UPSALA, one of the provinces of the kingdom of Sweden. It has been formed out of the western part of the ancient province of Upland. It extends in north latitude from 59° 24' to 60° 39', and in east longitude from 16° 3' to 18° 17'. It comprehends 2112 square miles, with two cities, one market-town, and 3546 villages and hamlets. The population is 80,926. It is rather an undulating than a level district, with small groups of hills connected together, which in the north may be almost described as mountains. It extends along the Gulf of Bothnia, but has no good harbours; but the lake of Malaren, which forms its southern boundary, and is connected with the sea at Stockholm, provides a good egress for the peddling. This lake is connected with a chain of others, which by means of canals, forms a communication between the two seas that bound the eastern and western sides of the kingdom towards the south.
The soil of the southern part of the province is a rich black loam, highly fertile; but in the north, beyond the 60th degree of latitude, it is much less productive. The chief corn is rye, and in the north barley, with some oats, but the whole province usually yields sufficient grain for consumption. The inhabitants of the northern part subsist almost wholly on oaten bread. It is not favourable to the growth of fruit, except that some cherries are seen, and in most parts abundance of wortle-berries.
In the north there are extensive woods, mostly of pine and firs, with some beeches. The cattle are generally small, but of late the wool of the sheep has been improved by the introduction of Saxon rams. The fisheries, both of the sea and the lakes, afford a supply of food, and give employment to many persons; but the chief occupation arises from the extensive mines of iron that are worked. The most considerable of them, that of Dannemora, is a prodigious work, and furnishes to commerce the best bar-iron and converts a part into various articles for domestic use.
The capital of the province is the city of the same name, standing on the river Fyrisac, which divides it into two parts. Upsala is one of the most beautiful old-fashioned cities in Europe. It has a castle or palace, the residence of the governor; a cathedral, in which many of the kings have been interred, and in which there is a fine monument to the memory of the celebrated Linnaeus. It is the seat of an archbishop, and likewise of the chief university of the kingdom. This institution, founded in 1478, has a good library of 50,000 volumes, a fine botanic garden, an astronomical observatory, and the several other aids to study usually found in universities. The average number of students is 800. The trade of this place is inconsiderable, the manufactures being limited to making soap and tobacco, and weaving coarse linens. The inhabitants amount to 15,000, who mostly depend on the university for employment and the means of subsistence. In the neighbourhood are many remains of Gothic antiquity. Long 27. 31. 40. E. Lat. 59. 51. 56. N.