Ståndsriksdag

Ståndsriksdag, or Riksdag of the Estates, was the representative assembly of the Swedish realm in medieval and early modern times. It consisted of four estates: the nobility (riddarstandet), the clergy (prästerskapen), the burghers (borgare) and the peasants (bönder). The estates met by order of the king, usually in Stockholm, to discuss and decide on state matters such as taxation, laws, and foreign policy. Each estate had its own deliberative body and votes were often counted by estate rather than by individuals; decisions required consent across estates, and the king's power depended on the support of the Estates.

Over time the estates acquired a greater role in government and lawmaking, especially during the 16th–17th centuries, aiding the centralization of the Swedish state under monarchs such as Gustavus Adolphus and Christina. The Estates lost influence during the 18th and early 19th centuries as the monarchy and administrative apparatus grew stronger, culminating in constitutional reforms after 1809 and 1810.

The Riksdag of the Estates was dissolved in 1866, when a new bicameral Parliament (the First and Second Chambers) replaced the four-estate system, ending the era of the Ståndsriksdag. The term remains a historical designation for Sweden's old parliamentary form and is used in discussions of Swedish constitutional history.