The student nations at the two ancient universities in Uppsala and Lund, of which there are now thirteen at each university, are the oldest student societies in Sweden. The Uppsala nations have a history stretching back to around 1630-1640, and were probably formed under the influence of the Landsmannschaften in existence at the northern German universities frequented by Swedish students. The nations in Lund were formed at the time of the foundation of the university (1666) or shortly thereafter. The nations take the names from the Swedish provinces from which they traditionally recruited their members, but do not always adhere to the strict practice of limiting membership according to those principles. Swedish educational institutions also have student unions, political and religious student societies, etc. In addition to Uppsala and Lund, student nations were also formed at the University of Tartu and Royal Academy of Turku (now University of Helsinki), the second and third oldest universities in the Swedish Empire. Nowadays there are 16 student nations in the University of Helsinki.
See also
- Uppsala University
- Lund University
- University of Helsinki
- University of Tartu
- Student nations at the University of Paris
- Inspektor
