Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
described the cult of the
æsir
(the Norse gods Odin, Thor and Freyr) practised in
Uppsala: every ninth year, the deaths of nine people would be demanded at the festival
of Fröblot, the victims left hanging from a nearby tree until their corpses rotted. Two
centuries later, the great medieval storyteller, Snorri Sturluson of Iceland, depicted
Uppsala as the true home of the Ynglinga dynasty (the original royal family in
Scandinavia who also worshipped Freyr), a place where grand sacrificial festivals were
held in honour of their god.
2
Gamla Uppsala kyrka
Daily 9am-4pm
The pagan temple where Uppsala's bloody sacrifices took place is now marked by the
Christian
Gamla Uppsala kyrka
, which was built over pagan remains when the Swedish
kings first took baptism in the new faith. Built predominantly of stone yet
characterized by its rear nave wall of stepped red-brick gabling, this is one of the most
breathtakingly beautiful churches in Sweden, with an understated simplicity at the very
heart of its appeal. Although what survives of the church today is only a remnant of the
original cathedral, the relics inside more than compensate for the downscaling. In the
porch are two impressive collecting chests, one made from an oak log and fitted with
iron locks, which dates from the earliest days of the church. Entering the nave, look
out for the cabinet on the left containing a superb collection of church silver, including
a fourteenth-century chalice and a censer from the 1200s. Nearby, in the nave wall, a
stone memorial to Anders Celsius, inventor of the temperature scale that bears his
name, is a worthy tribute. Outside, if you haven't yet set eyes on a genuine rune stone
in Sweden, look carefully in the church walls at the back to find a perfectly preserved
example from the eleventh century.
The burial mounds
Southeast of the church, the
tinghög
or parliament hill (the only burial mound not
fenced in) was once the site of the local
ting
where, until the sixteenth century, a Viking
parliament was held to deliberate on all matters affecting Uppsala. Immediately west of
here, a path leads around the three main mounds, the first of which,
östhögen
- the
east mound - dates from around 550. Following the 1846-47 excavations of Gamla
Uppsala, this hill yielded the site's most astonishing artefacts: the cremated remains of a
woman - possibly a priestess of the god Freyr - buried in magnificent wool, linen and
silk clothing, as well as a necklace bearing a powerful image of a Valkyrie. The adjacent
central mound,
mitthögen
, is thought to be around fifty years older than its neighbour
but has still to be excavated. Finally, the western
västhögen
has been dated from the
late sixth century, and following excavations in 1874 revealed male bone fragments and
jewellery commensurate with high status.
Historical Centre
May to Aug daily 10am-4pm; Sept & Oct Mon, Wed, Sat & Sun noon-3pm • 60kr •
W
raa.se/gamlauppsala
The finds are proudly displayed at the entrance to the new and enjoyable
Gamla
Uppsala Historical Centre
, a brave and successful attempt to portray early Swedish
history in a wider non-Viking context. You can gawp at an archeologist's dream - gold
fragments, ancient pieces of glass and precious ivory game pieces - as well as amble
through exhibitions illustrating the origin of local myths. There's also a full account of
Uppsala's golden period, which ended in the thirteenth century.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
GAMLA UPPSALA
By bus
Buses #2, #110 and #115 from Vaksalagatan in
Uppsala drop you at the Gamla Uppsala terminus, in reality
nothing more than a bus stop next to a level crossing
opposite the Historical Centre. From the bus stop cross the
busy Stockholm-Uppsala mainline at the level crossing to
reach the site; from the Centre paths lead to the church and
burial mounds.
