Svenska
Swedish
- Global speakers: 12,804,900
- Glottocode: swed1254
- ISO 639-3: swe
Swedes were among the earliest settlers in New Amsterdam, which was not far from the short-lived colony of New Sweden. According to one theory, among them was farmer/settler Jonas Bronck, after whom the Bronx was later named; others were involved in the clearing of what became Harlem. An early Swedish Methodist congregation formed on the ship Bethel on Pier 11 on the Hudson. A much larger wave of Swedish immigration began in the mid-19th century, first in Manhattan and Cobble Hill around Atlantic Avenue, with Sunset Park and Bay Ridge soon after becoming the major Swedish-American hub by the end of 19th century, as Swedes joined Finns, Norwegians, and Danes in a pan-Scandinavian neighborhood with a rich communal life, where many were visiting seamen or worked in the shipyards. By 1930, as many as 40,000 Swedes lived in the city, though the community ultimately scattered and assimilated and most Swedish New Yorkers today (for whom Midtown's Church of Sweden is one important center) are recent arrivals.
Sites
NYC neighborhoods or towns in the metro region where the language community has a significant site, marked by a point on the map: