Swedish Culture in Minnesota
This project shows the influence that Swedes had on the state of Minnesota, paired with maps and layers
Swedish culture has been in Minnesota for a long time. Ever since the first swede migrated to Minnesota they have impacted the area. Today there are over 400,000 swedes in minnesota. This StoryMap will mark important places where swedes impacted Minnesota.
Swedish migration to Minnesota began in the 1840s. Most Swedish people came to Minnesota for the land or to get jobs. The first Swede to settle in Minnesota was Jacob Fahlström in 1795. He and his family settled in Washington County near Afton. The Erickson log home, in St. Croix was built by Swedish immigrants in 1868. During the second wave Swedish immigrants took St. Paul and Pacific Railroad’s main line. The train would take them to counties like Wright, Meeker, and Kandiyohi. They would end up in towns like Cokato, Litchfield, and Willmar. On the map, you will see the present day locations of where Swedish people settled in Minnesota, demonstrating how Swedish people affected towns in Minnesota.
One thing that is very important to Swedish culture is their sports. Almost half of Swedish people take part in one sport. Swedish people have many sports but the most popular is Football or Soccer. In Sweden there are 7,900 football pitches. On average, Swedish football matches draw in a crowd of 179,526 people. Another sport Swedish people like is ice hockey. Swedish people take up 10.5% of the National Hockey League with 225 Swedish players. The Minnesota Wild have the most Swedish people with 8 players. In order to play most sports you need athletic shoes. The blue circles represents how many people bought athletic shoes in the last twelve months in Minnesota.
Another thing that is important to Swedish culture is their music. Some types of music that Swedish people listen to are polka and schottische. This type of music is often characterized by strong, inspiring melodies with a melancholic undertone. Music is also one of the country's biggest exports. There are many different Swedish music groups in Minnesota. There are many different instruments in polka music. On the map, the red circles represent how many people bought an instrument in the last twelve months.
To be able to communicate with each other you need to speak a language. A majority of people in Sweden speak Swedish. The Swedish language is a Scandinavian language like Norwegian and Danish. The language is also very similar to German and English. The Swedish language has 10 million people who speak it. Which is first among any other of its type in the Nordic countries overall. Swedish people also speak a lot of english. On the map, the orange circles represents how many people from ages 18-64 speak only English at home.
The Swedish people have impacted much of Minnesota. From sports and music. To language. Today there is still Swedish culture all around. One example of a place that continues to imprint Minnesota is IKEA. There are many other things that are impacting and keeping Swedish culture in Minnesota.