Uppsala history tour

Walking tour of the city of Uppsala, Sweden

Uppsala is Sweden's fourth largest city, and has been a cultural centre since the Viking Age, and the cradle of the Swedish nation. This is a walking tour through the highlights of Uppsala's centre.

Understand

This walking tour includes Uppsala's central locations, omitting Old Uppsala and the Uppsala countryside. The Uppland history tour is a lengthy journey best made by car or bicycle.

Prepare

Get in

Uppsala is walkable. The grounds around the palace are a bit steep, and wheeled equipment might have to take detours.

Go

  • 🌍 Upplandsmuseet (The Uppland Museum), S:t Eriks torg 10. The county museum has various exhibition on the region's prehistory and history. It is hosted by a watermill building from 1768. Free. 
  • 🌍 Uppsala Cathedral (Domkyrkan), Domkyrkoplan 2. The seat of Sweden's archbishop opened in 1435. Free. 
  • 🌍 Helga Trefaldighets kyrka (Church of Holy Trinity), Odinslund 4 (just south of the Cathedral). A 14th century church, dwarfed by the cathedral. 
  • 🌍 Uppsala Castle (Uppsala Slott). 
  • 🌍 Gustavianum (The University Museum), Akademigatan 3. Under renovation. Opens spring 2024.. Uppsala University's previous main building, built in the 1620s. Today it is the university museum, with many artifacts from the Nordic Iron Age. 
  • 🌍 Universitetshuset (The University Hall), Biskopsgatan 3. The auditorium entrance carries the aphorism "Tänka fritt är stort men tänka rätt är större" ("Thinking free is great, but thinking right is greater"), attributed to the 18th century philosophy professor Thomas Thorild. The phrase "thinking right" has been misunderstood as "think as the authorities do". Thorild was however a radical for his time; his aphorism should be read as "think reasonably". 
  • 🌍 Carolina Rediviva, Dag Hammarskjölds väg 1. 
  • 🌍 Pelle Svanslös lekplats. 
  • 🌍 Botaniska trädgården (The Botanical Garden), Villavägen 6-8. 
  • 🌍 Uppsala Gamla Kyrkogård (Uppsala Old Cemetery), Villavägen 1. Opened in the late 18th century, with graves of celebrities such as poet Gustaf Fröding, painter Bruno Liljefors, UN secretary general Dag Hammarskjöld, and medical educator Hans Rosling. 
  • 🌍 Biotopia, Vasagatan 4. Free. 
  • 🌍 Flustret, Flustergränd 5. 

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