Encyclopedia
Gothenburg ) is a
city and
municipality in the province
Västergötland on the west-coast of
Sweden. As of 2005, the population amounted to 487,000 in the actual city and 879,000 in the metropolitan area making it the second largest city in Sweden, after
Stockholm. Gothenburg is the largest university city in Scandinavia with some 60,000 students.
The city is situated where the
Göta Älv discharges into the
Kattegat; the River divides the city in two halves: the upper part located on the island
Hisingen. The inlet of Göta Älv is well suited for a harbour, and Gothenburg has expanded its port into becoming the largest among the
Nordic countries.
Name
The city was named after the
Geats , an old tribe of southern Sweden, which today is famous from
Beowulf is a heroic epic poem [i]. ...
in the English-speaking world. In
Dutch,
Scots,
German and
English- languages with a long history of being spoken in the trade and maritime-oriented city - the name
Gothenburg was traditionally used for the city, while the
French form of the city name is
Gothembourg. These traditional forms are now sometimes replaced with the use of the Swedish form
Göteborg.
History
In the 16th and 17th century, the configuration of Sweden's borders made Gothenburg strategically important as the Swedish gateway to the west, lying on the west coast in the narrow area between the territories of
Denmark-Norway. After several failed attempts, Gothenburg was successfully founded in 1621, by King
Gustavus Adolphus . The Gothenburg coat of arms was based on the lion of the
coat of arms of Sweden, symbolically holding a shield with the national emblem, the
Three Crowns, to defend against its enemies.
In the
Treaty of Roskilde Denmark-Norway ceded the then Danish province
Halland, to the south, and the Norwegian province of Bohus County or
Bohuslän to the north, leaving Gothenburg in a less exposed position. Gothenburg was able to grow into an important port and trade centre on the west coast.
The architectural layout was designed by
Dutch town planners contracted by the Swedish king; the blueprint for the canals of Gothenburg are actually the same as those used for
Jakarta.
In the 18th century, fishing was the most important industry. However, in 1731 the
Swedish East India Company was founded, and the city flourished due to its foreign trade with highly profitable commercial expeditions to Asian countries.
The harbour developed into Sweden's main harbour for trade towards the west and with the
Swedish emigration to North America increasing, Gothenburg became Sweden's main point of departure. The impact of Gothenburg as a main port of embarkation for Swedish emigrants is reflected by
Gothenburg, Nebraska a small Swedish settlement in the United States.
With the 19th century, Gothenburg evolved into a modern industrial city that continued on into the 20th century. The population increased ten-fold in the century, from 13,000 to 130,000 . In the 20th century major companies that developed were
SKF and
Volvo .
In more recent years however, the industrial section has faced a recession, which has spurred the development of new sectors such as increased merchandising and cultural and educational institutions.
Governance
Boroughs
The municipality is subdivided into 21
boroughs, which carry responsibility for
primary school, social, leisure, and cultural services within their respective areas. In the election of 1998 three boroughs --
Askim, Torslanda and Älvsborg -- held local referenda on forming their own municipalities, but their petitions were rejected by the Government of Sweden.
Boroughs
*Askim
*Backa
*Bergsjön
*Biskopsgården
*Centre
*Frölunda
*Gunnared
|
*Härlanda
*Högsbo
*Kortedala
*Kärra-Rödbo
*Linnéstaden
*Lundby
*Lärjedalen
|
*Majorna
*Styrsö
*Torslanda
*Tuve-Säve
*Tynnered
*Älvsborg
*Örgryte
|
Politics
The
legislative body of Gothenburg is the City Council with 81 members elected by proportional representation for a four-year term. It is led by the Lord Mayor, currently Jörgen Linder. The council appoints the The City Executive Board, headed by the mayor. Currently, the mayor of Gothenburg is
Göran Johansson, from the
Social Democratic Party. Vice mayor and leader of opposition is Jan Hallberg.
Geography
Main article: Geography of GothenburgGothenburg is situated on the western coast by
Kattegatt, an arm of the
North Sea, at the outlet of the river
Göta älv and the
Göta Canal. Due to the
Gulf Stream the city has a mild climate and quite a lot of rain. The
archipelago of Gothenburg consists of rough, barren rocks and cliffs, which also is typical for the coast of
Bohus County.
The Gothenburg Metropolitan Area extends to the municipalities of
Ale, Härryda, Kungälv,
Lerum, Mölndal,
Partille,
Stenungsund, Tjörn, Öckerö in
Västra Götaland County and Kungsbacka in
Halland County.
Transport
The main airport is located at Landvetter, 20 km east of Gothenburg. The smaller Gothenburg City Airport lies 14 km northwest of the city. Other major transportation hubs are
Centralstationen and the
Nils Ericson Terminal with trains and buses to various destinations in Sweden, as well as connections to
Oslo and
Copenhagen. Several ferry lines run to/from
Fredrikshavn,
Kiel,
Kristiansand and
Newcastle.
The "
England ferry" to Newcastle will cease at the end of October 2006, after being a Gothenburg institution since the 19th century. The company cited high
fuel prices and new
competition from
low-cost air services, especially
Ryanair, as being the cause. DFDS Seaways' sister company, DFDS Tor Line, will continue to run scheduled freight ships between Gothenburg and several English ports, and these have limited capacity for passengers, but not private vehicles. It is unclear if the Gothenburg-Kristiansand route will continue.
