The best description we have of the magnificent temple at Old Uppsala comes from Adam of Bremen in Gesta Hammaburgensis. From book four : " That folk has a temple called Uppsala, not far from the city of Sigtuna, and Bjorko. In this temple, decked out in gold, these people worship the statues of three Gods in such ways that the mightiest of them, Thor, occupies a throne in the middle of the room. Wotan and Frikko, ( Odin and Freyr ), sit on both sides of Thor. Thor with his scepter, ( probably his hammer ), resembles Jove. Wotan is armed as our people represent Mars, and Frikko has been fashioned with an immense phallus. These people also worship heroes who they endow with immortality, because of their remarkable achievements."
Near this temple stands a very large tree with wide spreading branches, always green in winter and summer ( An evergreen tree ? ). There is also a spring at which these pagans are said to make sacrifices. A golden chain goes round the temple. It hangs over the gable of the building, and its glitter is seen from far off by those who approach. The temple is surrounded by mountains which make it look like a theater. " Adam of Bremen then goes on in some detail to describe the sacrifices that took place there.
In Gesta Danorum, Saxo relates to us the following : " Frey, the regent of the Gods, took his abode not far from Upsala, where he exchanged for a ghastly and infamous sin - offering, the old custom of prayer by sacrifice, which had been used by so many ages and generations. " He goes on to say : " When Starkad went to the land of the Swedes, where he lived at leisure for seven years with the sons of Freyr, he was disgusted by the effeminate gestures, and the clapping of the mimes on the stage, and by the unmanly clatter of the bells."
Finally from Snorri Sturluson ' s, Ynglinga Saga, we are told : " Frey built a great temple at Upsala, made it his chief seat, and gave it all his taxes, his lands, and goods. When Frey died he was buried under a cairn at Upsala, many chiefs raised cairns, as commonly as stones, to the memory of their relatives." Snorri, like Saxo and Adam of Bremen, then goes on to mention sacrifices that took place at the old temple site.
After the old Pagan temple was torn down it is believed that the Christians built their church, which was the seat of the Archbishopric of Sweden in the early 13th century, directly on top of its foundation. Under the present day Christian church there have been found the remains of several large wooden buildings. Archaeologists are split, however, as to whether these represent the old Pagan temple, or were just earlier Christian churches. The truth may never be known as to the exact location of the original Pagan temple, but that does not diminish the sacred ground of Old Uppsala to modern day heathens.
The site is still to this day a very popular tourist destination for those in our religon, and for those who are just interested in the history of that period. In my opinion Old Uppsala is one of the holiest sites in the Asatru religion, and if the economy ever turns around I would like to make a pilgrimage there to see this sacred site. A part of me wishes the original temple still existed, (though it would be in ruins), but another part of me knows that my imagination can make it a much finer monument to the Old Gods !
Next article : Burial mounds at Gamla Uppsala.
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