Sven Hedin – The Last Great Explorer

Sven Hedin in Tibet, Photo: Creative Commons

In this series for Radio Sweden from the 1990’s I traced the adventures of the Swede who spent four decades crisscrossing Central Asia and discovering lost cities on the ancient Silk Road.

Map of Sven Hedin’s expeditions, Creative Commons

In the first part of the series we look at Hedin’s early life and travels that prepared him for his first great expedition to Central Asia:

 

In the second part of the series we look at Hedin’s first two scientific expeditions in Central Asia:

 

In the third part of the series we follow the explorer’s third expedition, to eastern Persia, and his support for Germany during the First World War, as well as his round-the-world lecture tour:

 

In the final part of the series, we take up Hedin’s last great expedition, unlike any that preceded it, and his support for Nazi Germany that tarnished his later reputation: