St Andrews without the Golf (Uppsala)

Member Name: Alan1968

Product:	Uppsala
Date:	12/07/05 (114 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent place for a day trip on a Swedish Holiday

Disadvantages: Linnaeus Gardens are overhyped and very disappointing

Uppsala is to me the Swedish version of St Andrews, but without the golf, an old city steeped in history especially as an important religious centre that now revolves almost entirely around its university.

Uppsala is approximately 45 minutes north of Stockholm by train which will cost less than £10 for a day return and run extremely frequently during the day, approximately every half hour and more at peak times. This makes Uppsala an ideal destination for a day trip if staying in Stockholm.

As noted above the town is dominated by the university, don’t be surprised if you see large numbers of young people walking around in colourful boiler suits, this seems to be the identifying uniform of the ‘nations’ or student houses which appear to make up the core of the Uppsala social scene. Officially you are not permitted entrance to events unless you are a Swedish student, but this seems to be relatively relaxed for foreigners especially if you have an ISIC card or some other form of student ID.

Must See Places to Visit

The first must see place to visit is not actually in Uppsala itself but a few miles outside of town, this is Gamla Uppsala, which literally means Old Uppsala. This is the site of 3 ancient royal burial barrows that date back to about the 6th century and mark the area of the original pagan settlement. The ancient pagan rites practised here included the rather gruesome practise of sacrificing 9 people every 9th year by hanging them from a tree and leaving them to rot. My visits seem to have coincided with the visits of modern day pagans who seem to settle for hanging scarecrows and dragging wood up the barrows to light bonfires.

The pagan temple has now been replaced by the Gamla Uppsala Kyrka which is not that interesting from an architectural viewpoint but does contain the tomb of Anders Celsius of thermometer fame and marks the site where Swedish Kings were first baptised.

Gamla Uppsala can be reached by the number 2 bus which runs from the centre of town every 20 minutes and a quick word with the driver should ensure you get dropped at the right stop.

In Uppsala itself the must see attraction is the Domkyrkan, which is the largest cathedral in Scandinavia, the outside is strange as this is a brick built cathedral, rather different from the stone constructions usually seen elsewhere, the twin towers are quite pleasing to the eye and are visible from throughout the town so it easy to find. The inside however is magnificent, a massive central church is surrounded by a number of small chapels. The Finsta chapel contains relics of Sweden’s patron saint Sant Erik and further on is my personal favourite the Vasa Chapel, which contains the tomb of King Gustav Vasa, his 3 wives and other members of his family including his son Johan III. This chapel has been decorated with frescoes depicting Gustav Vasa’s life.

Give it a Miss

The most disappointing thing in Uppsala for me was undoubtedly the Linnaeus Gardens. Linnaeus was a famous botanist who lived in Uppsala and who relaid the Universities gardens in the mid 1700’s. Whilst some of the plants he classified still remain as far as open spaces go it has nothing to recommend it other than the fact that Linnaeus worked there.

What remains of the castle, a wall and a couple of towers, is not open to the public so there isn’t really much point in wandering up to the remains, a much better way to spend any remaining time in Uppsala, in the summer, is to have a wander along the river bank which flows through the town centre where there are numerous nice spots for a bit of sunbathing or a picnic.

In Conclusion

Uppsala is well worth a visit if you are in Sweden, but you can see all there is to see in a day quite easily and unless you are a student, the nightlife is undoubtedly better elsewhere so for that reason I would recommend it as a day trip destination rather than as a centre for a longer stay.

Summary: Go visit the Pagan site at Gamla Uppsala