Abstract
Summary The main edifice of the University of Gothenburg was opened in 1907. The apse of the great hall is adorned with a monumental fresco by Nils Asplund (1874–1958), who chose a motif from Nordic mythology: the god Heimdall presents man with the gift of fire and teaches him to till the soil, forge metal and trade, but also gives him literature (runes) and art (here represented by a harp‐playing bard). Above Heimdall's throne, on which is carved a quotation from the Eddas in runic script, rises Yggdrasil, the ash that binds earth, heaven and hell together with its roots and branches, while in the foreground the waters of Mimer's spring, the source of wisdom, pour forth. In his capacity as giver of knowledge, Heimdall is the Scandinavian equivalent of Prometheus. Gothenburg is unique among universities in its choice of motif. The concept is taken from the studies in Nordic mythology carried out by the poet and polyhistor Viktor Rydberg (1828–95), who was active as a journalist and educationalist in Gothe...
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