Uppsala

In the picturesque and verdant Swedish city of Uppsala, amidst a wealth of historical themes, there is an important Polish connection. It is no exaggeration to say that the key to understanding a significant phase of Polish history lies hidden here – the presence and fate of the Vasa dynasty on the Polish throne.

Uppsala stands out for its historic character and rich cultural traditions . Its origins date back to prehistoric times, and the oldest settlement (3rd–12th centuries) is associated with the present-day suburban settlement of Gamla Uppsala (Old Uppsala). It was also here that, in 1164 , Sweden’s first archbishopric was established . The city developed at its present location during the Middle Ages, and the imposing Gothic cathedral ( Swedish: Uppsala Domkyrka) serves as a testament to the importance of this centre of power and religious worship, which, since 1536, has been a place of worship for the Swedish Protestant Church, established by King Gustav I Vasa in the spirit of the Reformation and the teachings of Martin Luther. The cathedral, associated with the tradition of royal coronations and burials, is one of the most valuable elements of Sweden’s cultural heritage.

Royal tombs in Uppsala Cathedral

The medieval cathedral dominates the Uppsala skyline – the tallest (118.7 m) religious building in Scandinavia. The solemn consecration took place in 1435 . The cathedral’s present appearance is the result of restoration work carried out between 1885 and 1893 under the direction of the architect Helgo Zettervall ( 1831–1907). At that time, the building underwent a stylistic revision in the spirit of the nineteenth-century conservation doctrine known as purism . This movement was pioneered by the French architect and conservator Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, who sought in his work to reveal the ideal stylistic form of medieval buildings, stripped (hence ‘purism’) of later compositional additions.

Despite this approach to the monument , the cathedral has retained valuable furnishings from various periods, including magnificent modern royal tombs of the Vasa dynasty. The cathedral houses the tombs of: St Eric IX ( c. 1120–c. 1160), King of Sweden from 1156 to 1160, and Gustav I Vasa ( 1496–1560), the founder of the dynasty, who reigned from 1523 to 1560. In the former St Mary’s Chapel, within the royal mausoleum, lies John III Vasa ( 1537–1592), son of Gustav I, King of Sweden from 1568 to 1592, husband of Catherine Jagiellon. Queen Catherine of the Jagiellonian dynasty, being a Catholic, was buried separately , away from the members of the royal family. A medieval sacristy and chapter house were converted into her burial chapel at the end of the 16th century .

Catherine Jagiellon – Duchess of Finland (1562–1583) and Queen of Sweden (1568–1583)

Catherine Jagiellon ( 1526–1583) was the daughter of King Sigismund I the Old of Poland and Bona Sforza, and the sister of King Sigismund II Augustus. Tsar Ivan the Terrible first sought her hand in marriage, unsuccessfully, and then, in 1562 , John Vasa, Duke of Finland. The royal wedding took place in Vilnius, from where the newlyweds travelled to Finland, where they took up residence at Turku Castle.

Soon afterwards, John’s brother, King Eric XIV of Sweden ( 1533–1577, reigned 1560–1568), imprisoned the couple in Gripsholm Castle on Lake Mälaren.

Biographers report that Catherine did not accept the offer to return to Poland, consciously sharing the fate of her imprisoned husband. Their only son, Sigismund , later Sigismund III , King of Poland, was born at Gripsholm in 1566. Following the deposition in 1568 of Eric XIV, who was descending into madness, the Swedish throne and sovereignty over Finland passed to Catherine and John III Vasa.

In Swedish history, Catherine Jagiellon is remembered as a champion of Catholicism and a patron of the Jesuits, which did not endear her to Protestant society. Under her influence, John III Vasa attempted to bring Catholics and Protestants closer together, but without lasting success. At the same time, the queen is portrayed in historical accounts as a level-headed diplomat, a devoted partner to her royal husband and a patron of the poor. Her achievements are considered to include the introduction of Renaissance Italian artistic tastes into Sweden and the strengthening, on a European scale, of the Vasa dynasty’s prestige. The fact that her son Sigismund was the grandson of Sigismund I the Old proved decisive in the electoral contest with the Habsburgs in 1587 and paved the way for the Vasa dynasty to ascend the Polish throne.

