Elias Fries

1794-1878.

Botanist, mycologist.

Elias Fries came from Femsjö in Småland and was the son of the minister Thore Fries and Sara Elisabeth Wernelin. He became one of the leading figures in mycology, producing writings that are still of scientific importance today.

Fries originally studied at Lund University and became an associate professor of botany at the age of 20.

He later moved to Uppsala University and in 1851 became Professor of Practical Economics and Botany. He was also prefect of the botanical garden and museum there.

Fries was particularly interested in the study of fungi, but his research touched on all areas of botany. His most influential work was Systema mycologicum, which was Fries' plant systematics work on fungi. Other mycological works were Elenchusfungorum and Hymenomycetes europaei.

Fries promoted the use of mushrooms as food, through the poster Sweden's edible and poisonous mushrooms. The interest in mycology was passed on to several of the children. For example, his son and daughter, Elias Petrus and Susanna (Sanna) Christina, drew several mushroom plates, several of which are preserved in Uppsala.

Fries also published the popular science essays Botaniska utflygter (1-3, 1843-1864).

In addition to being a university rector, Elias Fries was also a member of parliament and became a member of the Swedish Academy in 1847.

Title page from Elias Fries "Sveriges Ätliga och Giftiga Svampar", Norstedt & Söner, Stockholm, 1860. Photo: Bukowskis Auktioner AB.

Spread from Elias Fries "Sveriges Ätliga och Giftiga Svampar", Norstedt & Söner, Stockholm, 1860. Photo: Bukowskis Auktioner AB.

Burial site: 0103-0185

Image description: Elias Fries, Uppsala 1860s. Photo: UUBThe image is cropped]
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Olof Verelius

1618-1682.

Ancient scholar, philologist.

After studying in Dorpat and Uppsala, Olof Verelius worked as a teacher in noble families and traveled to Holland, Switzerland, Italy and France.

In 1653, Verelius was appointed Master of the Academy in Uppsala and became a member of Olof Rudbeck's circle of scholars. At the latter's suggestion, Verelius was awarded the newly established professorship in "Antiquities of the Fatherland" in 1662, as the country's first archaeology professor.

The following year, Verelius carried out the first archaeological excavation in Sweden, which took place in a burial mound at Broby in Börje parish.

In the 1670s, he had a house built at the Kamphavet quarter, which was located on what is now Martin Luther King's plan, a building that was probably designed by his friend Olof Rudbeck.

Verelius was also a prominent linguist and published Icelandic sagas and a work on runes.

In the dispute with Schefferus about the location of the so-called pagan temple, Verelius claimed that it was located in Old Uppsala and not on the site of the cathedral as Schefferus claimed.

Olof Verelius was the first to acquire a Burial site at the Hospital and Poor Cemetery, which has existed since the middle of the 17th century, on the site now known as the Old Cemetery.

The cemetery was purchased by the hospital board on October 26, 1676 and is the oldest known in the original Poor Law Cemetery.

The first known burial took place on February 9, 1682, when Olof Verelius was buried in a tomb that is still preserved. Olof Rudbeck carried out the burial according to Verelius' wishes.

 

Burial site: 0112-0615

Image description: Olof Verelius, lithograph by Otto Henrik Wallgren. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. [The image is cropped]
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Adolph Törneros

1794-1839.

Author, humanist, philologist.

Adolph Törneros was born in Eskilstuna on Christmas Eve 1794. At the age of 12 he began to earn a living as a private tutor and was enrolled at Uppsala University in 1812, later becoming professor of aesthetics in 1829 and of Latin in 1832.

Törneros spent most of his life as an academic teacher of Latin and in the literary circle of Geijer and Atterbom, who were among his closest friends.

Törneros is one of the foremost letter-writers in Swedish literature and was one of the foremost travel writers of his time. From the city of learning, Törneros longed every spring for the countryside, where from spring to autumn equinox, in his many letters, he described the impressions of his travels in the central Swedish summer landscape around Lake Mälaren.

