A good way to get to know Swedish history is to visit Skansen.
Skansen is built like a "Sweden in minatyre", here you'll find old historical farms and an old handicraft center. Visit the Nordic animals in Skansen's zoo. The zoo contanis wild life from the Nordic regions (elk, wolverine, wolf etc) along with more ordinary animals (pigs, horses, cows etc). But there is also a big chans that you might run into som of Skansen's more excotic inhabitants, the peacocks for example.