Sights in Uppsala
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Grave Mounds
The seat of Western culture, according to Olof Rudbeck’s 1679 book Atlantica, was Sweden: specifically, Gamla Uppsala. Rudbeck (1630–1702), a scientist, writer and all-around colourful character, amassed copious evidence proving that Gamla Uppsala was, in fact, the mythical lost city of Atlantis. In retrospect, this seems unlikely. But the spot, 4km north of the modern city, is a fascinating attraction nevertheless. One of Sweden’s largest and most important burial sites, Gamla Uppsala contains around 300 mounds from the 6th to 12th centuries. The earliest and most impressive are three huge grave mounds. Legend has it they contain the pre-Viking kings Aun, Egil and Adils…
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Uppsala Slott
Pink and ponderous, Uppsala Slott was built by Gustav Vasa in the 1550s. It contains the state hall where kings were enthroned, and where Queen Kristina abdicated. It was also the scene of a brutal murder in 1567, when crazy King Erik XIV and his guards killed Nils Sture and his two sons, Erik and Svante, after accusing them of high treason. The castle burned down in 1702, but was rebuilt and took on its present form in 1757. In the dungeon below the castle’s south tower is the Peace Museum, with displays on various world conflicts and atrocities, as well as Sweden’s long record of neutrality and the achievements of former UN secretary general Dag Hammarskjöld. At the cas…
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Museum Gustavianum
A wondercabinet of wondercabinets, the Museum Gustavianum rewards appreciation of the weird and well organised. The shelves in the pleasantly musty building hold case after case of obsolete tools and preserved oddities, like Joseph Cornell shadowboxes gone wrong: stuffed birds, astrolabes, alligator mummies, exotic stones and dried sea creatures. Holding wider appeal is the 17th-century Augsburg Art Cabinet and its thousand ingenious trinkets. Don’t miss Olof Rudbeck’s vertiginous anatomical theatre, where executed criminals were dissected.
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Carolina Rediviva
Rare-book fiends should go directly to Carolina Rediviva, the university library. In a small, dark display room, glass cases hold precious maps and manuscripts, including some illuminated Ethiopian texts and the first book ever printed in Sweden. Occupying its own glowing VIP nook is the surviving half of the Codex Argentus (AD 520), aka the Silver Bible, written in gold and silver ink on purple vellum; aside from being pretty, it’s also linguistically important as the most complete existing document written in the Gothic language.
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Gamla Uppsala Church
According to reports from the medieval chronicler Adam of Bremen (who was never actually here), a vast golden temple graced Gamla Uppsala in the 10th century. Outside, dog, horse and human sacrifices were strung up in a sacred grove. Thor, Odin and the other Viking gods were displaced when Christianity arrived in 1090, and from 1164, the archbishop of Uppsala had his seat in a cathedral on the site of the present Church.
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Treasury
Gustav’s funerary sword, silver crown and shiny golden buttons are kept in the treasury in Domkyrka’s north tower, along with a great display of medieval textiles. Particularly fine are the clothes worn by the three noblemen who were murdered in the castle: they’re the only example of 16th-century Swedish high fashion still in existence.
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Upplandsmuseet
Upplandsmuseet, in an 18th-century watermill, houses county collections on folk art, music and the history of Uppsala from the Middle Ages onwards, as well as more modern displays. (A recent installation presented photographs from the life of author Astrid Lindgren.) Kids particularly will find the inventive dioramas and reconstructions engrossing.
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Gamla Uppsala Museum
Gamla Uppsala Museum contains finds from the cremation mounds, a poignant mix of charred and melted beads, bones and buckles. More intact pieces come from various boat graves in and around the site. The museum is arranged as a timeline – useful for recreating the history of the area.
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Linnémuseet
No matter how many times the brochures refer to Linné’s ‘sexual system’ of classification, the excitement to be had at Linnémuseet is primarily intellectual; still, botanists and vegetarians will enjoy a visit to the pioneering scientist’s home and workshop.
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Botanical Gardens
The Botanical Gardens, below the castle hill, show off more than 10,000 different species and are pleasant to wander through. Attractions include the 200-year-old Linnaeum Orangery (open 9am-3pm Mon-Fri May-Sep, 9am-2pm Mon-Fri Oct-Apr) and a tropical greenhouse (Skr40).
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Linnéträdgården
Adjoining Linnémuseet is Linnéträdgården, which is a reconstructed version of Sweden’s oldest botanical garden – Linné’s playground – with more than 1300 species arranged according to the system he invented.
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Peace Museum
In the dungeon below Uppsala Slott’s south tower is the Peace Museum, with displays on various world conflicts and atrocities, as well as Sweden’s long record of neutrality and the achievements of former UN secretary general Dag Hammarskjöld.
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Disagården
Follow signs from the grave mounds to Disagården, a 19th-century farming village turned open-air museum consisting of 26 timber buildings and a platform stage that serves as the focal point for Uppsala’s Midsummer celebrations.
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Bror Hjorth’s House
Bror Hjorth’s House, the studio of beloved local artist Bror Hjorth (1894–1968), is jam-packed with Hjorth’s charming paintings and sculpture, and hosts temporary exhibitions.
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Uppsala Art Museum
Located at the Uppsala Slott entrance marked E, Uppsala Art Museum displays Swedish and international contemporary art and ceramics as well as the art-study collection of Uppsala University.
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Domkyrka
The Gothic Domkyrka dominates the city, just as some of those buried here, including St Erik, Gustav Vasa and the scientist Carl von Linné, dominated their country.
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Trefaldighets Kyrka
Trefaldighets Kyrka isn't as outwardly impressive as the nearby Domkyrkan, but it has interesting brick vaulting and some 15th-century painted ceilings.
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Vasaborgen
In the ruins of the death-stained dungeons is a waxworks museum, Vasaborgen, where Renaissance scenes and intrigues are brought to life.
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Linnaeum Orangery
Attractions at the Botanical Gardens include the 200-year-old Linnaeum Orangery.
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