Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CARL VON LINNÉ
Born in Småland in 1707,
Carl von Linné
, who styled himself Carolus Linnaeus, is undoubtedly
Sweden's most revered scientist. His international reputation was secured by the introduction of
his
binomial classification,
, a two-part nomenclature that enabled plants and animals to be
consistently named and categorized into families; it was Linnaeus who invented the term
homo
sapiens
, for example. Only very recently has the basis of his classifications been undermined by
genetic methods, resulting in the complete realignment of certain plant families.
2
Linnéträdgården
Linnaeus Garden • Svartbäcksgatan 27 • May-Sept Tues-Sun 11am-5pm (gates close at 8pm) • 60kr including the museum •
W
linnaeus.uu.se
he beautiful
Linnéträdgården
contains around 1300 varieties of plants. These are
Sweden's oldest botanical gardens, established in 1655 by Olof Rudbeck the Elder, and
relaid out by Linnaeus (see box above) in 1741 with perennials and annuals either side
of the central path; some of the species he introduced and classified still survive here.
Incidentally, you can see the garden behind Linnaeus's head on the 100kr note.
he
museum
adjoining the garden was home to Linnaeus and his family from 1743 to
1778, and attempts to evoke his life through a partially restored library, his writing room
and even the bed where he breathed his last.
Bror Hjorth museum
Norbyvägen 26 • Thurs-Sun noon-4pm, also mid-June to mid-Aug Tues & Wed noon-4pm • 40kr, free on Fri •
W
brorhjorthshus.se •
Buses #6 and #7 run here from Stora torget in the city centre (10min)
The first sight that greets arrivals at Uppsala train station is an erotic statue of a man
with an oversized penis, the work of Uppsala-born sculptor and painter,
Bror Hjorth
(1894-1968), a former professor of drawing at the Swedish Royal Academy of Fine Arts,
who's considered one of Sweden's greatest artists. A modernist with roots in folk art, his
numerous public art commissions can be seen right across the country - perhaps most
strikingly in the church in Jukkasjärvi in Lapland (see p.342). His former home and
studio in Uppsala, west of the city centre have now been turned into a
museum
containing the largest and most representative collection of his work in the country.
Linne's Hammarby
May & Sept Fri-Sun 11am-5pm; June-Aug Tues-Sun 11am-5pm (gates always close at 8pm) • 60kr including the garden •
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hammarby.uu.se • Take bus #102 (or less frequently #186) from the bus station and get off at Hammarby vägskäl from where it's a 2km
walk; bus times are at
W
ul.se
In 1754, Carl von Linné (see box above) acquired a country estate at
Hammarby
, 15km
southeast of Uppsala, and built a house there. Today, the beautiful homestead,
complete with unique wallpaper of botanical engravings, is open to the public and
makes a great day-trip. It's surrounded by lush gardens including a collection of
Siberian plants and a gene bank for the fruit species of the Lake Mälaren region.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
UPPSALA
By plane
Uppsala can be easily reached from Arlanda airport,
Sweden's main airport; trains connect Arlanda C station with
Uppsala (daily every 20min; 20min; 126kr) whilst bus #801
also runs to the city (daily every 15-30min; 40min; 78kr).
By train
Uppsala's new Resecentrum,
on Kungsgatan, the
city's revamped bus and train interchange, is the place to
catch all trains to and from the city.
Destinations
Arlanda airport (every 20 min; 20min);
Gällivare (1 daily; 14hr); Gävle (hourly; 40min); Kiruna
(1 daily; 15hr); Luleå (2 daily; 12hr); Mora (4 daily; 2hr
50min); Narvik (1 daily; 18hr 30min); Nyköping (8 daily; 1hr
40min); Östersund (4 daily; 5hr); Stockholm (every 20min;
40min);
Sundsvall
(9
daily;
2hr
40min);
Umeå
(2 daily; 8hr 40min).
INFORMATION
Tourist o
ce
Fyris torg 8 (Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat
10am-3pm; July & Aug same hours plus Sun 11am-3pm;
T
018 727 48 00,
W
uppsala.to). Has bundles of leaflets
about the city and free internet access.
