Serbs in Sweden


Serbs in Sweden are Swedish citizens of ethnic Serb descent and/or Serbia-born persons living in Sweden. Estimated number of people of Serb ethnic descent stands at around 80,000.

History

The first major wave of Serb immigration to Sweden took place in the 1960s. This was a period when Sweden was in need of labour and in 1964 the visa requirement for Yugoslavia citizens was removed. As a result, Serbs and other ethnic groups from Yugoslavia immigrated to Sweden. Serbian labour immigration declined during the late 1970s when recession hit the Swedish economy and the need for labour decreased.
Bosnian Serbs and Croatian Serbs migrated in another wave during and after the Yugoslav Wars. A third wave, that of Kosovo Serbs, came in the aftermath the Kosovo War in 1999.

Culture

The Serbs in Sweden are bilingual and the Serbian language is a rich contributor to the so-called Rinkeby Swedish, a sociolect of the Swedish language.
They predominantly belong to the Eastern Orthodoxy with the Serbian Orthodox Church as the traditional church and its diocese, Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Scandinavia. In 1972, the first Serbian Orthodox parishes was formed in Västerås, prior to the forming that same year a parish in Malmö and in 1973 one in Stockholm. Later, parishes have been formed in Göteborg, Jönköping, Helsingborg, and one more in Stockholm. In 1982, the Church of Saint Cyril and Methodius was opened in Malmo, the first Serbian Orthodox church in Sweden. The parish of Saint Sava opened its church in Enskede in 1983; the parish in Göteborg also has a church.

Notable people

  • Alina Devecerski – singer, paternal Serb descent
  • Bojan Djordjic – football player
  • Dalibor Doder – handball player
  • Oscar Dronjak – musician
  • Alexander Kačaniklić – football player, paternal Serb descent
  • Alexander Milošević – football player, paternal Serb descent
  • Dusan Djuric – football player
  • Katerina Kazelis – singer, maternal Serb descent
  • Robert Kronberg – athlete, maternal Serb descent
  • Zoran Lukić – football manager
  • Daniel Majstorović – football player
  • Dragomir Mrsic – actor
  • Nikola Pasic – ice hockey player
  • Peter Popovic – ice hockey player
  • Rade Prica – football player
  • Jovan Radomir – media personality
  • Danijela Rundqvist – ice hockey player, maternal Serb descent
  • Nikola Šarčević – musician
  • Michaela Savić – beauty pageant titleholder and model
  • Stefan Selaković – football player
  • Sven Stojanović – television director
  • Dragan Umicevic – ice hockey player
  • Ljubomir Vranjes – handball player