History of Munken

In 1738, the Academic Chancellor decreed that a chemical laboratory be founded in the Munken Block in Uppsala, and in 1752, the land lot was procured. Laboratorium Chemicum was constructed to house the University’s Department of Chemistry. The structure itself is one of the oldest university buildings in Uppsala, as it was raised in 1752-53. It was ravaged by a fire in 1766 but was later restored and had an additional storey added.

In 1850, the building that would house the old Anatomicum was constructed as part of the block. The plans for the exterior were drafted in collaboration with Crown Prince Charles XV of Sweden, who was acting chancellor for the university at the time. The current design of the wings was drawn up in 1881. An internal reconstruction was conducted in 1932. 1974-1975 also saw restorative and reconstructive work carried out on the building interior. The architecture of the old Anatomicum is typical of university buildings raised during the second half of the 19th century.

Both the old Chemicum and the old Anatomicum are now home to parts of the Department of Law.

The building erected in 1867 for the Department of Pathology and Physiology also lies on Trädgårdsgatan. The adjacent mortuary chapel was built in 1896 and was designed by Uppsala’s senior city architect, Carl Axel Ekblom.

Over the years, the building has housed several of the University’s departments. Since 2013, it has been used by the Institute for Housing and Urban Research.