Masonic Lodges in Uppsala, Sweden
Several lodges and other masonic bodies work in Uppsala or are based here. The website you have now accessed is strictly intended for internal information. For more information about the Swedish System, see the official homepage of the Swedish order of Freemasons.
- Craft lodge Stenbocken, works in degrees I-III under the Swedish system.
- S:t Andrew’s lodge S:t Laurentius, works in degrees IV-VI under the Swedish system.
- Research lodge Carl Friedrich Eckleff works in all degrees but has no receptions, only research and academy meetings.
- Fraternal Society Vidar works in degrees VII-X.
- Fraternal Society S:t Per at Sigtuna, works in the Craft degrees.
- Masonic club S:t Ilian at Enköping. Informal gatherings only.
- Masonic club Samuel af Ugglas in Östhammar.Informal gatherings only.
Contacts
Foreign Masons from recognized lodges are welcome to visit Freemasonry in Uppsala.
Phone numbers
Office: +46 18 13 25 23
Fax to the office: +46 18 150735
WM (home): +46 18 258706
Lodge History
Freemasonry came to Uppsala in 1776, when duke Carl (later king Carl XIII) gave Arvid Nils Stenbock the task to start lodge work, while at the same time he planned to move the lodge ”Adolf Fredrik” from Stockholm to Uppsala. Duke Carl wrote:
Appertaining to that there is no constituted Masonic Lodge at Uppsala, while there probably are brethren there who have been initiated in other lawful lodges, as well as suitable candidates for reception, I have with this open constitutory letter wanted to assign and empower the very enlightened brother, Lieutenant-colonel Sir Arvid Stenbock, to open and hold masonic lodges there during my absence this summer, to receive and instruct brethren in the three Craft degrees.
It is not known, however, what sort of Masonic activities were held at Uppsala under the leadership of Arvid Stenbock.
In the 19th century there were about 60 Freemasons in Uppsala. In 1886 the society ”Upsala Freemason Brothers” was formed and met 6-7 times annually. Meetings were held in one or other of the town’s restaurants; Gillet, Phoenix (at Fyris Square), Taddis (On top of the classic Lundequistska bookstore) or Stadshotellet (the ”Grand Hotel” of the city). This society had no ritual, since at that time only lodges worked ritually. It was purely a social club for Masons.
Fraternal societies like this one was (and still is) the usual form of organization for Masons in small towns where they are too few or too poor to establish a lodge. However, many such fraternal societies expressed a desire for some sort of ritual. In the 1890s, Nils Dunér became the leading Freemason in Uppsala. He wrote a new ritual for the society, which was approved by king Oscar II on 10 february 1894. At the same time the Uppsala society received the name ”Vidar”. Dunérs ritual became standard for other fraternal societies as well.
Vidar rented space from the Odd Fellows lodge who had an apartment on top of the Lundequistska bookstore. Shortage of money prevented them from acquiring a hall of their own or forming a lodge. It took until 25 may 1957 before the first lodge was inaugurated in Uppsala. It was named after Arvid Nils Stenbock. The opening ceremony was held in the Throne room at the castle, which was redecorated to be a craft hall.
Ten years later, in may 1967, the Uppsala Masons were able to open their own hall in the old Postal building (which also earlier housed the Bank of Sweden), on Kungsängsgatan, where they still are today. Since december 1994 this house also contains the St. Andrew’s lodge ”St Laurentius” (operates in degrees IV-VI of the Swedish system. The fraternal society Vidar still exists but now works only in the Chapter degrees (VII-X). The Research lodge Carl Friedrich Eckleff, founded in 1997, also resides here, working in close cooperation with the Danish research lodge ”Friedrich Münter” and publishing a yearbook called ”Acta Masonica Scandinavica”. Today there are about 600 Freemasons in Uppsala.