Surroundings, Uppsala

5km/3mi north of Uppsala lies Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala), once capital of the old Svea kingdom. The little church of undressed stone is a remnant of the cathedral which was built about 1125. The old offertory box has been preserved, and the bishop's throne is one of the oldest pieces of furniture in Sweden. Three large burial mounds dating from around the sixth century contain the remains of kings Adil, Egil and Aun. To the east is the Tingshög, an eminence from which the kings addressed their people. In the Odinsborg Inn visitors can drink mead from silver-mounted drinking horns. To the north is the open-air museum of Disagården, with old houses from the surrounding area.

In northern Uppland are a number of little industrial towns with old-established ironworks (Strömbergsbruk, Lövstabruk, etc.). In this area there are also numerous prehistoric remains and medieval churches. Öregrund and Östhammer are typical little skerry towns with old wooden houses, some of them dating from the 18th century.

11km/7mi southeast of Uppsala, in a house built in 1779, are the Mora Stones, on which kings took the oath after being elected; the name of the king was then inscribed on the stone. 3km/2mi from here is Hammarby, (Carl von Linné) Linnaeus's country house, now a museum. Also near the Mora Stones stands the church of Lagga, which has 15th century wall paintings.

10km/6mi northwest of Sigtuna as the crow flies, but accessible only from the Stockholm- Enköping road (E 18), stands Skokloster Castle, on the Skofjärd. As its name indicates, the castle was originally a monastery, founded by Cistercians in 1244. In 1574, however, the monastery was pulled down, with the exception of the church, and in 1611 the estate passed into the hands of Field Marshal Herman Wrangel, whose son Karl Gustav, Count of Salamis, was born in Skokloster in 1613. Karl Gustav Wrangel, later Grand Admiral and Grand Marshal of Sweden, built the present castle in 1654-57. The architect was first de la Vallée and later Nicodemus Tessin the Elder.The castle, in Baroque style, is brick-built, laid out on a square ground-plan around a central courtyard, with octagonal towers at the corners. The richly decorated interior, with stucco ornament wall and ceiling paintings, is well preserved. It contains a collection of pictures and of arms and armor; among items of special interest are the ceremonial shield of the Emperor Charles V (probably made in Augsburg), a sword which belonged to the Hussite leader Jan Ziska and the executioner's sword used in the "Linköping massacre".

50km/30mi southwest of Uppsala and 34km/21mi east of Västerås, on the Enköpingså, is Enköping (pop. 34,000), whose economy depended until the middle of the 19th century on craft production and the growing of herbs and spices (earning it the name of the "horse-radish town"). From the 1880s onwards some of the craft workshops developed into small industrial firms and new firms were established, mainly in the engineering field. As a result a large proportion of the population is now employed in industry. After a great fire in 1799 the town was rebuilt on a rectangular plan, which is still preserved in the town center. Most of the buildings are relatively low. The Church of Our Lady (Vårfrukyrkan), built of gray stone, was a bishop's church in the 12th century, but has been much altered and restored since then. On the Minksund are the ruins of a Franciscan friary (restored), the ground-plan of which can still be recognized.Around Enköping there are large numbers of rock carvings from the Bronze Age, particularly at Boglösa, to the south of the town.

This 18th C manor and estate grounds have been restored and opened to visitors. A large bell tower, homestead museum and smith's cottage are set among the surrounding park and ponds.A scenic path leads along the banks of the Dalälven river to the Lanforsens power station. Travellers can fish and swim in the river.