Uppsala Sweden Map

Province: Uppsala Ian. Region: Uppland.

Gamla Uppsala

Hotel, Gamla Uppsalagatan 48, 251 Grand Hotell Hornan, BangSrdsgatan 1,42 b. YOUTH HOSTEL. CAMP SITE.

SPORTS and RECREATION. Linnaean walks (botanical excursions, in summer); old railway to Lenna (Sundays and public holidays, June to August); golf, tennis, riding.

The province of Uppsala occupies the central part of the region of Uppland, which played a prominent part in the early history of Sweden. The people of Uppland (Svea) had the right to elect and depose their kings, and the name of Sweden itself (Sverige) is derived from Svea. The term Svea Rike, the kingdom of the Swedes”, is still found in the traditional painting of Dalarna (Dalmfil-ninger).

HISTORY. Uppsala can claim to be the historical hub of Sweden. At the time when the Swedish kings resided at Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala) the present town, then known at Ostra Aros, was merely the port and trading station of the capital. In 1273 the archiepiscopal see was transferred to Uppsala, while the royal residence was moved to Stockholm. The University, which plays a central role in the life of Uppsala, was founded in 1477 by Archbishop Jakob Ulvsson and developed into a major focus of learning, thanks to the patronage of Gustavus Adolphus. The contrast between the two aspects of Uppsala its ecclesiastical and academic side and its secular and commercial side can still be felt, although the middle of the town has been largely transformed by the new building of the 1960s and 1970s.

SIGHTS. The Cathedral, consecrated in 1435, was originally based on English In Uppsala Cathedral Stockholm models, but later received its High Gothic stamp from a French architect, Etienne de Bonneuil. Total length 118-7 m (390 ft), internal width 45 m (150 ft), height of towers 118-7 m (390 ft). The towers were partly rebuilt after a fire in 1702, and the spires were restored in 1745. Restoration work carried out about 1880 gave rise to much criticism, and in recent years radical changes have been made to restore the original character of the Cathedral.

INTERIOR. There is a splendid Baroque pulpit by B Precht (1707). At the E end of the choir is the Gustavian Chapel, with the tomb of Gustavus Vasa which was carved in Holland (c. 1576). On the N side are the tomb of Katarina Jagellonica (1583) and the marble monument of her husband, Johan III. On the N side is the Oxenstierna Chapel. Also buried in the Cathedral are the scientist, Carl von Linne (Linnaeus), Archbishop Nathan Soderblom and the philosopher, Swedenborg. The Silver Chamber contains, among other treasures, the gilded reliquary (1574-9) of King Erik (St Erik), killed by the Danes in 1160. In the N tower is a museum, with, among much else, a gold brocade robe (c. 1400) which belonged to Queen Margaret, ruler of the united kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

NW of the Cathedral is the Biological Museum, with large dioramas illustrating the animal life of Sweden.

Below the Cathedral, on the banks of the Fyrisa, is the Uppiand Museum (regional history and culture). To the W of the Cathedral stands the Gustavianum (c. 1620), presented to the University by Gustavus Adolphus; it contains the University’s Cultural History Collections, the Museum of Nordic Antiquities and the Victoria Museum (Egyptian antiquities). In Fyristorg is the Art Collection. In the University gardens, behind the Gustavianum, are a number of runic stones and a bronze statue of the historian and poet E. G. Geijer. The new University buildings were erected in 1879-86. The University now has about 20,000 students. To the S of the Gustavianum stands Trinity Church (Trefaldighetskyr-kan), the oldest parts of which date from the 12th c. (medieval wall paintings).

The University Library (Carolina Redi-viva) is Sweden’s largest library, with more than 2 million volumes and 30,000 manuscripts. Its greatest treasure (in the display collection to the right of the entrance) is the famous Codex Argen-teus, probably written at Ravenna in the reign of Theodoric the Great (6th c.). It contains the translation of the Gospels by the Gothic bishop, Wulfila or Ulfilas (d. 383), in silver and gold letters on 187 pages of purple parchment; the silver binding is 17th c. Other valuable items are the Codex Uppsalensis (the oldest manuscript of Snorre Sturlasson’s Younger Edda, c. 1300), the Decretum Concilii Uppsaiiensis of 1593, with many signatures, and Olaus Magnus’s Carta Marina (a map of northern Europe printed in Venice in 1539). The oldest Swedish printed book is dated 1483.

