Ethnological collection

The collection consists of objects related to the lives of students and academics. There are, for example, student swords, woodcuts from Olof Rudbeck's Atlantica, deposition implements, and a doll's cabinet made in 1850 from the home of Professor Hedenius. The collection also contains a large number of everyday objects, which were used in the teaching of ethnology and history.

Weights and measures collection

The collection, consisting of 838 weights and measures from Sweden and other countries in Europe, is also known as Fryklöf's Collection after its previous owner Rudolf Fryklöf (1875-1950), who was a hospital estate manager by profession. Fryklöf created the collection over more than 50 years and in 1949 he donated it to Uppsala University. The collection was considered important for understanding economic history.

The rune collection

The rune staff or runic calendar is a Scandinavian perpetual calendar in the form of runes carved onto a wooden rod. These staffs were used for a long time by country people as a calendar, but during the national romantic era of the 19th century, they also became popular among the urban middle class, who began using decorated versions of these staffs as walking sticks. The collection contains 171 rune staffs from various parts of Sweden, ranging in date from the early 16th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Many of the staffs came to Gustavianum from Uppsala’s Old Observatory, while others were donated by private individuals.