Ancient Lund 
By Karl Hjalmar Lundgreen 
From the very earliest days of Swedish history, Lund has been 
a stronghold of mental activity. The highest prelate of northern 
Europe resided there; Saxo, the first Danish historian, wrote his 
Chronicle in Lund, and in the shade of St. Lars’s Church, the Dom- 
skole (Cathedral School) grew and flourished as the first seat of learn¬ 
ing in Scandinavia. 
The cathedral is the his¬ 
toric center of ancient Lund, 
and although in its present 
form it would hardly be rec¬ 
ognized by those who first 
planned it, although many 
of those past generations 
who once wandered beneath 
its vaults would perhaps 
find nothing exactly as it 
once was, we may still say: 
Upon this spot people have 
gathered together for pious 
thought for centuries; from 
within these walls spiritual supremacy held sway over the North; 
before this high altar kings were anointed. Here Alma Mater Con- 
ciliatrix for centuries celebrated her great festivals. In this temple 
Esaias Tegner, when crowning the poet Adam Oehlenschlager with 
laurels, gave the programme for all Scandinavian policy of the future 
when he exclaimed: “The time of division has come to an end.” 
Theories vary with regard to the origin of the township. At one 
time it was generally believed that the town grew up around an old 
sacred grove (lund) and 
that vikings had their home 
there. Later historians date 
the origin of Lund at about 
1000 A. D., and King Ca¬ 
nute has been named as the 
founder of the town. That 
is perhaps saying too much, 
although it is certain that 
the mighty Danish monarch 
ordered the cathedral to be 
built, and that he had very 
great ideas with regard to 
The Market-Place in 1830 
Ancient Lund in 1580. From an Old Print 
