Not from CIA factbook: The country that is now known as Sweden once consisted of three smaller kingdoms, Västra Götaland, Östra Götaland and Svealand. Svealand was the region around today's central Sweden, the area where Stockholm lies. In the 13th century, the three countries were united under a single king, who founded Sweden. The Swedish name for Sweden is Sverige, which is close to the Danish pronounciation of Svea rike, which in English is roughly The kingdom of the Swedes. The Swedish national symbol "Three Crowns" represents the three countries, and that one king had all three crowns.