The Paleontological Museum 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...

, also known as Evolutionsmuseet, is a museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

 in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 containing the largest fossil collection in Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

. The number of items in today's collection is approximately around 5 million unique pieces. The museum's collection contains three teeth of the Peking Man

Peking Man

Peking Man , Homo erectus pekinensis, is an example of Homo erectus. A group of fossil specimens was discovered in 1923-27 during excavations at Zhoukoudian near Beijing , China...

.

History

Despite being formally founded in 1999, the museum traces its history all the way back to the 17th century. During this time upstanding university members like Carl von Linné, Olof Celsius

Olof Celsius

Olof Celsius was a Swedish botanist, philologist and clergyman, He was a professor at Uppsala University, Sweden. Celsius was a mentor of the botanist and scientist Carolus Linnaeus...

 and Jonas Alströmer

Jonas Alströmer

Jonas Alströmer was a pioneer of agriculture and industry in Sweden.Born Jonas Toresson in the town of Alingsås in Västergötland, in 1707 he became a clerk for Stockholm merchant Alberg in London...

 donated collections of material to the museum.

Organisation

The Evolutionary Museum consists of three parts: The paleontological, the botanical and the zoological part. Each part has its own building with a display hall.

External links

• Evolutionsmuseet - in Swedish