The landscapes and environments are drawn with great detail, and the adventures and hardships are described in particularly lively and vivid language. In a letter to his mother dated December 29, 1828, he describes his walk from his home to the Geijer family at half past six on Christmas Eve 1828:

 

"The snow creaked harshly under the galoshes - a twenty-degree chill bit like a shark at the tip of the nose and earlobes and fingertips - the starry sky stared down with grim eyes over the earth, which was dressed in white as if for the weekend - Orion, just climbed out of the southeast, sparkled so that one seemed to hear it - the moon [sic] was still lying and tumbling in the tidal waters, but splashed up unseen a cascade of rays."

Adolph Törneros was described as outwardly gangly, with a slender birdlike profile. His friend Atterbom found "in the quick mobility of the figure and the flying speed of the gait, an unmistakable impression of a bird".

Törneros spent his last Christmas with the Atterbom family. Törneros then fell ill and died at home three weeks later of what was described as a form of typhus. Geijer said:

 

"He had too little ballast, so he flew away from us".

 

Burial site: 0112-0557

Image description: Portrait of Adolph Törneros. Unknown master, oil painting from the 1830s. Photo: UUBThe image is cropped]
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Olof Thunman

1879-1944.

Artist, writer.

Olof Thunman was born in the Imperfectum student house on Västra Ågatan, where the St. Lars Catholic parish is now located.

He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and its etching school between 1902 and 1906. Thereafter, Thunman devoted himself to landscape painting, which, like his poetry, is based on the cultural landscape of Uppland. Thunman painted in an impressionistic style, often with twilight tones, but later switched to topographically precise drawings and washes.

In 1928, he moved to the gatehouse at Noor's castle in Knivsta and lived there for the rest of his life. Thunman often went out into the countryside, on foot or by bicycle, with pen and paper in hand. He often wore a gray wadding suit with leg wraps, and as such is depicted in a sculpture outside Särsta Inn in Knivsta.

The poetry is collected in books such as Pan Spelar (1919), Olandssånger (1927) and Fornbygd och färdvägar (1929). The most famous poem is "Vi gå över daggstänkta berg" to a melody of uncertain origin, possibly from a Hälsingemeelodi.

In October 1944, Olof Thunman died and after the burial ceremony on October 28 in Uppsala Cathedral, the funeral procession went through Odinslund past Carolina, via Övre Slottsgatan into Åsgrändsgrinden. The procession was lined by a crowd of thousands, who with torches honored the deceased.

After the coffin was lowered into the grave, a double quartet from OD sang "Over the forest, over the lake" with text and music by composer A.F. Lindblad.

The following stanza is taken from the poem "Winter Night", Olandssånger, 1927.

There is snow over Fågelsången
And the case sleeps at the Iceland Bridge.
In the night, a winter prisoner listens
In vain for a spring tone.

 

Burial site: 0115-0801

Image description: Olof Thunman ca 1940. Photo: Gunnar Sundgren / UUBThe image is cropped]
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Carl Peter Thunberg

1743-1828.

Botanist, doctor.

In 1770, after studying with Carl Linnaeus, Carl Peter Thunberg embarked on a nine-year trip abroad that began in the Netherlands. There Thunberg met the most prominent botanists of the time.

Thunberg then studied medicine in Paris before sailing from the Netherlands to Cape Town as a ship's doctor, staying for three years to explore the nature of the area. These studies were documented in Flora capensis (1-3, 1807-1813). Thunberg was the first to describe the flora of South Africa and has therefore been called the father of South African flora.

In 1775 Thunberg continued to Japan where he collected material for his Flora japonica (1784). The work was epoch-making for the knowledge of Japan's plant world and Thunberg received the honorary name Japan's Linnaeus.

Plate of Japanese maple taken from Icones plantarum Japonicarum [plate 5 part V, 1805]. Photo: UUB.

Illustration (frontispiece) from Voyages de C. P. Thunberg au Japon [...], tome I, Paris, An. IV [1796]. Photo: UUB.

In 1779 Thunberg returned to Uppsala and in 1784 succeeded Carl Linnaeus the Younger as professor of medicine and botany.

