Uppsala is the province capital of Uppsala County; the eastern city is located on the Baltic Sea and sees frequent trade from the Baltic States of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. It is one of Sweden’s oldest cities with a rich history, as well as being the location of many scientific findings that have changed Sweden and the rest of the world.
Furthermore, Uppsala is the religious center of Sweden which is one of the many reasons that this is a must-visit along with the other reasons that we are going to be Discussing in our travel to the city of Uppsala, Sweden article.
Population of Uppsala.
Uppsala is the fourth most populated city in Sweden; it is many times smaller than the cities of Malmo, Gothenburg, and Stockholm which are located much more south than the city of Uppsala.
Uppsala is located on the Fyrisveller and despite not being directly based on the coast it is based on the Fyris River which gives the city access to the Baltic Sea. This allowed Uppsala to grow much more quickly, as it was one of the key entry points into the Uppsala County for traders and all kinds of travelers.
The city was able to grow into a region of significant economic, cultural and scientific importance as unlike the western and northern parts of what is now Sweden it did not see a lot of the conflicts that Sweden was involved in over hundreds of regions making the city a safe haven for thousands of people all over the country and a peaceful place to focus on innovation rather than continuously rebuilding.
Notable People Born in Uppsala.
One of the most famous people born in Uppsala is a scientist and astronomer Anders Celsius which you may have guessed from his surname is the creator of the Celsius temperature measuring metric that today is used by the majority of countries around the world.
Celsius is a graduate of Uppsala University and is also an acclaimed astronomer that worked on trying to figure out the shape of the Earth, his findings were a major contributor to Isaac Newton’s Apple theory that led him to believe that the Earth is round and that the phenomenon of gravity exists.
Furthermore, there is hockey player Magnus Hellberg who started out in the United States after being selected as the 38th Draft for the Nashville Predators before going to play for other major teams in the United States, Russia, and China.
History of Uppsala.
The city of Uppsala was actually founded in a different location that was a couple of kilometers away from the location of the city of Uppsala today. Inside the city, King Eric Jedvardsson of Sweden, who was killed outside the Ostra Aros Church by unknown assailants and was subsequently was made a saint by the local Catholic Church.
In the year 1702, a large part of the city of Uppsala was destroyed by a massive fire that historians believed was started by the tradition of burning garbage and sewage.
This great fire is commemorated in multiple artworks subsequently in the city and is one of the most important events to ever occur in Uppsala due to the mostly peaceful history of this metropolis.
The city was connected to Stockholm by the railway which led to a significant boost to the economy and the population of the city; furthermore, in the year 1903, the name was updated from Upsala to Uppsala.
Religion in Uppsala.
Another reason to travel to the city of Uppsala, Sweden is that it is the religious capital of Sweden. The Church of Sweden and the Swedish archbishop are both based in the city of Uppsala since the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D Uppsala has been a very important religious hub, first with various pagan and Norse religions, before Christianity became the main religion in the city.
The massive Uppsala Cathedral is also located in the city which also happens to be the biggest Cathedral in all of Scandinavia despite the construction of the Cathedral being completed over 700 years ago in 1272, although it has gone through numerous renovations and extensions over the next couple of centuries until the 19th centuries.
The Uppsala Cathedral is one of the oldest buildings in the city and is featured prominently in a large number of paintings, photographs, and videos throughout history that have been created in Uppsala.
Famous Science Discoveries in Uppsala.
Apart from being home to the oldest and biggest churches in Scandinavia, the city of Uppsala also happens to be home to the oldest Swedish university, Uppsala University which also happens to be the oldest university in all of Scandinavia.
Some notable students from the University of Uppsala include Carl Linnaeus who is widely seen as the person that laid the foundation of the scientific discipline of taxonomy which is the discovery and recording of different animal, plant, and mineral species.
Another famous scientist from Uppsala is, of course, Anders Celsius who is the founder of the Celsius temperature measuring unit and there is also Niklas Zennstrom who many people will not know but will have definitely heard of his company Skype which during the early and mid-2000s was the dominant way to video call around the world used by hundreds of millions of people.
Popular Sports in Uppsala.
Swimming is particularly popular in Uppsala both in swimming pools and also in the waters of the Fyris River during the warmer months, furthermore, there is a Water Park located in Uppsala that is home to multiple swimming pools and also water slides.
Winter sports are also very popular in Uppsala as in a lot of other Swedish and Scandinavian cities due mostly to the cold climates create thick layers of ice over rivers and lakes that can be played on.
One of the most winter sports is a sport called Bandy which is played with a ball rather than a hockey puck with usually teams of 11 each, although that is up to preference if you are playing with friends and relatives.
Moreover, there is a non-professional basketball team located in the city called Uppsala Basket which generally plays in the fourth or third divisions of the Swedish basketball pyramid.
Climate of Uppsala.
If you travel to the city of Uppsala, Sweden you should likely be prepared for a climate that is much colder than what you are used to. The average temperature throughout the entire year is on average 6.5 degrees Celsius, with the temperatures ranging greatly throughout the year.
For example, during the summer months of June, July and August the average temperatures will be between 14.7 and 17.7 degrees Celsius with the temperatures greatly reducing after then, by October the temperature is less than half of the temperatures during the hottest summer months.
The coldest months are December, January, and February where the temperature will on average drop below zero degrees Celsius, Uppsala does not see a lot of rain as the majority of the rain happens during the coldest months and instead turns into the snow with a total of 68 snow days during the three months mentioned in this paragraph.
This climate shapes greatly the local culture of Uppsala as you will find by the popular sports in the city, the food that is consumed as well as the local folklore.
Read the article: Travel To The City Of Gothenburg, Sweden