Uppsala University To the S of the University Library we find the Botanic Garden. On elevated ground, to the SE, is the Castle, begun by Gustavus Vasa in 1548 but only half completed; it now houses the governor’s residence, offices and the provincial archives. Erik IV had Count Sture murdered here, and here also, in the Great Hall, Queen Christina abdicated the throne. From the bastions there are fine views of the town and surrounding countryside. On the NW bastion is a bell, made for Queen Gunilla Bielke, which strikes the hours at 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily. Behind the Castle is a bust of Gustavus Vasa (by Fogelberg), surrounded by cannon. Tothe SE ofthe Castle extends the Municipal Park, with Flustret summer restaurant. In the cemetery to the W is the grave of Dag Hammarskjold (1905-61), former Secretary General of the United Nations. From the University Library, Drott-ninggata runs NE to the Stortorg, in which stands the Town Hall (Radhus, 1883). In the nearby Svartbacksgata is the Linnaean Garden (LinnetradgSrden; the great botanist, Linnaeus, was curator here), and the Linnaean Museum. Carl von Linne (1707-78), known as Linnaeus, devised the technical language of Uppsala Gamla

Royal burial mounds botany and the Linnaean system (published in 1735) of botanical nomenclature, the binomial system which is still in use. To the E of the Stortorg is the railway station, to the W of the station the Folkets Hus (People’s House), with the Municipal Theatre, and to the N the Town Hall (Stadshus).

SURROUNDINGS. 5 km (3 miles) N is Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala), once capital ofthe kingdom of the Svear. The little church of undressed stone is a remnant of the former Cathedral, built about 1125. The old offertory box has been preserved, and the bishop’s throne is one of the oldest pieces of furniture in Sweden. Three large burial mounds, thought to date from the 6th c. contain the remains of kings Adil, Egil and Aun. From a low hill to the E, the Tingshog, the kings addressed their people. In the Odinsborg Inn, visitors can drink mead from silver-mounted drinking horns. To the N is the open-air museum of Disagirden, with old houses from the surrounding area. 11 km (7 miles) SE of Uppsala, in a house built in 1779, are the Mora Stones on which kings took an oath after their election; the name of the king was inscribed on the stone. 3 km (2 miles) away is Hammarby, once Linnaeus’s summer home and now a museum. 4 km (2 miles) N E of the Mora Stones is Lagga church, with 1 5th c. wall paintings.

30 km (20 miles) S of Uppsala, on Lake Skarven, is Sigtuna (pop. 4000; Stadshotell, 45 b.), one of the oldest towns in Sweden, founded by Olof Skot-konung in the 11 th c. The first Swedish coins, with the inscription Situne Dei”, were struck here by coiners brought from England by Olof. The first episcopal see in the land of the Svear and a busy trading town in its early days, Sigtuna declined in importance when the bishop moved his residence to Uppsala in 1130. In 1187, the town was attacked by the Estonians and set on fire. It took Sigtuna five centuries to recover a measure of prosperity. The founding of a Dominican monastery in 1237 marked the beginning of its revival.

The main street, Stora Gatan, follows the same lines it did around 1000, as was shown by the discovery of the old road 3 m (10 ft) below the present ground level. Excavated material, including remains of the earliest buildings on this site, can be seen in the Museum in Lilia Torget. The ruins of the churches of St Lars, St Per and St Olof bear witness to the town’s past glory. St Olof’s church (mid-12th c.) was probably built on the site of an old sacred spring to which offerings were made. Nearby stands the 13th c. St Mary’s Church, an old monastic church with 13th c. wall paintings and the tomb of Archbishop Jarler (d. 1255), who had been a monk in the monastery. In the choir is a fine 1 5th c. altar screen. The Lundstrdmske Hus, a handsome old burgher’s house, contains period furnishings. To the W of the town is the Sigtuna Foundation (1915), with a Lutheran folk high school and a guest-house.

Skokloster Castle 1 0 km (6 miles) NW of Sigtuna as the crow flies, but accessible only from the Stockholm-Enkoping road (E18), is Skokloster Castle, on the Skofjord.

Skokloster Castle was originally a Cistercian abbey, founded in 1244. The abbey, with the exception ofthe church, was demolished in 1574. The estate was acquired in 1 611 by Field Marshal Herman Wrangel, whose son Karl Gustav, Count of Salamis, was born here in 1613. Karl Gustav Wrangel, later Riksmarskalk and Riksamiral (grand Marshal and Grand Admiral) of Sweden, built the present castle in 1 654-7. The architect was first de la Vallee and later Tessin the Elder. The castle, built of brick, is an imposing Baroque pile on a quadrangularplan vyith an octagonal tower at each corner. The interior, well preserved, is richly decorated, with fine stucco, wall and ceiling paintings and collections of pictures and weapons. Among items of special interest are the ceremonial shield ofthe Emperor Charles V, probably made in Augsburg, a sword which belonged to the Hussite leader Jan 2i§ka and the sword used in the Bloodbath of Linkoping”.

The church to the N of the castle contains a 13th c. triumphal cross, the Wrangel burial vault and a pulpit from Oliva, near Danzig, brought back from the Thirty Years War. Immediately E ofthe church is a runic stone with carved figures of two horsemen which are probably a good deal older than the runic inscription. Nearby is an Automobile Museum.