ABSTRACT
The Scandinavian countries were the nurseries of therapeutic gymnastics. Denmark and Sweden in particular were the countries where the pioneer work was done to nurture this conception of physical education during the nineteenth century. Neither Finland nor Norway had an independent existence at the beginning of the century. Finland belonged to Sweden until 1809 when the country was lost to Russia, and Norway was at first under Danish rule and then, in 1814, was detached from Denmark and linked to Sweden. It was not until 1905 that Norway had a completely separate political existence. The contributions which Finland and Norway have made to physical education have not been insignificant in recent times, but for the sake of compactness this study is confined to physical education in Denmark and Sweden where the most significant developments took place.
