Everything about Uppsala Cathedral totally explained
The
Cathedral of Uppsala, located centrally in the city of
Uppsala,
Sweden, dates back to the late 13th century and at a height and length of 118.7 m is the largest church building in
Scandinavia. Originally used for coronations of the Swedish regent, it's now the seat of the Archbishop of Sweden.
History
The construction of the cathedral began in
1287 after the archbishopric was moved from
Old Uppsala and took more than a century to complete. When inaugurated in
1435 under
archbishop Olaus Laurentii it was still not completely finished. It was dedicated to the saints
Saint Lawrence, a most cherished saint in all of Sweden at that time,
Saint Eric, the patron of Sweden (though never canonised by the pope), and
Saint Olaf the patron of
Norway. It was completed within the following decades.
Architectural alterations
The Cathedral was severely damaged in the conflagration of 1702, especially causing extensive damage to its twin spires. When rebuilt, the Renaissance style of 1619 was modernised and, among other facets, under the architect
Carl Hårleman (1700-1753) the tall
Dutch Renaissance spires were replaced with small, dome-like towers in
Baroque style.
Between 1885-1893 the architect
Helgo Zettervall (1831-1907) oversaw the second restoration, intending for the cathedral a
French Gothic revival appearance. The original, medieval style was Baltic
International Gothic, characterised by relatively robust brick walls. The small Baroque towers were replaced by tall (French-inspired) spires, including a third, smaller tower on the transept crossing in the same style. Zettervall also significantly altered large portions of the medieval outer brick walls as to give it a slimmer appearance, which meant the removal of the white-washed "blind windows" similar to the ones found on parts of the nearby Holy Trinity Church . The interior ceiling and walls of the cathedral were decorated in neo-Gothic style, although some depictions, such as one of Martin Luther, didn't attempt to reconstruct the cathedral's medieval heritage. Large portions of cement additions by Zettervall to the exterior structure of the cathedral were removed some decades later.
Usage
In the
Middle Ages, when all houses in Uppsala except the churches consisted of one- or two-storey houses made of wood or sometimes bricks, the cathedral must have seemed even more enormous than today. Interestingly, the church wasn't 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 the Holy Trinity Church, or "Farmer's Church" as it was often called, Saint Peter's church, Our Lady's church and a Franciscan friary. The last three existed on the east side of the Fyris River, which was, and is, the central business district, but were successively torn down during the
Reformation.
The Cathedral was also the coronation church for many of Sweden's kings and queens. It housed coronations from the
middle ages, up until the end of the 17th century. Thereafter, up until 1872 (when
Oscar II was the last Swedish monarch to be ceremonially crowned) Stockholm's Cathedral
Storkyrkan was the official coronation church.
Interred notables
A number of Swedish kings and prolific personalities lie buried inside, among others:
- Gustav Vasa, 16th century, King of Sweden. He is buried with his three wives, although only two are depicted on the sarcophagus designed by Willem Boy. The king 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 wasn't 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's 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."
Further Information
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