Uppsala University, located in the city of Uppsala, just 67 km (42 mi) north of Stockholm, is one of the most famous and well-accredited universities in Europe. It is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. During the 1600’s, the university grew immensely when King Gustavus Adolphus (Gustav Adolf) made a large donation to the institution. Since then, the university has continued to grow and it has the most international students in all of Sweden. Now it stands as not only a place of study but an artifact of the Middle Ages in Sweden.

The university is divided into nine faculties, which all have their homes at various campuses throughout the city.  The main university building, and the original one, was built right by the Domkyrkan (cathedral). The area around both buildings house many different rune stones from the Viking Age. If you study Swedish history at the university, you might receive an opportunity to learn the runic alphabet and translate these stones yourself.

Uppsala University has approximately 6000 employees, of which 4000 are professors or other teachers. Why so many employees? The answer is that there are approximately 40,000 students studying in Uppsala today – so many employees are needed!

There are also several other types of institutions connected to the university: for example, the Uppsala University Hospital and the University Library, Karolina Rediviva.

(Part two of this post will be added at a later date.)

[Information from an Uppsala University brochure and Wikipedia.]