Anders Backlund is new Director of The Linnaean Gardens of Uppsala

Few things have had greater significance for Uppsala's history than its three Linnaean gardens: Already in 1655, polymath Olof Rudbeck the elder established Sweden's first Botanical Garden in Svartbäcken. Less than a century later, Carl von Linné was appointed director of the garden where he also had his residence. In 1758, the world-famous botanist invested in the Hammarby estate as a summer retreat – and with the 1807 inauguration of the Linneanum in today's Botanical Garden, the environments were complete. Today they attract hundreds of thousands of visitors a year, and it is an honorable mission that awaits Anders Backlund as he takes office as new Director of the gardens on 1 March 2025.

“I have accepted the only position at Uppsala University that I would choose over the one I had. When I did my PhD in systematic botany, the department was located in the Botanical Garden and I still teach here to this day,” says Professor Anders Backlund, who will keep 10 percent of his position at Uppsala's research environment in Pharmacognosy – and already the second day into his new job will teach a group of Pharmacy students in the garden.

Several of the environments are listed cultural monuments. For example, when Gustav III donated the Uppsala Palace Garden to the university in 1787, he decreed that the Baroque garden would forever be preserved in the condition as at the time of the donation. Other features would certainly surprise both Rudbeck and the king. This includes the newly renovated Tropical Greenhouse, the mountain where the heaviest stone weighs 65 tons, the Linnean Garden's new visitors' pavilion and Café Sara Lisa at Linnaeus’ Hammarby.

“In recent years, numerous well needed renovations have been carried out under the leadership of my predecessor Mats Block. This means that we can now focus on accentuating the close ties between the gardens and the research and teaching that is conducted here. Something that in turn is the basis for us being able to offer these fantastic, living collections that make the Linnaean Gardens of Uppsala three of our city's most popular attractions,” says Anders Backlund.

Another major change is the series of concerts that since 2012 add extra silver linings to the Botanical Garden summer evenings. First to take the stage was Laleh, attracting 4,000 spectators, and since then the Swedish and international music aristocracy have entertained Uppsala’s music lovers. The list of artists who have broken audience records includes Mark Knopfler, Elton John and most recently Uppsala's own Veronica Maggio who gathered 10,257 ticket holders. Among this summer's bookings, we once again find Laleh – but how does the new director feel about such large events in these, after all, sensitive environments?

“I think everyone agrees that the concerts have worked amazingly well. The visitors respect the environment and I find it positive if they help attract a new audience to the gardens. The same applies to the restaurateurs whose services add great value to our operations, and I have already started thinking about how we can welcome even more visitors with small but effective measures. For me, this is truly a dream job that began to inspire already when I first applied for the position,” says Anders Backlund.

Text: Magnus Alsne, photo: Mikael Wallerstedt a o