People have lived in Uppsala
and cultivated the land for thousands of years. During the time
between 500 and 1 000 A.D., Uppsala developed into a political and
religious centre for the growing kingdom of the Swedes. It was from
here that the old pagan kings ruled. Legend has it that there was
a splendid temple here, decorated with gold. Every ninth year the
midwinter sacrifice was held, when people came from all provinces
in the kingdom of Svea in order to offer sacrifices to the gods.
Eventually christianity conquered the Aesir cult and Swedens's first
cathedral was erected on the site of the old heathen temple.
Uppsala became the seat of the Archbishop in the
year 1164. The first cathedral was burnt down in 1245. The archbishop
took the name of Uppsala and moved further down the river "Fyrisån"
to the considerably more lively trading centre of Östra Aros,
where a new cathedral was erected. The new Uppsala grew up around
the cathedral. The present cathedral was consecrated in 1435, after
150 years of construction.
Up until the beginning of the fourteenth century,
the Swedish kings were elected and honoured at Mora stenar, a setting
of stones just south of the centre of Uppsala.
In 1477, Archbishop Jacob Ulvsson
was given permission from the Pope in Rome to open a "studium
generale". Uppsala became the first university site in the
Nordic countries and educated 45 students. Since then, Uppsala's
research, particularly in the field of natural science, is known
in all corners of the world. The Swedish University of Agricultural
Sciences was established in 1977 and the total number of students
in Uppsala is today over 30 000.
As early as in the Middle Ages,
Uppsala was a royal centre. King Gustav Vasa had Uppsala Castle
built, a place where many important events in Sweden's history have
taken place. Queen Kristina abdicated in 1654. Now, Uppsala's County
Governor lives in the castle. The castle also accommodates Uppsala
Art Museum.
Many are the geniuses who have
made Uppsala's reputation world-wide. Olof Rudbeck, a man of wide-ranging
talents, the chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele and the astronomer Anders
Celsius are some of them. Six Uppsala scientists have received the
Nobel Prize.
The most well-known of all the scientists is perhaps
the medical graduate and botanist Carolus Linnaeus, also known as
the Flower King. Linnaeus' research laid the foundation for exploration
in the plant and animal kingdoms, a foundation that has stood the
test of time.
The city has been the inspiration for many names
within the fields of art and literature, among others Anna-Maria
Lenngren, Ingmar Bergman, Karin Boye and Bruno Liljefors.
City Description Geology
and Soil Type
|
