholm eleven days later, marked Sweden's final secession from the Kalmar Union. Formally, the Danish king acknowledged Sweden's independence in 1524 at the Treaty of Malmö.

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