Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [185]
Pressbyrån (Sankt Persgatan 10) Newsstand carrying international publications; there’s another branch inside the train station, plus other locations.
EMERGENCY
Police (114 14; www.polisen.se/english; Svartbäcksgatan 49)
INTERNET ACCESS
Library (727 17 00; Svartbäcksgatan 17; noon-6pm Mon-Fri, 11am-2pm Sat late Jun–mid-Aug, 9am-8pm Mon-Thu, 9-6pm Fri, 11am-4pm Sat & Sun mid-Aug–late Jun) Free internet access; bring ID and expect longish waits.
Sidewalk Express (per hr from Skr29) Inside the train station. To log on, buy vouchers from the coin-operated machines.
LEFT LUGGAGE
Train station (small/medium/large lockers per 24hr Skr25/30/35)
MEDICAL SERVICES
Apoteket Kronan (Svartbäcksgatan 8; 10am-7pm Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm Sat) Pharmacy chain; one of five city centre locations.
Uppsala University Hospital (Akademiska sjukhuset; 611 22 97; Uppsala Care, Entrance 61, Sjukhusvägen) Has an urgent-care facility for foreign visitors, as well as an after-hours pharmacy.
MONEY
Head to Stora Torget for banks and ATMs. Next door to the tourist information office is a Forex (10 30 00; Fyristorg 8; 9am-7pm Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm Sat) office that offers currency-exchange services.
POST
You can buy stamps at the tourist office, most supermarkets and Pressbyrån shops. There are mailboxes at Stora Torget and Uppsala Central Station.
TOURIST INFORMATION
Tourist office (727 48 00; www.uppsalatourism.se; Fyristorg 8; 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm Sat year-round, plus noon-4pm Sun mid-Jun–mid-Aug) Pick up the Walking Tour of Uppsala leaflet, and What’s On Uppsala for event listings.
Sights
GAMLA UPPSALA
The seat of Western culture, according to Olof Rudbeck’s 1679 book Atlantica, was Sweden: specifically, Gamla Uppsala. Rudbeck (1630–1702), a scientist, writer and all-around colourful character, amassed copious evidence proving that Gamla Uppsala was, in fact, the mythical lost city of Atlantis.
In retrospect, this seems unlikely. But the spot, 4km north of the modern city, is a fascinating attraction nevertheless. One of Sweden’s largest and most important burial sites, Gamla Uppsala contains around 300 mounds from the 6th to 12th centuries. The earliest and most impressive are three huge grave mounds (admission free; 24hr). Legend has it they contain the pre-Viking kings Aun, Egil and Adils, who appear in Beowulf and Icelandic historian Snorre Sturlason’s Ynglingsaga. More recent evidence, however, suggests that the occupant of Östhögen (East Mound) was a woman, probably a female regent in her twenties or thirties.
Speculation has surrounded the burial site from the beginning. Early press reports included medieval chronicler Adam of Bremen – who was never actually here – describing a vast golden temple in Gamla Uppsala in the 10th century. Allegedly, animal and human sacrifices were strung up in a sacred grove outside.
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UPPSALA KORTET
This handy little three-day discount card (Skr125) gives free or discounted admission to many of the town’s attractions, plus free local bus travel and parking. There are also discounts at participating hotels, restaurants and shops. The card is valid from June to August, and can be bought from the tourist office. It covers one adult and up to two children.
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When Christianity arrived in 1090, Thor, Odin and the other Viking gods faded (see boxed text, opposite). From 1164, the archbishop of Uppsala had his seat in a cathedral on the site of the present church (0708-56 33 22; admission free; 9am-6pm Apr-Sep, 9am-4pm Oct-Mar).
Gamla Uppsala Museum (23 93 00; www.raa.se/gamlauppsala; adult/child/under 6yr Skr50/30/free; 11am-5pm May-Aug, noon-3pm Wed, Sat & Sun Sep–mid-Dec & Jan-Apr) contains finds from the cremation mounds, a poignant mix of charred and melted beads, bones and buckles. More intact pieces come from various boat graves in and around the site. The museum is arranged as a timeline – useful for recreating the history of the area.
Follow signs from the grave mounds to Disag