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From Växjö to Harderwijk
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From student to medicical doctor. One day in August 1727 passed the twenty year old son of a priest from Stenbrohult for the first time the old town port in Lund. Inside the townwalls Linneaus found a worn and poor wood house building. The town had suffered and has been impoverished of the Swedish-Danish wars, as not ceased before the peace in Lund, 1679. Once again it was an old man with power, who take care of Carl. Medicical professor, Kilian Stobæus, was portrayed as “a sickly man, one-eyed, crocked on one foot, tormented permanently of migraine, hypocondriac and back ache”. Stobæus was Skånes first medical house doctor and was considered that times biggest genius within the medicine bin.Qualified was also that he discovered another genius, Carl Linnaeus, and gave him all the help he needed. Carl became “matter-test-person”, doctor student, but also intrinsic at Stobæus, who´s also transfered his impressing library to the knownlegde-thirsty workaholic from southern Småland. |
 "Doctor Kilian Stobæus gave Linneus free room and board and access to his own collections and his thick libraries". |
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His former teacher from Växjö, Dr. Rothman, comes on a visit in Lund and Carl`s continued studies was discussed. The student meant that Lund`s botanic faculty not had enough to offer him and then Rothman suggested Uppsala as the study town. Here was also possibilities for ambitious students to receive grants, which however shown that it was wrong, since the cashbox on the university was empty.
After the year in Lund was Carl spending the summer with mother, father and the brothers and sisters in his loved nature of Stenbrohult. |
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| With the relative modest sum of hundred daler silver coins in the pocket Carl was started the strenuous travel to Uppsala at the end of August 1728. Just over 600 km poor roads on the horse with a speed of 10 km per hour, gave a travel time on up to two weeks.
There were no clinical teaching. There were no chemistry laboratory. The education in anatomy was running in a farm hovel, without some elements of dissect. Linnaeus economy was soon in bottom with a wretched and a poor live as a result. He longed for Kilian Stobæus and Lund. |
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 The The catastrophic fire 1702 destroyed three fourths of Uppsala. Amoung other things destroyeds most of Olof Rudbeck the older´s botanic agencies,campuses Elysii., an overview of all well-known plants along with thousands illustrated wood intersections.Rudbeck died shortly after that, totaly broken of this accident. |
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| But one more time was the luck on Linnaeus side. The theologyprofessor and hobby-botanist Olof celsius and the student from Småland were crossed their roads in that during the great power time decay academy garden. Celsius detected soonly the poor and hungry Carl´s peculiar aptitude and offered him free board and lodging in his house. He got also access to the private library.Linnaeus was developed many good contacts with teachers and friends during his academic years in Uppsala. Some names to mention, apart from celsius, is the medicine professors Olof Rudbeck the younger and Lars Roberg.
However, you may not forget that he in big extent mark a trail to his own road and followed it alone. The working days was long, intensive, productive and disciplined. Already after a year in Uppsala Carl was chocking many people with his essay Praeludia Sponsaliorum Plantarum (“about preludes to the plants weddings”), where he reported his thoughts about the plants sexual life. “before that I was 23 years I had thought out it all”, typed Linnaeus. He got the job as garden master in the botanical garden and got many spectators on his demonstrations there, which irritated the establishment. It was common with 70-80 audiences, but Linnaeus tempted often 300-400. |
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| A study friend and good friend, Joahn Browalloius, describes Carls study room: | ||
| "the ceiling had he adorned with plunder taken from birds, one of the wall with patch clothing and curios, the other wall with big plants and a collection with clams; the both remained was magnificent equipped with parts medical and in kind nature books, parts scientific instruments and stones. In the rooms corners, was high tree branches, which he had taught tame birds of near thirty kinds to inhabit. The inside of the windows finally were big stone jar, fulfilled with soil to exceptional plants.” | ||
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The journey in "Lappland"During his study time in Uppsala Linnaeus did two of his five landscape travels.The Royal academy of science send 1732 the 25-years old Carl on that five months long travel to Lappland. The travel was on Carl's own initiative with the justification that “apply for useful thing for the whole country”. Later it has been said, that it was the most important scientific travel as has been done in Sweden. Linnaeus was now, analog with his studies, informator to professor Rudbecks sons, and got a lot of information by the professor, who also had done a travel to Lappland – the rich country! The mountains, as well as the forests, had a lot to give. In the waters it was fishing pearl mussles. The travel to Lappland had also a private reason. Linnaeus wanted to search valuable things so that he can pay for the costly foreign doctors degree he was planning.
