Gamla Uppsala Museum, and its exhibition hall adjacent to the Kings' Mounds, was inaugurated in the summer of 2000. The exhibitions show the myths and authority that have been associated with the mounds throughout history. You can also learn about the archaeologists' interpretations and exciting discoveries.

Gamla Uppsala is one of the most important historical centres in Sweden. For centuries, the Kings' Mounds have symbolised the grandeur of a bygone era. This place has also inspired tales of cruelty and barbarism. The exhibit "Myth, Might and Man" allows visitors to sample various conceptions of GamlaUppsala which have arisen out of the ideals, dreams and ambitions of earlier epochs.

"Every member of the society was enlivened by reverence for Nordic antiquity."
The Geatish Association's assembly, September 29, 1822

Visions of a strong and united Scandinavia were popular during the 19th century. From these dreams came the notion of a shared history worth honouring. The Kings' Mounds in Uppsala became the symbol of the independent and powerful original Scandinavians. This movement reached its zenith in the second half of the 19th century, when students from Norway, Sweden and Denmark made pilgrimages to Uppsala to drink mead from horns and sing songs that celebrated the glories of their common history.

"I have immaculately proven that the island which our ancestors called Atlantis is none other than Sweden."
Olof Rudbeck, Professor of History, Uppsala.

Scholars wanted to make Sweden look like a country with a magnificent past during the Great Power Period. Professor Olof Rudbeck, an academic with many interests, claimed to have evidence that Atlantis was located in Scandinavia, and that Gamla Uppsala was its centre. The Gods of Antiquity were no other than our very own pagan gods.

"The bodies are hung in a grove near the temple_ There, dogs, horses and humans hang side-by-side."
Adam of Bremen, ecclesiastical writer.

Adam of Bremen describes the pagan Swedes' cruel sacrificial rites in the late 11th century. He tells of a golden temple and a tree that blossoms all year round. What is true and false in his narrative is tricky to determine. But we do know that Adam of Bremen never set his foot in Uppsala. Apart from the account of the heathen cult in Uppsala, he claims that beyond the land of the Swedes, were vast territories, where cannibals, amazons and Cyclopes roamed freely. Since Adam of Bremen was a clergyman it is likely that he simply wanted the pagan Swedes to sound truly barbaric.

The exhibition "Myth, Might and Man" at Gamla Uppsala Historical Centre is based upon ideas that have flourished in the area surrounding the Uppsala Mounds for a period of 1,000 years. With the 20th century as the exhibition's starting point, the visitor is taken back through the centuries to the earliest depictions of Gamla Uppsala in the 11th century AD. Modern theories regarding Iron Age-communities and their world-view are presented together with many items uncovered by archaeologists.