Gamla Uppsala
59 53 '37 "N 17 38' 16" E / 59.89369, 17.63777
Gamla Uppsala, French old Uppsala, 7 km north of the city of Uppsala ( Sweden ) is a village with 17,164 inhabitants. Traditionally, this place is also considered "the cradle of Sweden", although other regions such as the Swedish Vstergtland sometimes claim to that title.
What we think we know with more certainty is that until the twelfth century , Old Uppsala was the center of the large historical region of Svealand or at least the historical province of Uppland. Old Uppsala was also the first seat of the Archbishop of Sweden, founded in 1164 , the city had been moved to its present location in 1274 , to the place where was located the old port until the Uppsala called stra Aros.
The old church of Uppsala, built in the XII century in place of a pagan temple likely (or at least the place of an ancient pagan place of worship), then was the first cathedral of Uppsala.
According to legend the three burial mounds , often called Kungshgarna (in fr. the royal mounds) would indeed be the graves of some of the early kings mythical svear (the svear, Germanic people of this region, have given their names in Svealand and Sweden ), kings who have reigned over the people in the sixth century and mentioned by the Icelandic sagas. According to some myths, it is even the tombs of the pantheon of deities Germanic Thor , Odin and Freyr (Fro). Modern archeology has been able to date them to the sixth century and determine that these are graves of chiefs.
The Icelandic sagas and Adam of Bremen also mention ritual sacrifices which would svear addicted to the old Upsala. It seems that the last sacrifices made in this area would have occurred in 1087 during the reign of the last pagan king of Sweden, Sven the priest.
A museum opened in 2000 , explains the myths of the ancient Scandinavian and the possible role played by this place at dawn in the history of Sweden.
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