Scandinavia

Magnus Stenbock: The Count and the Spy

Magnus Stenbock, the Swedish aristocrat and war hero, lived his life in pursuit of honour. Yet, as Andreas Marklund reveals, he died in disgrace, broken by the schemes of a cunning spy. 

Rønneberg: Hero of Telemark

Janet Voke meets Joachim Rønneberg, survivor of one of the most daring actions of the Second World War: the sabotage of a German heavy water plant deep in occupied Norway.

The Lure of Volcanoes

James Hamilton looks at how volcanic activity in Iceland in 1783 and elsewhere elicited strange reactions, and stimulated the creative powers of artists and scientists.

Garden of Sweden

Patricia Cleveland-Peck goes on the trail of the scientist Linnaeus, whose tercentenary this year is being marked in Sweden at a variety of locations associated with the great man.

Norway and 1905

Stuart Burch considers the significance to Norway – both in terms of the past and the present – of the anniversary of 1905, when the country at last won its independence from Sweden.

Crimea in Finland

Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Finland, Matthew Kirk, describes the impact of the Crimean War on that country and how it is being commemorated.