Sweden (the Kingdom of Sweden, Konungariket Sverige in Swedish) is a country situated in the Northern part of Europe on the Scandinavian Peninsula. It borders Norway and Finland and is linked to Denmark by the Oresund Bridge. It has the total area of 449.964 square km and has population of about 9,196,000 inhabitants. Sweden has no official language, but de facto Swedish is the national language.

The capital and the largest city is Stockholm located on several islands on the East coast of the country. It has population of about 795,000 inhabitants (about 1,252,000 people including urban area). Stockholm has long been and still is the political and economic center of Sweden. It is also home of some prominent educational and research institutions like the Stockholm Observatory, the Karolinska Institutet, the Royal Institute of Technology and others. Besides, the city has various interesting old buildings and architectural monuments.

The dominating climate type on the majority of Sweden’s territory is continental distinguished by rather cold winters. The West coast of the country is characterized by even more severe climatic conditions. The considerable part of Sweden is occupied by mountains stretching for over 1,000 kilometers from Dalarna in the central part to Treriksröset in the far North а the country.

Skiing in Sweden is an excellent alternative to the Alps, because the local ski areas can provide a wide range of slopes of all complexity levels and snow conditions due to country’s northerly location are usually fine. Although skiing trip to Sweden is not a cheap one, the country is worth visiting for its marvelous northern landscapes, untouched forests and lakes and picturesque fjords and mountains.

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