Did you know… In the 1980s, a sword that was rumored to belong to King Gustaf II Adolf (the College namesake) was given to Gustavus from collector Lloyd Swanson ’35 who had acquired it some years prior. On the blade is the inscription “1622, Gustavus Adolphus, Great King of the Goths.” According to a 1991 appraisal, the sword’s blade and hilt are from two different eras, though the dating for the blade puts the sword during the time of Gustavus Adolphus, the hilt is of Swedish origin and is the ‘carolinan style’ of the late 17th to the early 18th centuries. There is no way for sure to know if the college’s namesake, King Gustav II Adolf, ever actually was in possession of this sword, but it is still a relic that is important to the history of Sweden and of Gustavus itself.