Uppsala

Capital City of Midgard

Uppsala rises out of the northern plain where burial mounds swell like green hills beneath the sky. The air carries the scent of pine and peat smoke, mingled with the sharp tang of mead from longhouses whose carved gables gleam in the sun. At dawn, mist curls over the Fyris River, where fishermen cast their nets while temple bells and horns call the city to life.   The city feels both solemn and communal. Timber halls resound with song and debate, while markets unfold in the shadow of great mounds, filled with furs, amber, and ironwork. From afar, the golden roof of the temple catches the light, marking the heart of ritual and assembly. At night, firelight glows from windows and hearths, and chants rise into the clear northern sky, carrying echoes of ancestors.   Uppsala breathes in cycles: sowing and harvest, sun and snow, festival and council. To walk its streets is to feel the pulse of Midgard itself — a city where gods, ancestors, and living voices all converge in daily rhythm.


   

History

Founded itowards the end of the first millennium, Uppsala became the ceremonial and political heart of the Norse and wider Germanic world. Known as Gamla Uppsala, it housed both the temple of the gods and the Thing, where assemblies gathered to deliberate law and justice. Its three great mounds, said to hold the resting kings of legend, anchored the city as a place of memory and power.   In this history, Uppsala never diminished under Christian domination. The old temple and Thing endured, blending with new federative councils that placed philosophers and poets alongside chieftains. Rather than being erased, its rites evolved: sacrifices became symbolic offerings, feasts became civic celebrations, and runic traditions merged with Stoic and Buddhist philosophies carried through trade with the east.   By the medieval centuries, Uppsala was both shrine and school. Skalds and philosophers taught side by side, while guilds of shipwrights and smiths enriched the city’s renown. In the modern era, Uppsala continues as the capital of Midgard, where the temple remains not only a site of devotion but also of debate, embodying the blend of ritual and reason that defines its people.

Sights / Destinations

  • Temple of Uppsala: Restored wooden hall of devotion, dedicated to Odin, Thor, and Freyr, now also a civic forum.
  • Royal Mounds: Three great burial mounds, preserved as ancestral shrines and gathering grounds.
  • Thing Field: Traditional assembly ground, still the site of seasonal councils.
  • Fyris River Embankments: Riverfront markets alive with trade in furs, amber, and timber.
  • Festival of the Nine Nights: Annual celebration of memory and renewal, blending ritual, music, and debate.
  • Religion / Cults / Sects

    Norse devotion remains central, with shrines to Odin, Thor, Freyr, and Freyja standing within the temple precincts. Seasonal rituals of sowing, harvest, and midwinter are celebrated as civic festivals. Ancestor veneration tied to the royal mounds continues strongly. Christian schools of endurance and forgiveness coexist, having entered gradually without displacing older traditions. Stoic and Buddhist philosophies also find resonance, their teachings woven into council debates and skaldic verse. Uppsala’s spiritual life is thus plural, rooted in myth yet open to dialogue.
    Koina World Map
    Founding Date
    780 zc
    Alternative Name(s)
    Gamla Uppsala, “Seat of the Gods”
    Type
    Capital
    Owning Organization
    Characters in Location

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