Bältesspaennarna (The Belt Wrestlers)

National romantic bronze sculpture by Johan Peter Molin depicting two men in a mythic wrestling contest.

Bältesspaennarna, meaning "The Belt Wrestlers" or "The Knife Fighters," is a celebrated national romantic bronze sculpture by Swedish sculptor Johan Peter Molin, created in the mid-19th century. It depicts two men engaged in the mythical contest of belt-wrestling — an archaic test of strength that Molin's era romanticised as a symbol of Nordic honour and vigour. The sculpture became Molin's international breakthrough and was well known across Europe for a time. Multiple casts exist, including one in front of the National Museum in Stockholm. It embodies the 19th century's romantic fascination with Nordic myth and heroic masculinity.