The Haunting of Uppsala

Read this in — Svenska

Something evil is haunting Uppsala, you can sense it when you are visiting the cathedral. You meet the Swedish martyr Saint Erik, who needs your help to investigate what is causing unrest amongst the dead.
Together, you head out for a walk where Saint Erik guides you to the locations of the city’s most well-known ghosts. Something seems to have awakened them – but why?

Listen as Saint Erik tells the darkest stories of Uppsala’s history, as you walk from the cathedral to the cemetery and the Fyris river. In each location, you help solve a task in order to calm the resident ghost. An old viking is held captive by invisible chains, and a restless student needs help with his final exam.

Uppsala’s dark history

Uppsala is an ancient city, with nearly one thousand years worth of history. Many tragic events have taken place here over the years, and now the spiritual world seems to be in turmoil. By Hotel Gillet, there is a murder scene playing on repeat, and a queen from the 1500’s is in the castle yard – crying and begging for your help. A series of clues leads from one haunted location to another, but what dark force is actually behind all of this?

Step into Uppsala’s underworld through sound, illustrations and entertaining game elements. Who knows if you will ever return?

The StoryTourist app will show you the way

To walk this tour, you’ll download the user-friendly StoryTourist app. The app is equipped with a map, GPS, a narrator and digital guide which makes sure you walk in the right direction. Once you have purchased the tour it is yours to keep. You can use it at any time and as many times as you wish.

Through the StoryTourist-app, you’ll hear the stories of Uppsala’s most haunted locations. The only thing you need to be able to explore the city in a brand-new way is a smartphone with headphones. You will find practical information about the tour under the “instructions” tab.

This StoryTour is written by Frida Gamero Käll.

Read this in — Svenska

How this tour works:

Your smartphone is your guide on this tour! Once you have purchased a tour, this is what you do:

Download the StoryTourist app from Apple App Store or Google Play, while connected to Wi-Fi.
Log into the app using the same email address you filled in when purchasing the tour. You will create your password the first time you log into the app. The tour you have purchased will be ready to download in the tour library once you have logged in. Make sure you are still connected to Wi-Fi while downloading the tour.
Go to the starting point of the tour, open the app, put your headphones on and head out on your StoryTour adventure!

Important information:

This is a location based experience. You have to be at the tour starting point outside the Uppsala Cathedral in Uppsala, Sweden, to start this walking tour.
Once the tour is downloaded to your phone, you can use it offline.
There is a map, GPS and a digital guide in the app, making sure that you’ll walk the right way.
This tour is available in English and Swedish.
Once you have purchased the tour, it is your to keep. You can use it whenever you want and as many times as you would like. You can start, pause and end the tour whenever you would like.
This tour is pet friendly – feel free to bring your dog on this walk!
Public transport is available close to both the tour start point and end point.
This tour is not accessible with a wheelchair, due to stairs.
We recommend for participants to not be younger than 12 years old, due to the dark theme of the tour.

What to bring:

Your smartphone, with the StoryTourist app and the tour you purchased already downloaded.
Headphones, for the best possible listening experience
Make sure that your smartphone battery is fully charged. If you know that your phone has poor battery capacity, it can be a good idea to bring a powerbank as well.

Uppsala Cathedral

Uppsala Cathedral was built in a gothic style between 1270-1435. St:Erik’s relics are preserved and on display inside the church, as is a relic of Saint Bridget of Sweden.

St. Erik's Well

The well was previously built into a simple wooden construction, but was replaced with this cast iron pump from Hälleforsnäs in Södermanland in the 1850’s.

Hotel Gillet

This building has been here since 1712, but was first used as a hospital. Gillet restaurant opened here in 1811, and later expanded with a hotel. These businesses closed in 1973.

Svarthövde's runestone

This runestone belongs to a group of eight stones found at Uppsala Cathedral. They were later restored and moved here. The stone is dedicated to Svarthövde from Söderby, from his family.

Rackarnäbben

This red wooden house has been restored and believed to have been built in the late 1600’s or early 1700’s. It’s locally referred to by many as “Rackarnäbben”.

The Cathedral School

The Cathedral School is believed to have been founded in 1246. The original building was located close to the cathedral, and was intended to educate priests. It moved here in 1869.

The artist's grave

Mathilde Wigert-Österlund’s grave is located in the row behind this one. She was born in 1873, studied at the art academy and held exhibitions in England, Denmark and Argentina.

Carolina Rediviva

The Carolina library was inaugurated in 1841. You can find some of Mozart’s sheet music and Sir Isaac Newton’s first edition of Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica here.

The Gunilla bell

The Gunilla bell was cast in 1588 and gifted to the Uppsala castle church by Queen Gunilla. After the great city fire of 1702, the bell was used to indicate city curfews and alarms.

The Sture Vault

This vault, locally referred to as the Sture vault, marks the entrance to the Vasa castle museum, and the oldest preserved parts of the Uppsala castle.

The mass grave

Human bones were found here in 2001, when this walking path underwent repairs. This resulted in an archaeological dig, which concluded that this was the site of a 1520 mass grave.

Västgöta bridge

There was a bridge here already in medieval times, as a bridge was mentioned in writing for the first time in 1286. The current bridge, previously named Malin’s bridge, was built in 1862.

Locations you'll visit on this tour:

Uppsala Cathedral - where you can see the St: Erik statue
Old Gillet - The former hotel which was part of the Von Sydow murders
Runestone in the University park
Uppsala Old Cemetery
Carolina Rediviva library
Uppsala Castle
The unmarked mass grave from the Good Friday battle of 1520
The Fyris river

Explore the city’s dark history with a spooky walking tour game