Domkyrkoplan, Uppsala, Sweden
Uppsala Cathedral (Uppsala domkyrka)
The largest cathedral in Scandinavia, built as a Gothic Catholic cathedral in the thirteenth century, converted to Lutheranism during the Reformation, and still holding the relics of St. Erik, the patron saint of Sweden.
Uppsala Cathedral was Catholic for three centuries before Sweden went Lutheran in 1531, and the building carries both histories. Construction began around 1270, led by French architects who brought the Gothic style north, and it was consecrated in 1435. The twin western towers, rebuilt after a fire in 1702 in a more pointed silhouette, rise above the flat Swedish plain and are visible from miles away. Inside, the proportions are French Gothic — a tall nave with pointed arches, a choir ambulatory, radiating chapels — but the brick construction and the pale Scandinavian light give it a different feeling than its counterparts in France. The relics of St. Erik, a twelfth-century king martyred for his faith, are still kept in a golden reliquary shrine behind the altar, honored by Lutherans and remembered by Catholics. The tombs of Swedish kings and the scientist Carl Linnaeus are here as well. The Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, restored in the twentieth century, contains medieval wall paintings that survived the Reformation by being whitewashed over and later uncovered. For a Catholic visiting, Uppsala is a bittersweet place — you can feel what was lost, but you can also see how much survived.
Diocese: Archdiocese of Uppsala (Church of Sweden)
Style: French Gothic (brick construction)
What to See
The reliquary of St. Erik is behind the main altar — a golden casket containing the bones of the king who died for his faith in 1160. The Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament has medieval paintings that were hidden for centuries under whitewash and rediscovered in the 1900s — they give a glimpse of what the whole cathedral once looked like. The ambulatory behind the choir contains royal tombs. Linnaeus's grave is marked with a simple stone in the floor. The overall scale is impressive — this is a big building, and the brick construction gives it a warmth that stone cathedrals sometimes lack.
Pilgrim Notes
Uppsala is about forty minutes north of Stockholm by train. The cathedral is in the old university quarter, walkable from the station. It is a Lutheran church, so Mass is not celebrated here, but Catholic visitors can still pray and venerate the relics of St. Erik. The Catholic parish of Uppsala holds services elsewhere in the city. The nearby Gustavianum museum has medieval church artifacts. For a Catholic visitor, the experience is one of historical awareness — this was one of the great Catholic cathedrals of northern Europe, and even in its changed state, the bones of the old faith are visible.