Review: The Girl King (2015)

The Girl King, a film by Mika Kaurismäki, tells the story of the Queen Christina of Sweden - or, rather, the story of her years in Sweden. It was filmed mainly in and around the city and castle of Turku in Finland, while the actors are from Finland and Sweden. I wrote about the film and its props earlier, so I will now focus more on the film and the way it depicts the queen and the era. And when you are done reading with my review, please take a look at my wife's opinion as well, over at the Wrestles with Words blog.

Queen Christina of Sweden - a Swordswoman

Queen Christina is arguably one of the most intriguing queens in history. She was born in 1626 and her father, King Gustavus Adolphus, died on a battlefield when she was only 6 years old. Nevertheless, Gustavus Adolphus had time to have a great influence on her, as he raised her more or less like a boy (from the perspective of the 17th century world) by, for example, taking her to see soldiers firing cannons when she was very little. Later in her life, alongside diplomacy and culture, she continued practicing her skills in hunting, swordsmanship, cannoneering and horseback riding.

The Sword of Gustavus Adolphus

(Updated in 2014 with a photo, in 2017 with information about The Girl King film)

In my previous entry, I took a look at the rapier of Gustavus Vasa, who was the king of Sweden in the 16th century. The topic of this short info piece is the sword of Gustavus Adolphus (or Gustav II Adolf), who ruled Sweden in the early 17th century and modernised the country from a backwards state into one of the greatest powers of the era, rivalling those of France, Spain, England and The Holy Roman Empire.