Enjoying the woods in Sweden
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Sweden
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Enjoying the woods in Sweden – Rebecca’s goosebump moment
“Hello! I am Rebecca, and I come from Sweden. My goosebump moment is something that I am lucky enough to be able to experience more often than not. I live behind those trees, basically, which is really good because what I love doing that just gives me the chills, every time, is being by myself dancing in the woods! Listening to some great tunes, anything with a good beat, basically, and fully enjoying one of the greatest things my native country has to offer its citizens, which is the right to public access. Meaning, no man or woman can claim full ownership of nature. So, we can enjoy the woods how much we want to – as long as we do not harm anything”.
A country full of virgin forests
Sweden is the largest of the Scandinavian countries, and one of the most interesting! Stockholm is its capital and main tourist destination, but certainly not the only one. Sweden has a privileged location and if you love nature, there are few better places to enjoy outdoor activities. Sweden is full of virgin forests, archipelagos, and incredible arctic landscapes.
Endowed with incredible natural landscapes and charming cities, Sweden is a leader in all rankings of happiness and quality of life. It is an ideal country for a safe vacation where you can disconnect from routine and enjoy outdoor activities.
The Swedish forests
In the shadow of its majestic and almost always snow-capped peaks, a series of landscape and human elements combine to make Sweden an attractive natural and tourist paradise.
Sweden is a very large country in every sense. If we were to turn its territory 180º, its extreme northern point would reach Rome. However, the greatness of Sweden is not only a question of geographical extension but is also reflected in all the vacation and leisure alternatives it offers.
There are so many things to see and do that a lifetime would be insufficient to discover them all. You can enjoy the silence of the vast lands and forests or participate in the active life of the big cities.
You can spend your time dog sledding, golfing, skiing, or shopping, you can relive the past of Viking times, stay in a historic castle, discover medieval traditions, or go fishing in unspoiled waters. It’s all possible in Sweden. And you can choose to try a bit of everything or concentrate on one activity.
Sweden’s forests, with more than 3.5 million hectares, are the largest in Europe. The northern forests, populated mainly by spruce, also have huge birch trees up to 800 m high. In the south and extreme south, there are leafy forests (beech, oak, poplar).
Sweden has doubled the size of its forests
Seventy percent of Sweden’s territory is covered by forests, but the most striking thing is that in less than a century the Nordic country has doubled its forest mass. What is most surprising is that Sweden provides 10% of the world’s timber trade. Wood that is used to make paper, to build furniture or as firewood to generate heat. So, the question is, how is it possible for Sweden to double its forest mass while generating 10% of the world’s annual wood consumption?
The answer is simple: Sweden is growing more and more trees every year. The annual growth estimated by the World Economic Forum is 120 million cubic meters per year, while the cubic meters harvested annually is 90 million cubic meters. In other words, each year, the Nordic country generates a surplus of 30 million.
After decades of forest decline, caused by the spread of agriculture, housing construction, wood as fuel and the use of coal for industry, Sweden saw its forest cover decline enormously in the 19th and 20th centuries. However, new technologies and forest laws have made it possible for Sweden to be a timber power and, at the same time, double the size of its forests.
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