Botanical garden, Uppsala

Sweden's oldest botanical gardens are from 1655. They have a lot to boast since famous botanist Carl von Linné (Linnaeus), made Uppsala his home as an academic and took over the running of the gardens in 1741. Here he developed the classification of plants we still use today with latin names and so, the gardens of course have a strong tradition they need to continue. In Linneaus' days, the gardens were along the Fyris river but this was both too swampy and too small, so after his death, one of his deciples persuaded the king to use the castle grounds instead. Thus, famous architect Hårleman started to design the grounds and as the king appreciated the works Linneaus had made, he even donated money himself to build Linnaeanum, the Orangery, in the gardens. Today, this is all left and you will also find a Tropical house. The gardens are of course used by biology- and horticultural students but open to the public most days. If you are interested in Linneaus himself, you could also visit the Linné Museum in the city, or his summer residence at Hammarby outside town. I have not done this as their opening hours are very erratic (frankly, an embarrassment) but in 2007 during the Linnaeus jubilee, I hope they have remedied this. Meanwhile, I can of course myself always visit his birth house in my granddad's area in the south of Sweden. Check out my Råshult page to see what it looks like.