Age of the Vikings

From about 800 to 1050, the Scandinavian peoples roamed the seas as traders and adventurers. The forays and voyages of the Swedish Vikings were mainly directed eastward. They occupied the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, and in Russia they developed a powerful state with its capital at Kiev. The Vikings controlled the river routes to the Black Sea and Constantinople, and conducted trade with the Greeks and the Arabs.

During the Viking period, English and German missionaries visited Sweden. The first Christian church was founded by Saint Ansgar in 829. The struggle between Christianity and paganism lasted some 300 years, Christianity was firmly established at the end of the Viking era.