Poet Tomas Tranströmer receives the Nobel Prize in Literature from King Carl Gustaf. Photo: Anders Wiklund/Scanpix

I lean like a ladder and with my face
reach into the second floor of the cherry tree.
I'm inside the bell of colors, it chimes with sunlight.
I polish off the swarthy red berries faster than four magpies.

(excerpt from “Winter’s Gaze” in Tomas Tranströmer's The Great Enigma: New Collected Poems, 2006, transl. by Robin Fulton, New Directions Books). 

What better way to begin a summary of Sweden in 2011 than with a poem by Tomas Tranströmer. Known for his condensed imagery, lack of pretension and remarkable precision, Tranströmer is one of few contemporary Swedish writers to have influenced world literature.

When presented with his Nobel Prize by King Carl Gustaf, he was given the longest round of applause of all the laureates — naturally, perhaps, since he was on home ground. Tranströmer is the eighth Swede to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

A controversial choice? Not necessarily, although a number of experts have wondered why little Sweden has managed to acquire so many literature prizes. It’s likely to be some time, however, before another Swede gets the award. 

Swedish actors Ola Rapace, Noomi Rapace and Michael Nyqvist all landed Hollywood roles in 2011. Photos, from left to right: Erik Mårtensson/Scanpix, Lars Lindqvist/ DN/Scanpix and Jessica Gow/Scanpix

Millennium paves the way in Hollywood

Let’s stay with literature, albeit of the more mainstream variety. Hollywood was so thrilled by author Stieg Larsson’s posthumous Millennium success that it brought in David Fincher to direct an English-language version of the trilogy’s first installment.

The US version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo arrived in cinemas in December. During the year, stars Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara had lent luster both to the cobblestone backstreets of Stockholm’s Södermalm district and to small mill towns in the north.

The result was not only a momentous chapter in the history of the Swedish film industry — which was responsible for much of the groundwork — but also a critically acclaimed screen version of one of the greatest triumphs in Swedish literary history. And in a truly international cast, Sweden’s very own Hollywood star Stellan Skarsgård shines in the role of Martin Vanger.

Hollywood’s relationship with Sweden deepened during the year. Sweden can now boast an array of actor exports to the Dream Factory. Noomi Rapace, Alexander Skarsgård (yes, the son of Stellan) and Michael Nyqvist all made their mark there in 2011.

Rapace, who played Lisbeth Salander in the Swedish Millennium trilogy, got off to a flying start with Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. The film grossed USD 39 million during its opening weekend in the US in December, topping the box office lists.

2012 promises even bigger things for Rapace as she will headline Ridley Scott’s space thriller Prometheus later this year. To some, she seems destined for true Hollywood stardom — Time Magazine has already labeled her the Greta Garbo of our age. Her ex-husband Ola Rapace will shortly be seen in the upcoming Bond film Skyfall.

Mikael Nyqvist, the male lead in the Swedish Millennium films, got to play the villain against Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible — Ghost Protocol, while Alexander Skarsgård continues to set young hearts alight in television series True Blood.

But it is not only Swedish actors that are making their mark around the world. Tomas Alfredson, following up his directorial success Let the Right One In, made his international debut with Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, a stylized nail-biter from the Cold War era based on John le Carré’s novel of the same name. The film stars Gary Oldman and Colin Firth. 

Swedish House Mafia — even bigger abroad than at home. The DJ trio are the first Swedish act to sell out the Madison Square Garden in New York City. Photo: AP Childs/Scanpix

American dreams in music

In music, electropop queen Robyn continued to charm the world, the US not the least. She toured with Katy Perry, featured on the cover of the American edition of Elle, and has been nominated in two categories for the 2012 Grammys. Now we await her next album.

In December, Swedish House Mafia did what no other Swedish act had done before, counting ABBA and Roxette; they sold out the Madison Square Garden in New York City on their own. The DJ trio — Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso — turned in an high-octane two-hour set that had nearly every person dancing in 20,000-seat arena.

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel are expecting their first child in March. Photo: Albert Nieboer/Scanpix

A Royal baby, politicians and a car maker

Back home, it was also an eventful year for Sweden, not least in the Royal Family. To the delight of court reporters, Crown Princess Victoria announced that she and her husband, Prince Daniel, are to have a child in March this year. A historic event, since Victoria is in line to become the first female regent in the house of Bernadotte.

There was financial turbulence in Europe, but the Swedish coalition government weathered the storm comparatively well. In the fall, the Financial Times named the Moderate Party’s Anders Borg European finance minister of the year.

It was a tougher year for the Social Democrats, the largest opposition party which elected a new leader in the spring, Håkan Juholt. During the fall, controversy surrounded Juholt as an investigation into his accommodation reimbursements was launched. The prosecutors later dropped the investigation and Juholt was cleared of any legal wrongdoing, but in December nevertheless the party recorded their lowest ever figures in opinion polls.

2011 also marked the 50th anniversary of the death of former UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld. In 1961, Hammarskjöld, acclaimed for his efforts to spread peace in the world, died in a plane crash in what is now Zambia.

Victor Müller's optimism could not save Saab, which was declared bankrupt in December. Photo: Björn Larsson Rosvall/Scanpix

What about Saab? Taken over in 2010 by Victor Müller (the Dutch founder of Spyker Cars), the company has since been torn between hope and despair. This once-prestigious brand in the Swedish car-making industry had a turbulent year, with failed reconstruction efforts, hungry Chinese buyers with bulging pockets, and an uncompromising General Motors that kept blocking bids.

In December even the incurably optimistic Müller seemed to have thrown in the towel as Saab was declared bankrupt.

The Swedish national team made it into their fourth consecutive Europan Championship by beating the Netherlands in their final qualifying match. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/Scanpix  

Sporting success and Zlatan

Finally, a few words about Swedish sporting success. In October, the national soccer team only just made it into the Euro 2012 finals, beating the Netherlands 3-2 in their last qualifying game — without their star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was suspended for the match.

The AC Milan striker is no doubt Sweden’s best player, but after the Netherlands game the Swedish media fuelled a debate about whether the side actually performs better without him. Since his debut, Sweden have a 100 percent record in European qualifiers when Ibrahimovic has been absent, but only a 55 percent success rate when he has played.

Ibrahimovic, in true fashion of a real sports star, published his autobiography at the tender age of 30. Its numerous revelations included details of his schism with coach Pep Guardiola during his Barcelona stint, and the publishers, one of the largest in Sweden, declared it to be among the fastest-selling works in their history.

And so people who had never before picked up a sports book began to read, Zlatan grew even richer — and the question of what was to be the Christmas present of the year in Sweden was settled.

Aleksander Kovacevic

Aleksander Kovacevic is a freelance journalist based in Stockholm. He works for the Swedish public service broadcaster SVT as well as a dozen glossy magazines.

The author alone is responsible for the opinions expressed in this article.

Translation: Stephen Croall