A royal celebration came to one of Delaware’s oldest landmarks Saturday.
Gov. Jack Markell discusses the Swedish royals' visit to Delaware.
Gov. Jack Markell discusses the Swedish royals' visit to Delaware.
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King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden joined Governor Jack Markell and an assembly of Delaware officials to celebrate the 375th anniversary of the founding of New Sweden in present day Wilmington.
After functions in Philadelphia and Chester, the royal couple made their way down to the First State for a variety of events, including a ceremonial re-enactment of the Swedes and Finns landing at Fort Christina park aboard Delaware’s tall ship, the Kalmar Nyckel, a replica of the vessel that brought the Swedes and Finns to the New World.
But the day also focused the current relationship between the two countries. Markell says there are many ways to strengthen the bond between Delaware and its ancestral cousins .
"The more that we can do always in terms of strengthening relationships with countries around the world can be important, not only in terms of business ties, also academic ties," said Markell. "One of the things we used in Bombay Hook, some bird monitoring techniques, our team learned when the actually visited Sweden. So there are all kinds of opportunities to learn from each other."
The day's events also included a ceremony at Dravo Plaza on the Wilmington Riverfront where Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams presented the key to the city to Johan Persson, mayor of Wilmington's Swedish sister city Kalmar.
The events were planned by the New Sweden Alliance, an umbrella group of Swedish and Finnish cultural organizations.
The colony of New Sweden, established in 1638 along the Christina River at what is now Fort Christina park in Wilmington, was the first permanent European settlement in the Delaware Valley. The New Sweden colony lasted for 17 years until captured by Dutch militia in 1655.
There's more information on other 375th anniversary events scheduled this year at the New Sweden Alliance's website,375th.org