Riksbank — the world's oldest central bank

Sveriges Riksbank, Sweden's central bank, founded in 1668, is the oldest central bank in the world still operating. It arose after the collapse of the first Swedish bank that had printed too many banknotes.

The lesson learned

Precisely because it had seen the danger of reckless printing, Sweden created a more prudent institution. It's also the bank that awards, since 1969, the "Nobel Prize in Economics". Good institutions are born from mistakes.