Gamla Uppsala Church and Royal Mounds
Gamla Uppsala · Old Uppsala · Gamla Uppsala högar · Kungshögarna
Vendel Period to Early Middle Ages (c.500–1150 CE)·Vendel Period Scandinavia / Early Swedish Kingdom·🇸🇪 Uppsala County, Uppsala Municipality, Gamla Uppsala parish, Sweden
About
About Gamla Uppsala Church and Royal Mounds
Magnate complex with three monumental Vendel Period royal burial mounds (Östhögen, Mellanhögen, Västhögen, 50–75 m diameter, 8–11 m high, c.550–600 CE), Thing mound and a 12th-century church on the pagan temple plateau described by Adam of Bremen. Adjacent Kungsgårdsplatån hall plateau excavated 2013–15 revealed a longhouse. Sveriges iconic sacral kingship centre linking Yngling dynasty, Vendel and early Christian Uppsala.
Why it mattersMagnate complex with three monumental Vendel Period royal burial mounds (Östhögen, Mellanhögen, Västhögen, 50–75 m diameter, 8–11 m high, c.550–600 CE), Thing mound and a 12th-century church on the pa
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether Adam of Bremen's pagan temple stood under the church
- 02Identity of kings in the three mounds – Aun, Egil, Adils?
Theories
- 01Temple under church hypothesis supported by hall plateau and postholes
- 02Mounds as constructed Yngling genealogy legitimising Uppsala kingship
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Royal mounds c. 550–600 CE; church 12th century
- Period
- Vendel Period to Early Middle Ages (c.500–1150 CE)
- Culture
- Vendel Period Scandinavia / Early Swedish Kingdom
- Purpose
- Royal burial and sacral-kingship ceremonial centre; later Christian cult site
- Abandoned
- Pagan cult c.1080; mound cemetery 11th c.
- Rediscovered
- Antiquarian 16th c.; Lindqvist 1846–47, excav. 2013
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
Royal mounds c. 550–600 CE; church 12th century
Initial construction
c. 1483 CE
Major expansion
On the ground
Structures & features
59.8994° N · 17.6317° E · 32 m · 3 mapped features
Östhögen (Eastern Royal Mound)
tumulusLargest mound 75 m diameter, excavated 1846 with cremation and gold finds, c.550 CE
59.8999° N · 17.6325° EVästhögen (Western Royal Mound)
tumulusWestern mound 50 m, cremation grave of a woman c.600 CE
59.8990° N · 17.6305° EGamla Uppsala Church
church12th-century Romanesque church on temple/hall plateau, formerly cathedral
59.8994° N · 17.6317° E