Uppsala cathedral

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The Cathedral of Uppsala.

Cathedral from the inside.

The Cathedral of Uppsala, Uppsala domkyrka, is the largest church building in Scandinavia, being 118.7 m high. The construction of the cathedral began in 1287, but 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 Lawrence, a most cherished saint in all of Sweden at that time, Eric the Saint the patron of Sweden, and Saint Olaf the patron of Norway. After completion in the following decades, it has been damaged by fire a couple of times and substantially changed at every restoration, altering its appearance significantly. However, the size and shape of the cathedral has been quite the same over the times.

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.

A number of Swedish kings and personalities lie buried inside, among others:

Gustav Vasa, 16th century, mighty King of Sweden
Carolus Linnaeus, 18th century, world renowned botanist
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, 11th century, King and national saint
Laurentius Petri Sweden's first Lutheran archbishop.

Uppsala cathedral

See also