Uppsala Cathedral
The Cathedral of Uppsala (Swedish: Uppsala
domkyrka), is the largest church building in Scandinavia, being 118.7 m high, and
with a length of 118.7 m. The construction of the cathedral began in 1287 after the archbishopric
was moved from Gamla Uppsala. It would take more than a century to complete the
construction. It was inaugurated 1435 under archbishop
Olaus Laurentii, but was actually still not completely finished. It was dedicated to the
saints
In the Middle Ages, when all houses in Uppsala except the churches consisted of one- or two-storeyed houses made of wood or sometimes bricks, the cathedral must have seemed even more enormous than today. Interestingly, the church was not the main place of worship of the citizens until the Reformation. The church was reserved for official services (by the cathedral's canons). The main churches, or parishes, in Uppsala were Holy Trinity church, or "Bondekyrkan" ("Farmer's Church") as it was often called, Saint Peter's church (St. Per), Our Lady's church (Vår Fru) and a Franciscan monastery. The last three existed on the east side of Fyrisån, which was, and is, the central business district, but were successivelly torn down during the Reformation.
The Cathedral was also the coronation church for many of Swedens kings and queens. It housed coronations from the middle ages, up until the end of the 17th century. Thereafter, up until 1872, Stockholm's Cathedral (Storkyrkan) was the official coronation church. (Monarchs in Sweden have not been crowned since the days of Oscar II.)
A number of Swedish kings and prolific personalities lie buried inside, among others:
- Gustav Vasa, 16th century, mighty King of Sweden. He is buried with his three wifes, although only two are depicted on the grave monument. He was interred in what was once the chapel of the Virgin Mary. The only indication of this in our day are the painted yellow stars against a blue background on the vaulted ceiling of the chapel, which are symbols of Saint Mary in Catholic tradition.
- John III of Sweden and his wife Catherine Jagiellon.
- Carolus Linnaeus, 18th century, world renowned botanist.
- Olof Rudbeck, famous Swedish polymath and one of the discoverers of the lymphatic system (He also wrote Atlantica, a book in which he attempted to demonstrate that all peoples of the world originated in Sweden, and that Uppsala was the lost Atlantis).
- Emanuel Swedenborg, 18th century, scientist and mystic. He was not originally interred here, but his earthly remains were transported to Uppsala from England in 1908.
- Nathan Söderblom, 19th-20th century, notable archbishop.
- Eric the Saint, 12th century. King and national saint.
- Laurentius Petri Sweden's first Lutheran archbishop.
- In modern times some relics of Saint Bridgette (Heliga Birgitta) are placed in the chapel of Saint Erik and the parents of Saint Bridgette.
Dag Hammarskjöld Memorial
In the cathedral there is also a small memorial to Dag Hammarskjöld, former UN Secretary-General. On a stone it says:
Icke jag utan gud i mig Dag Hammarskjöld 1905 - 1961
"Not I, but God in me."
See also
External links
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