Founding of Sveriges Riksbank

Sveriges Riksbank, the central bank of Sweden, is generally regarded as the oldest central bank in the world still operating. Its origins lie in a private bank set up in Stockholm in the 1650s by Johan Palmstruch, which issued the first banknotes in Europe, but it failed when it printed too many notes. The Swedish parliament, the Riksdag, then took over the institution under its own guarantee and control, and the bank became the Bank of the Estates of the Realm. It later developed the functions of a modern central bank, managing monetary policy and the currency, the krona. In 1968, the Riksbank created the prize in economic sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel.

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