Twelfth Night at the Cathedral Doors
It is the 6th of January, and Uppsala is still lit. Christmas stars hang in the windows along Svartbäcksgatan, the strings of white lights are still up over the shopfronts, and the smell of roasted almonds and glögg drifts out of the stalls that have been standing since Advent. Epiphany — Trettondedag jul — is a public holiday in Sweden, which means the city is unhurried: families walking off the holidays, students drifting back before term, the cathedral bells marking the day. You are here for the last of the season, and Uppsala does the last of the season properly.
2027 gives you a second reason to come. Uppsala University turns 550 — the jubilee marks the papal decision that permitted the city to found a university — and the programme runs across the whole year, with February and March carrying the heaviest weight of ceremonies, concerts and reunions. Epiphany itself is the quiet, candlelit end of Christmas; the jubilee is the reason to stay on.
What to Do on Trettondedag
Sweden's Epiphany is a day for being outside in the cold and then inside somewhere warm, and Uppsala's compact centre makes that easy on foot.
- Walk the lights before they come down. The Christmas decorations along the main pedestrian streets and squares are still up in early January. Go out in the late afternoon when the sky goes blue-grey and the shop windows do the work of lighting the street.
- Attend a service at Uppsala Cathedral. The cathedral is the anchor of the city and holds services through the Christmas season, with Epiphany marking the close of it. Check the cathedral's own programme for times on 6 January.
- Eat the last of the Christmas food. The weeks around Epiphany are when the seasonal table is still being served: julbord spreads, glögg, lussekatter, and the almond-and-cream desserts of the season. Café and restaurant windows in the centre advertise what they have left.
- Browse the market stalls while they last. Christmas markets in Uppsala run through December and into the new year; by Epiphany you are catching the final days, so go early in the day rather than late.
- See the city from the river. The Fyrisån runs through the middle of Uppsala, and a walk along its banks — past the old mill and the bridges — is the coldest and best way to see the centre in winter light.
Then Stay for the 550th Jubilee
If Epiphany is your reason to come, the university's 550th anniversary is your reason to linger. The jubilee commemorates the papal decision that allowed Uppsala to start a university, and the programme is still being added to — treat what follows as the confirmed spine of it.
- Late February — the opening. On 26 February the Winter Conferment Ceremony honours new and honorary doctors, billed as "Jubilee Eve." On 27 February the jubilee officially begins, marking the anniversary of the papal decision.
- Early March — the reading rooms and the lectures. On 3 March the renovated reading rooms at Carolina Rediviva are inaugurated. On 4 March the Celsius–Linnaeus Lectures take place. From 5 to 7 March the Student Nations hold a reunion weekend — the nations are the heart of student Uppsala, and this is when their alumni come back.
- 8 March — women at the university. An afternoon with female researchers at Carolina Rediviva, and the release of Carina Burman's book Kvinnorna vid Uppsala universitet.
- Music through the spring. The Royal Academic Orchestra gives a family concert on 13 March. The University Jazz Orchestra plays "Blue Monday" on 12 April and a Spring Concert on 12 May, with an anniversary concert on 22 May alongside the Linnaean Garden Party.
- Open House at the Ångström Laboratory on 10 April, and a PopUp museum at the archaeological dig in English Park, open for viewings on holiday-free Wednesdays and Fridays from 21 April to 21 May.
- Later in the year, if you can stretch the trip. Culture Night on 11 September, a Credo concert in Uppsala Cathedral on 19 September, the University Anniversary ceremony on 7 October, Jubilee Day with Open House at the University Main Building and Museum Gustavianum on 9 October, and the Jubilee Finale in the Grand Auditorium on 27 November.
Where to Base Yourself, and What to Eat
Uppsala is small enough that you can stay central and reach everything on foot. The area around the cathedral, the main university buildings and the Fyrisån gives you the Christmas lights, the services, the museums and the cafés within a fifteen-minute walk of each other. Carolina Rediviva and the university's older buildings sit just west of the river; the Botanical Gardens and the Linnaean Garden are a short walk south of the centre and are worth the cold for the winter structure of the plantings and the glasshouses.
Winter eating in Uppsala is straightforward and good. Look for julbord in December and the days around Epiphany, glögg and lussekatter in the cafés, and the hot, heavy Swedish winter plates — soups, root vegetables, pork and herring — that carry you through a dark afternoon. The student nations serve food and drink to members and guests during term; the reunion weekend in March is when they are at their fullest.
Know Before You Go
- Dates. Epiphany falls on 6 January and is a public holiday in Sweden. The 550th jubilee runs across 2027, with the programme still being expanded — check the university's own jubilee pages closer to the time for additions.
- Light. Early January in Uppsala means short days. Plan outdoor walks for the middle of the day and save the cathedral, museums and concerts for the dark hours.
- Cold. Dress for real winter — layers, wool, proper boots. The reward is a city that looks its best under frost and Christmas lighting.
- Getting there. Uppsala is a short train ride from Stockholm, which makes it an easy Epiphany add-on to a longer Swedish winter trip, or a base in its own right.
Start with the sixth of January: book a place to stay in the centre, check the cathedral's service times for Epiphany, and then look at the jubilee calendar and pick one thing worth staying for — the Winter Conferment Ceremony at the end of February, the Celsius–Linnaeus Lectures in March, or the autumn finale in November. Uppsala in winter is a city of lit windows and long tables; plan around the dark and you will see it at its best.