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During the travel's hardship and several highly dangerous situations, is Linnaeus doing reasons for his motto: Tantus amor florum (free translated: an unbounded flower love).
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The journey to DalarnaLinnaeus other landscape journey (1734) was the “Dahlska travel on Landshöfd. Reuterholms expense”. Carl had been in Dalarna earlier with his study friend Claes Sohlberg and his family at christmastime. The reason with 1734 years' travel was to map the landscape's natural assets, but also to collect and folder plants, animals and stones. What he the did´nt planned was the meeting with his proposed wife, Sara Lisa (Elisabeth), daughter to medical house doctor Johan Moraeus. However, he must show that he could supply a family. The marriage was in June 26, 1739, the year after the homecomming from the foreign journey. . |
 Sara Elisabeth Moraeus. The portrait is painted 1739 of J.H. Scheffel and hangs on Linné´s Hammarby. |
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Carl Linnaeus foreign journeyThe time between the homecomming from Dalarna journey and the departure out in Europe, 1735, was fulfilled of preparations for Linnaeus and his travel friend Claes Sohlberg. Students, who was intended to study abroad, was on this time forced to have a Swede theologi degree with them in their luggage, to receive a valid pass. This became the only Swedish academic degree that Linnaeus caused. With him he also pursued a lot of research work he performed in Uppsala, and a “Stambok” signed of County Governor Reuterholm, the proposed father-in-law Moraeus and also some learned men. ” Stamboken " was a recommendation letter, without which you do not come somewhere in the learned world. The travel against doctors promotionen was beginning. First stop was Växjö, where he striked his old teacher Dr. Rothman, and the childhood home in Stenbrohult. A lot had been changed. His mother was dead from since a year back and the registered office farm, Möckelsnäs, had got a new owner, Major Falkengren. His father, Nils Linnaeus, was sorry and depressed. He wanted to, but could not, increase his son's poor travelling funds. After a ship travel “in frightful storm and rain” arrived Linnaeus and Sohlberg to Holland and Amsterdam in the month of june 1735. Just after Linnaeus sailed the 56 kilometers further to the small university town Harderwijk, where he only after over just a week received the doctors degree. In the name of truth will be pointed out that the dissertation already had been typed and bringed from Sweden. June 23 his “examinator” professor Jan the Gorter submitted ,the classic ring of gold, the hat of silk and the diploma. Carl Linnaeus, from Stenbrohult in the southern of Småland, was now Medicine doctor. |
 Caes sohlberg´s mother had sew shirts of linen with lace for them, to use to the dutch doctors uniform in red. She painting of Carl Linnaeus is done by J.H Scheffel, 1739 and can be seen on Linné´s Hammarby. |
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The time in Holland
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Carl Linnaeus was on his way against renown. There were many forces to entice him to settle down and createin Holland. Dr. Grenovius, Dr.Herman Boerhaave and Georg Clifford among others.Linnaeus was offered economic safety, a future proffessur and research travels. He did a short visit in England and before his home travel he also visit France, where he became offered citizenships and a safeguarded career. Carl Linnaeus had grown to a eagerly awaited and scientist.But he was worn out and had a longing back to Sweden. Moreover, he said “….and the Dutch Climate is no good for a Swede”. Or was it perhaps Sara Lisa he longed for? For the first time on almost three years he came back to Sweden and Helsingborg, visit his old father in Stenbrohult and departed then to his betrothed in Falun. |
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Systema Naturae was given out with the aid of the new friend, doctor Gronovius in the town Leyden, 1735.
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Linnaeus did a complete classification workoff George Cliffords impressing gardens, menagerie and “Adonishus” (greenhouses) in Hartekamp, located between Haarlem and Leyden.
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