Carolina Redeviva University Library

Interior of one of the oldest book rooms in Carolina Rediviva, Uppsala, Sweden.

We received a guided tour of the special collections at Carolina Redeviva Uppsala University Library. Carolina Rediviva is the main building of the Uppsala University Library in Uppsala, Sweden. The building was begun in 1820 and completed in 1841. The original architect was Carl Fredrik Sundvall. Later additions to the building have been designed by Axel Johan Anderberg and Peter Celsing. The name, literally "Carolina Revived", was given in remembrance of the oldAcademia Carolina building, which had functioned as university library for most of the 18th century. Carolina Rediviva is the oldest and largest university library building in the country. It is also the site where the Codex Argenteus and the Cancionero de Upsala are kept.

Memoires Pour Servir a L'Histoire Des Insects Par Charles De Geer

Caroli Linnaei Methodus Avium Sveticarum

Carl Clerk (1709-1765), Swedish entomologist and arachnologist

Double Elephant-Sized Folio

Uppsala Cathedral

Uppsala Cathedral is located between Uppsala University and the River Fyris in the centre of Uppsala, southeastern Sweden.

The cathedral dates back to the late 13th century and at a height of 118.7 metres (389 ft), it is the tallest church building in the Nordic countries and Scandinavia. Originally built under Roman Catholicism, it was used for coronations of Swedish monarchs for a lengthy period following the Protestant Reformation. Several of its chapels were converted to house the tombs of Swedish monarchs, including Gustav Vasa and John III. Carolus Linnaeus, Olaus Rudbeck, Emanuel Swedenborg, and several archbishops are also buried here.

The church was designed in the French Gothic style by French architects including Étienne de Bonneuil. It is in the form of a cross formed by the nave and transept. Most of the structure was built between 1272 and 1420 but the western end was completed only in the middle of the 15th century. Twin towers were built shortly afterwards on the west end of the church. High spires were added later, but after a fire in 1702, they were adorned with low helmets by Carl Hårleman in 1735. They were completely redesigned by Helgo Zetterwall who undertook substantial changes to the building in the 1880s. The cathedral's principal construction material is brick but the pillars and many details are of Gotland limestone.The vaults were all built according to the original 13th century plan although some of them were erected as late as around 1440. In addition to the artwork in the funeral chapels, several of the church's older furnishings can be seen in the Treasury Museum. In 1702, many features were destroyed in a major fire. During the renovation work carried out in the 1970s, many of the medieval frescoes which had been whitewashed over after the Reformation were uncovered and restored. the afternoon we visited the oldest botanical garden in Sweden (1655) as well the museum which was Linnaeus' town home for about 30 years.

Uppsala Cathedral

Interior Uppsala Cathedral