Uppsala

Uppsala is a major city located in Sweden. It is the fourth-largest city in the country. Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö are larger than Uppsala. In 2019, the city had 177,074 inhabitants. It sits north of the capital, Stockholm. The city is the seat of Uppsala Municipality and Uppsala County.

The city is built on fertile Uppsala flatlands. These plains have muddy soil. The small Fyris River, or Fyrisån, flows through the landscape. The river is surrounded by lush vegetation. A glacial ridge called Uppsalaåsen runs parallel to the river. This ridge reaches an elevation of about 30 meters. Uppsala Castle sits on this high ridge. From the castle, visitors can see large parts of the town.

Uppsala has a deep religious and political history. Since 1164, it has been the ecclesiastical centre of Sweden. This means it is the seat of the Archbishop of the Church of Sweden. The city is home to Uppsala Cathedral. This is the largest cathedral in Scandinavia. It was built in the Gothic style. The cathedral was inaugurated in 1435. Until the late 19th century, the Swedish monarch was often crowned here.

Historically, the area was known as Gamla Uppsala, or Old Uppsala. Medieval writers say it was a main pagan centre. It contained magnificent idols of Norse gods. The town we know today was once called Aros. This name meant "river mouth" because of its location. It sat at the mouth of the River Fyris in Ekoln. Later, it was called Östra Aros to distinguish it from Västra Aros. In 1274, the regional centre moved from Gamla Uppsala to Östra Aros. This happened because the cathedral at Gamla Uppsala burnt down.

Uppsala is a world-renowned centre for higher education. Uppsala University was founded in 1477 by Bishop Jakob Ulvsson. It is the oldest university in Scandinavia. The university was originally a Catholic institution. After the Reformation, it became a Lutheran institution in 1595. Many famous scholars are associated with the university. Carl Linnaeus was a famous scientist who developed taxonomy. You can still visit his house and his botanical garden.

Other scholars include Anders Celsius and Jöns Jacob Berzelius.

The city's economy is strong in several sectors. It is well established in medical research. Uppsala is also recognized for its leadership in biotechnology. Many companies operate there, such as Cytiva and Pfizer. The city also hosts the Uppsala Monitoring Centre. This is a collaboration between the WHO and the Swedish government. The city has a distinct divide between different areas. The Fjärdingen neighbourhood holds the clergy, royalty, and academia. The eastern side is the modern commercial centre.

The climate in Uppsala is a humid continental climate. This means the city has cold winters and warm summers. The weather is influenced by its northerly location. During the summer solstice, there are over 18 hours of sunshine. During the winter solstice, there are under 6 hours of sunshine. The Gulf Stream helps keep winters milder than other places at this latitude. For example, the January mean temperature is -1.1°C. In contrast, Fort Smith in Canada is much colder at the same latitude.

Temperature extremes in Uppsala are quite large. The highest temperature was 34.2°C in July 1933. This was recorded in Ultuna. The lowest temperature was -40.1°C in January 1875. Rainfall is common, especially between June and November. August is the wettest month with 62.2 mm of rain. Snowfall usually occurs between November and March. The city averages about 100 days of snow cover per year. Recent measurements show that the city is warming. The annual increase is around 0.9°C compared to older data series.