Visit to Iceland and the Scandinavian NorthPfeiffer, Ida
History
Visit to Iceland and the Scandinavian North
Pfeiffer, Ida
Iceland -- Description and travel; Old Norse poetry -- History and criticism; Scandinavia -- Description and travel
The splendid organ, which reaches nearly to the roof of the church, also
deserves special attention. The treasure-chamber does not contain great
treasures; the blood-stained and dagger-torn garments of the unfortunate
brothers Sturre are kept in a glass case here; and here also stands a
wooden statue of the heathen god Thor. This wooden affair seems to have
originally been an Ecce Homo, which was perhaps the ornament of some
village church, then carried off by some unbeliever, and made more
shapeless than its creator, not proficient in art, had made it. It has a
greater resemblance now to a frightful scarecrow than to any thing else.
The churchyard near the church is distinguished for its size and beauty.
It is surrounded by a wall of stone two feet high, surmounted by an iron
palisading of equal height, broken by stone pillars. On several sides,
steps are made into the burying-ground over this partition. In this
cemetery, as in the one of Stockholm, one seems to be in a lovely garden,
laid out with alleys, arbours, lawns, &c.; but it is more beautiful than
the other, because it is older. The graves are half concealed by
arbours; many were ornamented with flowers and wreaths, or hedged by
rose-bushes. The whole aspect of this cemetery, or rather of this
garden, seems equally adapted for the amusement of the living or the
repose of the dead.
The monuments are in no way distinguished; only two are rather
remarkable, for they consist of tremendous pieces of rock in their
natural condition, standing upright on the graves. One of these
monuments resembles a mountain; it covers the ashes of a general, and is
large enough to have covered his whole army; his relatives probably took
the graves of Troy as a specimen for their monument. It is moreover
inscribed by very peculiar signs, which seemed to me to be runic
characters. The good people have united in this monument two
characteristics of the ancients of two entirely distinct empires.
The university or library building in Upsala is large and beautiful; it
is situated on a little hill, with a fine front facing the town. The
park, which is, however, still somewhat young, forms the background. {54}
Near this building, on the same hill, stands a royal palace, conspicuous
for its brick-red colour. It is very large, and the two wings are
finished by massive round towers.
In the centre of the courtyard, behind the castle, is placed a colossal
bust of Gustavus I., and a few paces from it two artificial hills serve
as bastions, on which cannons are planted. This being the highest point
of the town, affords the best view over it, and over the surrounding
country.
The town itself is built half of wood and half of stone, and is very
pretty, being crossed by broad streets, and ornamented with tastefully
laid-out gardens. It has one disadvantage, which is the dark
brownish-red colour of the houses, which has a peculiarly sombre
appearance in the setting sun.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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