Gustav I Vasa acceded to the Swedish throne after a rebellion against the Danish and Norwegian king Christian II.
Gustav I Vasa, the first Swedish king from the Vasa dynasty, was born on this day in 1496. His dynasty ruled Sweden for over 130 years (from 1523 until 1654) and also managed to conquer much of what is now Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, Estonia and Russia (they even occupied Moscow for a while). We can say that Sweden reached the pinnacle of its power during the Vasa dynasty.
Gustav Vasa was originally a member of the Swedish nobility. At that time, Sweden was under the rule of foreign kings from the Kalmar Union, which encompassed Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. At the time of Gustav Vasa a rebellion broke out against King Christian II, whom they nicknamed Christian the Tyrant. The king was overthrown and Gustav became the independent ruler of Sweden – Gustav I Vasa. Of course, this also meant that Sweden had broken away from the Kalmar Union.
After acceding the throne, Gustav I Vasa remained king for 37 years, until his death in Stockholm in 1560. He was 64 years old at the time.