The tomb of Queen Catherine Jagiellon

Catherine Jagiellon died in 1583. On the initiative of King John III Vasa, her tomb was placed in a separate chapel within Uppsala Cathedral. It is a two-bay Gothic structure, covered by a ribbed vault, adjoining the cathedral’s chancel to the north. To the east of it begins the row of chapels along the ambulatory (the corridor surrounding the chancel).

Catherine Jagiellon’s tomb is situated against the western wall of the chapel , so that the sculpture of the reclining queen faces the altar . The wall behind the tomb is adorned with ornamental stucco decoration featuring a rollwerk motif – an ornament reminiscent of a three-dimensional arrangement of forms cut from metal strip with bent or spirally coiled ends.

Directly behind the tomb (coffin) is an arch supported by two columns, reminiscent of a triumphal arch, within the span of which are placed gilded plaques bearing the epitaph and shields with heraldic motifs . The composition is dominated by the centrally placed coat of arms of Sweden beneath the royal crown, held by a pair of crowned lions.

The royal tomb is positioned perpendicular to the western wall. The full-relief sculpture in white marble depicts the queen lying on her back in a sumptuous court dress, with a crown on her head and her hands clasped in a gesture of prayer. The four-sided sarcophagus is adorned with gilded columns at the corners. On the sides of the tomb, the Swedish coat of arms – the Three Crowns – is depicted on one side, and on the other, a quartered shield bearing the coat of arms of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: the Polish Eagle and the Lithuanian Pogoń.

The tomb was commissioned by Catherine’s husband, King John III Vasa, and was crafted in 1584 by Willem Boy ( 1520–1590), a Flemish artist active in Sweden between 1558 and 1592. He was also the creator of the tombs of Gustav I Vasa and his wives in the Vasa Chapel at Uppsala Cathedral.

In the chapel floor , in front of the tomb, there is a marble slab bearing a coat of arms . The five-part shield, surmounted by a royal crown, features the coats of arms of Sweden – the Three Crowns and the Folkung Lion – and of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth – the Polish Eagle and the Lithuanian Pogoń, whilst the central field features the Sforza family’s heraldic serpent. The slab seals the entrance to the burial crypt, where Queen Catherine Jagiellon is laid to rest.

On the opposite, eastern side of the chapel stands the magnificent tomb of King John III Vasa. It is the work of the Gdańsk master Willem van den Blocke ( c. 1550–1628). It was commissioned by Sigismund III Vasa, the son of the royal couple and King of Poland. Interestingly, the tomb was crafted between 1593 and 1596 in Gdańsk and , due to royal debts and changes in the political situation , could not be transported to Sweden for a long time . It was not until 1817–1818 that the monument was erected at its present location , positioned opposite Queen Catherine’s tombstone. This served to emphasise the close relationship between the monarchs. The king’s tomb does not stand above his burial site, as John III Vasa was laid to rest beside his father in the Vasa Chapel.

Above the royal tombstones are painted views of two cities – a panorama of Kraków appears above Catherine’s resting place , whilst a panorama of Stockholm is depicted above John III’s tombstone . Kraków is depicted on the basis of a woodcut by the Nuremberg historian and humanist Hartmann Schedel ( 1440–1492), which appeared in the *Chronicle of the World* of 1493. Stockholm, on the other hand , referred to in Latin as ‘Holmia’, was depicted based on an image of the city taken from a painting known as the ‘Vädersolstavlan’, which portrays the optical phenomenon of a halo observed over Stockholm on 20 April 1535. A comparison of the scale of the two cities depicted in the chapel’s decoration gives an idea of the difference in the power and potential of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden at the time of the royal marriage.

The cathedral treasury ( museum) in Uppsala houses the crown and sceptre of Queen Catherine Jagiellon, recovered from her tomb during restoration work.

Significance

Catherine Jagiellon’s tomb in Uppsala Cathedral bears witness to Polish-Swedish political relations in the 16th century and the dynastic ties between the Jagiellonian and Vasa royal houses. These relations formed the basis for the success of Sigismund III Vasa’s efforts to claim the Polish throne and were the spark for later conflicts with Sweden, in connection with his claims to the throne following his father’s death.

It could be said that the marriage of Sigismund I the Old’s daughter, Catherine Jagiellon, to John III Vasa was an event which indirectly influenced the fate of both countries over the long course of the 17th century. At the same time, the royal tombs are valuable works of art from the late 16th century, and the burial chapel links the history of the cathedral with the conservation concepts behind successive interior redesigns.