The History of Uppland

There are signs that Uppland has been an important province ever since the Bronze Age but it was during the Iron Age that Uppland came to be the focal point of Svealand, as Sweden was called in those days. The main habitat was Old Uppsala, where the largest temple and the home of the king of Svealand were located. During the 7th century, trading centres sprung up all around the Baltic Sea and Helgö and Birka became major marketplaces, where a number of products were manufactured for the domestic market as well as for export. The heathen temple in Old Uppsala was replaced by the church of the first Archbishop in Sweden and where the remains of Erik the Holy were kept. This is where the coronation ceremonies for Swedish kings were held. The process of the christening of the heathen is visible all over Uppland.Thousands of runestones are decorated with crosses and prayers. They are often stones raised in memory of the men who participated in the great raids on England. Birka lost its role as the main market place in the 10th century to Sigtuna and in 1187 the centre of commerce was moved to Stockholm after a pirate raid. Stockholm has maintained that position ever since.

Photo: Copyright © Uppsala Turist & Kongress
The great church in Old Uppsala burnt down and the archbishop moved to Uppsala and as a result a gothic cathedral was built during the 12th century. Uppsala University was founded in 1477, the oldest in the country, by archbishop Jakob Ulfsson and it has influenced the town ever since. Uppsala was also the site where the proclamation of the Swedish reformation was issued, in 1593 to be precise. It was proclaimed for the first time that Sweden was to be a Lutheran country.

On the crest of "Upplands åsen" lies the Vasa Castle, which was never finished, as a reminder of many historic events such as the Sture murders and the abdication of Queen Christina in 1654. The Sture murders were committed by the then Swedish king, Erik XIV. He was suspicious to an almost insane extent and this led to a civil insurrection and Erik XIV was succeeded on the throne by his half-brother John in 1574. He was subsequently imprisoned in Örbyhus Castle. Three years later he was poisoned to death from eating pea-soup. You can still this very day eat pea-soup at Örbyhus, if you have the nerve.

Photo: Copyright © Uppsala Turist & Kongress Uppland is the birthplace of Swedish industry. The contributing factors were the forest, the rivers and the iron-ore from Dannemora. The iron-ore was the base of the Swedish steel industry during the 1600-1700s. The father of Swedish industry, Louis De Geer, brought his skilled workforce to Sweden from the Netherlands, Walloons to be precise. That is why the factories came to be known as Walloon mills. The Walloon steel soon became famous for its "sound" and "body". The English blacksmiths chose Walloon steel when high quality was required. The mills have long since been closed but are still thriving as a tourist attraction.

Photo: Copyright © Uppsala Turist & Kongress The world famous botanist Carl von Linné is Uppland´s most famous person. He classified plants after their gender and introduced the two-name system to classify plants and animals, which is still in use after more than 200 years. Linné explored Sweden himself and sent disciples all over the world in order to categorise the earth's flora and fauna after his aforementioned system. Uppsala is the location of his botanical garden and it was built according to Linné´s own design in 1745. Linné literally lived in the garden and his house has been refurbished as a museum. The many different plants that Linné and his disciples brought back from far-away locations are still thriving in his magnificent botanical garden.

Search Tourist information Nature, Recreation, Sport Culture Industry & Trade Society

Useful information Quiz game Contents About... E-mail