The local universities of Gothenburg, Göteborgs Universitet and Chalmers University of Technology, may not figure as the beautiful universities in Sweden but Uppsala University is identified as one not only in the country and among Scandinavian and Nordic countries but also in the world.
A book titled ‘THE MOST BEAUTIFUL UNIVERSITIES IN THE WORLD’ ranks Uppsala University as one among the 23 most beautiful universities. The book is written by Zachary R. Townsend with photos by Guillaume de Laubier and translated to English by Jean Serroy and published by Abrams in New York.
Thomas Thorild: “It is a great thing to think freely, but it is greater still to think correctly.”
The most beautiful universities in the world are University of Bologna (Italy, 1088), University of Salamanca (Spain, 1218), University of Oxford (England, 1250), Sorbonne (France, 1253), University of Cambridge (England, 1284), University of Coimbra (Portugal, 1290), Jagiellonian University (Poland, 1363), Heidelberg University (Germany, 1386), Ludwig Maximilian University (Germany, 1472), Uppsala University (Sweden, 1477), Trinity College Dublin (Ireland, 1592), Yale University (USA, 1701), University of Wroclaw (Poland, 1702), Princeton University (USA, 1746), National School of Fine Arts (France, 1816). University of Virginia (USA, 1819), McGill University (Canada, 1821), American University of Beirut (Lebanon, 1866), Stanford University (USA, 1885), Royal Holloway of University of London (England, 1886), University of Chicago (USA, 1890), Qatar University of Doha (Qatar, 1973) and Rolex Learning Centre (Switzerland, 2010).
Why Uppsala University is ranked as the beautiful world in the world? Because:
- Oldest university in Scandinavia
- Founded in 1477 by Archbishop Jakob Ulvsson
- A grand main building welcomes the learners and teachers with a majestic entrance hall with marbled columns, sculptures, stained-glass windows, arches, domes, and staircases
- The religious background of the university reflects the changing cultural values in the Swedish society: the university was first Catholic, then Lutheran (Protestant), and now secular
- The Royal Benefactor: The university was reorganized and generously funded by King Gustavaus Adolphys in the early 17th century
- Withstood and witnessed the turbulent times of the country in 1500s
- The oldest building of the university is a museum which showcases artefacts and pieces that reflect the eclecticism in teaching
- The university started with fifty students and the scientists who taught were Anders Celsius and Carolus Linnaeus
- A unique anatomical theatre created by Olof Rudbeck the anatomist, architect and teacher
- Gustavianum is rich in Egyptian sarcophagi, antiquities from Rome and Greece, Viking helmets, Augsburg art cabinet presented by King Gustavus Adolphus, medical devices (lenses, eyeglasses, virginal, baby crocodile) among the 1000 objects. The Gustavianum has a dissection table at the centre built by Olof Rudbeck in 1663
- The university is tune with the digital age and keeps up with cutting-edge research in natural sciences, biotechnology and industrial development
- Completed in 1887, the main building of the university was designed by Herman Teodor Holmgren.
- The main entrance of the building has a quote of the philosopher Thomas Thorild: It is a great thing to think freely, but it is greater still to think correctly
- Location of the university in the heart of the city — one can walk or cycle — and on the hill. The presence of the university in the city offers sumptuous views from the summit and a metaphor for knowledge: knowledge is acquired by conquest …
- The botanical garden of the university is designed by Carl Linnaeus the father of modern taxonomy – it serves botanists and walkers
- The library of the university has some of the rarest books among the five million. The library was designed by Carolina Rediviva and completed in 1841. The library has more than 60,000 manuscripts such as the 14th century’s Codex Upsaliensis – a collection of Norse mythologies (Snorri’s Edda or the Prose of Edda). The library has more than 7,000 musical compositions including that of Dietrich Buxtehude