Västerås Riksdags

meetings of the Swedish Riksdag (a representative estate institution) in the city of Västerås. The most important of the Västerås Riksdags were those of 1527 and 1544, which legally established and confirmed the introduction of the Reformation in Sweden. The Västerås Riksdag of 1527 ordered the bishops to hand over their lands to the king; noblemen’s lands that had passed into the hands of the church from 1454 on were to be returned to their secular owners. The power to appoint ecclesiastical officials was given to the king. The preaching of Lutheranism was permitted. The Västerås Riksdag of 1544 adopted an ordinance approving Lutheran theology and rituals. Sweden was also proclaimed a hereditary monarchy, and the Vasa dynasty’s right to the throne was confirmed.