‘Sensational’ silver treasure hoard found at Swedish church

Two skeletons and a rare silver treasure hoard were recently found during an archaeological examination of the ground at the Brahe Church on Visingsö, an island in Lake Vättern north of Jönköping, conducted before workers were supposed to install pipes for geothermal heating.

A total of 170 so-called silver bracteates were found in the grave, next to the left foot of one of the skeletons. Their existence was previously unknown and they are thought to be from the years 1150 to 1180, a period from which few similar finds have been made in Sweden. 

“It’s a wholly sensational find which will change the early medieval history of coins in Götaland,” said Eeva Jonsson from Sweden’s Royal Coin Cabinet in a statement. 

It’s not yet known why the person, who appears to have been a man in his early 20s, was buried together with so much treasure. Burying people together with money or other items was common in Sweden in pre-historic times (pre-historic times refer to the time before there were written sources recording history, and in Sweden the era lasted until the 11th century) but was unusual in Christian graves.

Swedish vocabulary: silver coins – silvermynt

Driver of car left on Stockholm railway protected by diplomatic immunity

Police have identified the suspected driver of a van which in early March drove two kilometres along a railway in Stockholm before being abandoned on the tracks, but they have diplomatic immunity and cannot be charged.

The investigation has now been closed, reports the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.

The driver was originally suspected of gross carelessness in traffic, endangering other people and running away from the scene of a traffic accident.

The van belonged to the Ethiopian embassy, which apologised for the incident at the time.

Swedish vocabulary: a driver – en förare

Sweden set to raise the price of passports

From the start of May, the cost of getting a Swedish passport will increase from 400 kronor to 500 kronor.

The government writes in a press statement that the police authority’s passport services are funded by fees, so the price paid by passport applicants is meant to cover the cost of providing them.

Swedish vocabulary: a passport – ett pass

IN STATS: What do new figures tell us about violent crime in Sweden?

With 121 violent homicides recorded, 2023 was the worst year for murder in Sweden since 2020, when 124 people were killed in violent attacks, continuing a rising trend seen since 2021. The number of violent killings was up 4 percent on 2022, when 116 people were killed.

It’s worth pointing out, however, that this is still lower than the 129 people who died of “murder, manslaughter or violent attack” in Sweden back in 1989, when the population was nearly 20 percent lower.

When it comes to the gang shootings that have dominated headlines in Sweden in recent years, there were signs of improvement, with 53 people shot dead in 2023, down from a record 63 in 2022.

As The Local’s Nordic editor Richard Orange reports in this article, however, it’s hardly great news, as 2023 still witnessed the second highest number of deadly shootings ever recorded in Sweden. 

Swedish vocabulary: a murder – ett mord