Thunberg also published Resa uti Europa, Africa, Asia förrättad åren 1770-1779 (1-4, 1788-1793). The collections from the trips were deposited at the University Library.

Carl Peter Thunberg's farm Tunaberg north of Svartbäcken in Uppsala, where he lived for the rest of his long life, was known for its excellent horticultural crops well into the 1940s.

 

Burial site: 0101-0103

Image description: Portrait Carl Peter Thunberg, 1808, artist Pehr Krafft the Younger. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt / GustavianumThe image is cropped]
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Edvard Raab

1841-1901.

Chief of police, baron, alderman.

Edvard Raab became Chief Constable of Uppsala in 1879 and died in office.

His fame, which reached far beyond the borders of Uppsala, was not so much based on his police work as on Raab's linguistic quirks and mental aberrations. Albert Engström immortalized Raab through many stories and drawings in the magazine Strix.

Much of what this Chief Constable Raab is said to have authored has obviously been corrected by others. However, there are ordinances and decrees from his pen, which demonstrate the peculiarity.

For example, it was laid down in a street regulation:

"When new snow falls, the old snow must be removed first".

A crime scene investigation stated: 'Judging by the size of the hole in the floorboard, the burglars appeared to have been only one in number'. The instructions for handling anonymous letters stated: "Anonymous letters shall be returned unopened to the sender".

Edvard Raab, who was described as honest, good and charitable, often wore his police chief's uniform. Raab was friendly, fatherly and popular among the students, despite the fact that they occasionally spent nights in the cells.

In the foreground to the right, Chief Constable Raab, behind him Constable Sandgren, at Uppsala Cathedral on the occasion of the three hundredth anniversary of the Uppsala meeting, Jubelfesten 1893. Photographer: Heinrich Osti / UUB.

Police force XII:5. Chief Constable Raab with his men at the Linneanum in the Botanical Gardens in Uppsala ca 1880-ca 1901. Several of the policemen's names are written on the back of the mounting sheet. Photographer: Alfred Dahlgren / UUB.

Burial site: 0116-0836

Image description: Edvard Raab, Uppsala 1882. Photo: Heinrich Osti / UUBThe image is cropped]
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Erik Ofvandahl

1848-1949.

Pastry chef, pectoralist poet.

Erik Ofvandahl was orphaned at an early age and came to the village of Ovandal in Stora Tuna as a pauper. As an adult, Ofvandahl took his name from the village.

As a journeyman sugar baker, Ofvandahl came to Uppsala and started his own confectionery in 1885 at Östra Ågatan 31. Two years later, the confectionery was located at Sysslomansgatan 5, where it still is. In 1901 he changed his surname and the legendary Ofvandahls soon became a meeting place for students and literary gatherings.

In the 1880s, Ofvandahl often attended the meetings of the radical student association Verdandi, which were often held at the patisserie. At these meetings, Ofvandahl became known for his witty lines and debates in verse.

He was a renowned confectioner, but his fame stems mainly from his literary work in the pecoral genre. Part of the production was paid for by Ofvandahl himself.

Ulf Peder Olrog paid tribute to his baking skills with the following lines: "At Ofvandahl's patisserie among cakes, you and I, my friend, have both got our chins".

Despite the fact that Ofvandahl was sometimes subjected to ridicule by the students, the contemporary reviews of him were unanimously positive. Erik Ofvandahl is described as a person who dared to live out his individuality and that he was a pleasant companion who liked to play his violin. The author Birger Sjöberg writes:

 

"In the clear hall of heaven
where good thoughts bloom
me and pastry chef Ofvandahl
may rest among the pious".

 

Burial site: 0130-1293

Image description: Erik Ofvandahl, unknown year, unknown photographer. Image from: Ofvandahl, Erik "Blick och tanke". Uppsala, 1902, Almqvist & Wiksells Boktryckeri AB. Photo: Henrik Zetterberg. [The image is cropped]
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Bruno Liljefors

1860-1939.

Artist.

