Gustavianum
Encyclopedia
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
of Uppsala University
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
, built 1622–1625 and named after King Gustavus Adolphus
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustav II Adolf has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great,...
. Under the cupola is the theatrum anatomicum, the second oldest in the world added to the building in the mid 17th century by Olaus Rudbeck
Olaus Rudbeck
Olaus Rudbeck was a Swedish scientist and writer, professor of medicine at Uppsala University and for several periods rector magnificus of the same university...
, professor of medicine and amateur architect, among other things.
Although still used for lectures and conferences, most of Gustavianum functions as a museum (Museum Gustavianum), including exhibitions of objects from the university collections of Classical, Egyptian and Nordic antiquities, as well as an exhibition on the history of science
History of science
The history of science is the study of the historical development of human understandings of the natural world and the domains of the social sciences....
and the history of Uppsala University. The Augsburg art cabinet, the best preserved of the Kunstschränke made by Philipp Hainhofer
Philipp Hainhofer
Philipp Hainhofer was a merchant, banker, diplomat and art collector in Augsburg. He is remembered, among other things, for the curiosity cabinets which he created with the assistance of a large number of Augsburg artisans.Hainhofer studied Law at the Universities of Siena and Padua, traveled...
, which was given to Gustavus Adolphus in 1632 by the City of Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
, is on display in the Gustavianum.
The Museum has an excellent science collection of very old telescopes of Celsius and other astronomers, the oldest achromatic telescope, a book with Copernicus notes on solar eclipses, an important Lineus exhibition and currently an exhibition of the oldest known astronomical instrument and computer, the Antikythera Mechanism
Antikythera mechanism
The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient mechanical computer designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was recovered in 1900–1901 from the Antikythera wreck. Its significance and complexity were not understood until decades later. Its time of construction is now estimated between 150 and 100...
.