Flogsta

Flogsta is a neighbourhood in the western outskirts of the Swedish city of Uppsala. Most of its inhabitants are students attending Uppsala University or the SLU. Around 2000 of those live in Sernanders väg ("Sernander Rd."), a student housing area made up of twelve seven-story buildings on top of a minor hill, surrounded by pine trees. In ten of these are dormitories where students live in rooms with private bathrooms and shared kitchens (twelve students per kitchen); in two of the buildings, the rooms have been made into separate student apartments; and four are ordinary non-student houses. On the top of each building is a sauna and the roof can be used as a terrace. The neighbourhood of Hamberg, just west of Flogsta, with many three-storey buildings with flats for cohabiting students or families, is often informally considered part of Flogsta. Flogsta has a few shops, restaurants and other minor retail businesses. Most of Flogsta was constructed in 1972 and renovated in the 1990s.

A couple of hundred international exchange students gives the area an international atmosphere. Most of them come from Europe, USA, Canada and Asia.

Every evening at 10 o'clock the "Flogsta scream" may be heard, when students scream collectively from windows, balconies and roof tops. There is controversy over how the tradition started. Some locals say it was simply a stress reliever which started during exam times and then became a daily occurrence. Others say it started in remembrance of a student who committed suicide in the 1970s. A similar tradition exists in one of the student dormitory neighbourhoods in Lund.

The neighbourhood is located approximately 2.8 kilometres (about 4km by road) west of Uppsala city centre. There are bus connections and bicycle tracks connecting to different parts of the town. To the Uppsala University main building, the University Hospital, the Ekonomikum and the Biomedical Centre, the distance is between 2.5 and 3km, while the distance to the SLU exceeds 6km.

There are broadband connections and cable TV. The first building to have broadband connections installed was Sernanders väg 8, in 1995.

The area is generally not considered the most aesthetically pleasing in town, but gives plenty of opportunities to meet other students and enjoy outdoor activities in the surrounding countryside.

External links

* [http://www.studentstaden.se Studentstaden] , student housing in Uppsala
* [http://www.heimstaden.com Heimstaden] , student housing in Flogsta, Uppsala
* [http://www.geocities.com/korridoren_flogsta/flogstaskriket-en.html Flogsta scream] , information and sample scream in MP3-format