Bruno Liljefors, son of the gunpowder dealer Anders and Margareta Liljefors, studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts from 1879 to 1882 and then traveled to the animal painter C. F. Deiker in Düsseldorf and from there to Grez-sur-Loing, where he stayed with Carl Larsson and others in the Swedish artists' colony.

Bruno Liljefors became one of the country's foremost animal painters with an international reputation and is best known for his nature and animal motifs. Like Carl Larsson, Liljefors was inspired by Japanese art and created daylight paintings based on naturalistic principles. With the painting "Tjäderspel" and "Nattstycke", as well as a couple of other works, he won the second class medal at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889.

The start of Liljefors' archipelago paintings is Morning mood over the sea from 1896, followed by a series of works with sea and bird motifs, usually painted in large format: "Uv vid havet", "Vilande havstrutar", "Jagande lom", "Rastande vildgäss" and "Storspovar" in 1899.

Liljefors' publications include the memoir Det vildas rike (1934). Art collections are held at the National Museum, the Gothenburg Museum of Art, the Thielska Gallery and Uppsala University. Bruno Liljefors' studio in Österbybruk is preserved as a museum.

 

Burial site: 0206-1641

Image description: Bruno Liljefors, unknown year. Photo: Unknown photographer / Wikimedia Commons. [The image is cropped]
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Hans Järta

1774-1847.

Civil servant, politician, author.

Hans Järta (originally Baron Hans Hierta) became a student in Uppsala at the age of 13, an official in the Cabinet for Foreign Correspondence at the age of 18, and a secretary in the Judicial Audit Department four years later.

At the age of eighteen, Järta was hanging out with the men in the conspiracy against King Gustav III. Järta was at the masquerade ball in 1792 when the shot against Gustav III was fired. Afterwards, Järta gave some misleading information about the shooting, but there is only circumstantial evidence as to whether he was involved in the actual assassination plan. Nor was he ever accused of involvement in the murder.

Järta renounced both his nobility and his parliamentary position at the Riksdag in 1800 in protest against Gustav IV Adolf and the monarchical autocracy and took the name Järta (the family name was Hierta).

Järta was one of the men behind the 1809 coup d'état and, after the king's abdication, was one of the leaders in the Riksdag that year. He was secretary to the Constitutional Committee during the drafting of the 1809 Constitution.

Järta was also governor of Kopparbergs län 1812-1822, a member of the Swedish Academy in 1819 and moved to Uppsala in 1825 where he worked as a writer. In Uppsala, Järta held a literary salon, which competed with Malla Silfverstolpe's salon.

Järta later became head of the National Archives from 1837-1844.

The tall gravestone that adorns the cemetery refers to his son of the same name, who died as a young student in 1825.

 

Burial site: 0112-0588

Image description: Hans Järta. Photo: From Emil Hildebrand, History of Sweden up to the twentieth century, vol 9 (1910) / Wikimedia Commons. [The image is cropped]
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Carl Hard

1768-1840.

Major General.

Carl Hård was born on Jällsta farm in Viksta parish and became a lieutenant in the Uppland regiment at the age of 20. He took part in the Finnish War of 1788-1790 and distinguished himself in the first battle of Svensksund in 1789. The following year Hård took part in the naval battle of Hamina, a battle commanded by Gustav III.

As a major, Hård took part in the siege of Stralsund in 1807, the siege of Liers Skans in Norway in 1808 and the defense of Sävar and Ratan in 1809. At the Battle of Leipzig in 1813, he commanded the regiment as lieutenant colonel and was later appointed colonel of the army. He then took part in the march to Brussels and the campaign to Norway.

Carl Hård became a major general in 1822 and retired in 1835. In addition to his military career, Hård was an art collector and during his last years he lived in Uppsala near Fyrisån (later Ofvandalska gården). In Uppsala he spent time in the academic circles around Geijer and Atterbom.

Hård's art collection, consisting of around one hundred oil paintings, was later donated to Uppsala University. The donation laid the foundation for the Uppsala University Art Museum.

 

Burial site: 0103-0177

Image description: Portrait of Carl Hård painted by J.G. Sandberg. Photo: National Archives / Swedish Biographical Dictionary. [The image is cropped]
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