We
took a day trip to Uppsala,
a university town and Sweden's fourth largest city, located 71
kilometers north of Stockholm. Leaving from Stockholm's central
station
which was only a few blocks from where were staying, we took the
hour
long train ride arriving at the Uppsala train station, shown in
the
photo to the left. In addition to seeing the sights of the town,
it was
a pilgrimage of sorts for Tracy, whose maternal great
grandmother
hailed from here. From here we journeyed to Uppsala's central
square
with the Radhuset, shown in the photo to the right. The former
city
hall and administrative seat of Uppsala municipality, it is now
home to
a restaurant. From there we headed southwest on Vaksalagatan
toward the
Cathedral and the university.
Between the hills on
which the city center
and
the cathedral/university reside is the Fryris river which
divides the
two areas and forms a park of sorts between the two hills. The
photo to the left shows one of several bridges that span the
river, and
gives a sense of the greenery found in this urban valley. Our
first
destination upon crossing the river and ascending the adjacent
hill was
the Uppsala Cathedral, shown in the photo to the right. Given
the sheer
verticality of the structure and the proximity of the street, it
was
difficult to get a complete view of the facade. As you can see
from
the photo it is an enormous structure with twin spires and a
large
clock located between them. After admiring the exterior for a
moment
(and to avoid the imminent rain) we ducked inside.
Uppsala is the seat of the
Archbishop of Sweden and, for hundreds of years, the kings and
queens
of Sweden were crowned here. Although construction of the
cathedral
began in 1270, it was not consecrated until 1425, nearly 200
years
later. The present layout of the church dates from its
reconstruction,
following the great fire of 1702. The church is as wide as it is
tall,
approximately 118 meters. The height of the ceiling above the
central
aisle (upper left photo) is 26.6 meters. At the rear of the
church is
the Akerman organ, the largest organ in Sweden when it was
installed,
and one of two organs in the cathedral--it is pictured in the
photo at
the upper right. The altar area is referred to as the
"choir," and is depicted in the photo at the bottom left. The
murals
depict the the life of Jesus, the apostles, and other figures
from the
history of Christianity. The altar cross was designed
by Bertil Berggren-Askentrom, and was dedicated in 1976. The
chandelier
above the altar is from 1648 and is the oldest in the cathedral.
The corbels
or pillar surrounding the choir are
the
oldest feature
preserved in the cathedral. It is believed that these stone
carvings
were created by French stonemasons at the start of the 14th
century. In
front of the altar and in 
the center of the
cathedral's 
apse
is
the
Vasa Chapel. It is here that King Gustav I is buried, along
with his queens, his son, and his son's queen. This is shown in
the
photo at the lower right. In addition to the Vasa Chapel, there
are 10
other chapels lining the sides of the cathedral dedicated to
royalty,
dignitaries, and religious figures.
| 1. Gustavianum |
2. Carolina
Rediviva |
3. Universitetshuset |
| 4. Universitetsparken |
5. Ekermanska
huset |
6. Konsistoriehuset |
There
is also a version of this tour
designed specifically
for VR headsets such as Google Cardboard,
and it works with both iPhone
and Android devices. It may be access by
scanning on the QR code to the
left. If you are viewing this on a mobile
phone, you may access the VR
tour by following this
link.
The
day we visited Uppsala the news broke
that a rare Viking boat
burial site was unearthed in Uppsala, the first discovery of its
kind
in 50
years according to archeologists. Two Viking burial boats were
unearthed in Gamla
Uppsala, Sweden — one of which was exceptionally preserved and
held the
remains of a dog, a man and a horse. The graves were uncovered
during
an excavation at a vicarage in Old Uppsala last autumn. They
were found
beneath a cellar and a well dating from the Middle Ages. The
Vikings
sent a handful of
their powerful elites to the afterlife in
boats laden with sacrificed animals, weapons and treasure; the
funeral
practice dates back to the Iron Age (A.D. 550 to 800) but was
used
throughout the Viking age (A.D. 800 to 1050).
These
richly
appointed graves have been discovered across
Scandinavia.
For
example, archaeologists had previously found one such burial
boat
in Norway that had evidence
of human remains and one in western
Scotland that contained a slew of burial items such as an ax, a
shield
boss, a ringed pin, a hammer and tongs. The elites who were
given such
elaborate send-offs were also often buried with animals, such as
stallions. Selected parts of the discovery will be put on
display at
the Gamla Uppsala Museum, Uppsala, and Stockholm's Swedish
History
Museum.