Uppsala is a university town north of Stockholm with a rich historical and scientific heritage. Among other claims to fame, it was the home of Carl Linnaeus, the father of modern taxonomy.
It turned out to be a lovely town somewhat reminiscent of Cambridge, although the town centre itself is modern and somewhat bland. The Linneaus museum includes a museum inside Linneaus’s actual house, and a recreation of a nineteenth century version of his garden. Although I’m not personally invested in Linneaus, Doug was chuffed to visit, and see so many of the man’s personal belongings and books. I ws just glad to spend time in a lovely, if small garden, and have lunch in the museum’s cafĂ©
One of the attractions in the town is its thirteenth century cathedral, another surprisingly lovely Gothic church with lavish wall and ceiling decoration, not to mention the most outrageously overornamented pulpit i’ve seen in any church
Right next to the domkyrka is the Gustavianum, a museum within a former university building, celebrating the university’s history, role in society, past research and current activities. It’s an eclectic colection, including a exhibition of wonderful grave goods removed from a ship burial a few kms north of present day Uppsala
The building also includes an anatomy theatre, modelled on the famous one at Padua
Another exhibition covered the birth of the interest in natural history, which began with art cabinets and cabinets of curiosities. These contained all kinds of objects, some chosen for rarity, others for beauty, with little interest in a proper thematic analysis or presentation, but with great attention to aesthetic presentation and containers
That last thing is a cute little figure from China. Someone just liked it 🙂
This is an example of the trompe d’oeil style of painting that was fashionable at that period
There was also a small but beautiful and interesting collection of egyptian, greek and roman artefacts, including some gorgeous sarcophagi and mummies. A most unexpected treat at the end of our visit to the museum and the town of Uppsala
