Activities for Accompanying Persons

There are lots of enjoyable things to do and to see in and around Uppsala.

Below is a list of suggested activities.

Linnaeus Tercentenary

Carl von Linné (Carl Linnaeus) is allegedly the most well known Swede internationally.
He was professor at Uppsala University from 1741 to his death in 1778. He is famous
for his "Systema Naturae", the classification of plants. His system is still the
international standard.

Linnaeus sent his students on long journeys to virtually all corners of the world to
collect new species. For example, Carl Peter Thunberg visited Japan in the
mid 1770's and later published his "Flora Japonica" (1784). Another Linnean disciple,
Daniel Solander, sailed with James Cook to Australia and New Zealand.

Linnaeus was born in 1707, so in 2007 his tercentenary is celebrated throughout the year.
There is a web site with information about the tercentenary.

For those interested in Linnaeus and in plants in general, the following places are
highly recommended:

History

Uppsala was a religious center already in the pre-Christian era, and has remained
so. In the Viking era, the temple at Uppsala was the center for religious rites. The
location of the temple was slightly outside modern Uppsala, at a place which is now
known as Gamla Uppsala (i.e., old Uppsala).

When Christianity became the dominating religion in (what was later to become) Sweden,
a cathedral was built at a place which then became the "new" Uppsala, at the center
of the present city of Uppsala. Uppsala Cathedral is Sweden's finest example of gothic architecture.

Uppsala has remained the seat of the Arch Bishop of the Swedish Church.
Outside the cathedral is a statue of Arch Bishop Jacob Ulfsson, who was the founder
of Uppsala University, in 1477.

In the cathedral there is a small memorial to Dag Hammarskjöld, former UN Secretary-General.
Hammarskjöld's father was regional governor and the family lived at Uppsala Castle.

Places to visit for those interested in the history of Uppsala and Sweden:

Art

One of Sweden's finest and most well known 20th century artists, Bror Hjorth, lived and
worked in Uppsala. His home with his atelier is nowadays a museum, which is highly
recommended for those who like 20th century art.

Uppsala Art Museum is located in a wing of the Uppsala Castle and presents a broader
collection of art.

For more information see:

Shopping

Uppsala's down town shopping area has the regular diversity of stores.

For visitors, it may be particularly interesting to find opportunities to
buy Swedish handicraft products. For example, the following stores
have that profile: