The Universitetshuset, the main hall of Uppsala University, was inaugurated in 1887 as a deliberately grand statement of the institution's prestige. Its monumental Italianate facade dominates the square opposite the cathedral, and the great Aula inside — a frescoed ceremonial hall in red, gold, and white — is one of the most theatrical interiors in Sweden. This is where the university confers its degrees and where the Nobel Prize laureates sometimes come to lecture.
In the small courtyard behind the building stands a circle of runestones, gathered from across Uppland and re-erected as a kind of open-air museum. Inscribed Viking-age memorials with carved serpents and crosses are propped a few steps from each other, and you can wander between them at any hour.
The Aula itself is open to visitors when the building is unlocked and no event is being held — typically weekday afternoons. The runestone yard is always accessible and free.