Gothenburg is a logistic centre, with transports by train and truck from Sweden and Norway to Gothenburg harbour which is by far the largest port in Scandinavia with a cargo turnover of 36.9 million tonnes a year .
With over 150 km the
Gothenburg tram is the largest tram/light rail network in Northern Europe.
Demographics
Gothenburg, as most Swedish metropolitan areas, has a large immigrant population. According to SCB in 2005, there are 93,965 immigrants resident in Gothenburg, which is about 20% of the population, out of which 10% is from
Iran and 9% from
Finland. The Iranian population, as well as other immigrants from the
Middle East and former
Yugoslavia, is concentrated in
Angered and other suburbs in the north east. This has received criticism from the Swedish Integration Board , since these areas are becoming more and more subjects of segregation.
Economy
By its naturally advantageous location, Gothenburg houses the largest and most important harbour installation in
Scandinavia. Trade and shipping have always been important businesses and in the
18th century, the city was the home to the
Swedish East India Company. Industry developed into an important business, e.g.,
SKF,
Volvo and
Ericsson.
The blue collar industries dominated until the late 1980s when shipyards started to shut down. Today the town has a mix of hi tech industries with
Volvo Cars being the largest employer and a number of smaller computer software vendors.
Education
There are two universities in Gothenburg:
Gothenburg University and the
Chalmers University of Technology. They were both initiated in the 19th century as university colleges on private donations. Today there are more than 60,000 students, which makes Gothenburg the largest university city in Scandinavia.
The Gothenburg University contains such faculties as:
While the Technological University contains faculties such as:
- Chalmers Lindholmen University College
- IT University of Göteborg
There are also four
folk high schools .
Gothenburg has some 25-30 gymnasiums. Some of more notable are Hvitfeldtska gymnasiet, founded in 1647, the Christian-oriented LM Engströms gymnasium, Göteborgs Högre Samskola, the art focused Schillerska Gymnasiet, and the Sigrid Rudebecks gymnasium, established in 1869.
Sister cities
Göteborg has four twin towns and two sister cities.
...
The cooperation with South African City of
Port Elizabeth is a partnership fostering development of common fields of interest such as solid waste management, public libraries, sport and tourism.
Culture
The sea, trade and industrial history of the city is evident in the cultural life of Gothenburg. The biggest attraction in the city is the amusement park
Liseberg . Another fact related to the industrial heritage of the city is that many of the cultural institutions, as well as hospitals and the university, were created thanks to donations from rich merchants and industrialists, for example the
Röhss Museum.
The 1923 Gothenburg Industrial Exhibition saw the creation of the art museum and a number of other institutions. The event culture of the city was an important factor behind the creation of a number of other sport and cultural institutions.
Gothenburg has a rich music life - the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra is the best known when it comes to classical music. Bands like
Soundtrack of Our Lives and
Ace of Base are well known pop representatives of the city. The city is also noted for being the centre of the melodic death metal movement , a typically Swedish musical style, being home to such internationally known bands as
At The Gates,
Dark Tranquillity, The Haunted,
In Flames,
Soilwork, and Arch Enemy. It is also a
pop music center in
Sweden, with an active indie scene.
There are many free theatre ensembles in the city, besides institutions like
Gothenburg City Theatre, Backa Theatre and Folkteatern.
The Gothenburg Film Festival, held each year, is the biggest film festival in Scandinavia.
Architecture
There are very few houses left from the 17th century when the city was founded, since all but the military and royal houses were built of wood. One example is
Skansen Crown.
The first major architecturally interesting period is the 18th century when the
East India Company made Gothenburg an important trade city. Imposing stone houses with a Classical look were erected around the canals. One example from this period is the East India House, which today houses
Gothenburg’s City Museum.
In the 19th century the wealthy bourgeoisie begun to move outside the city walls which had protected the city when the Union of Denmark and Norway still was a threat. The style now was an eclectic, academic, somewhat over decorated style which the middle-class favoured. The working class lived in the overcrowded city district
Haga, in wooden houses.
In the 19th century the first important town plan after the founding of city was created, which led to the construction of the main street
Kungsportsavenyn.
The perhaps most significant type of houses of the city,
Landshövdingehusen, were built in the end of the 19th century; three story-houses with the first floor in stone and the other two in wood.
A very important period in the architectural history of the city was the early 20th century, when the
National Romantic style dominated. Among the many monumental building erected the
Masthugget Church can be mentioned.
And in the beginning of the 1920s, when the city celebrated its 300th anniversary, the
Götaplatsen square with its
Neo-Classical look was built.
After this the predominant style in Gothenburg and rest of Sweden was Functionalism which especially dominated the suburbs like Västra Frölunda and
Bergsjön. In the 1950s the big stadium
Ullevi was erected when Sweden hosted the 1958 World Cup in football.
The modern architecture of the city are being formed by such architects as
Gert Wingårdh who started as a Post-Modernist in the 1980s.
Food and drink
Gothenburg, with its location just by the
North Sea, has a number of top class fish and seafood restaurants. The city also has a number of star chefs – over the past decade seven of the Swedish Chef of the Year Awards have been won by Gothenburgers. The most popular place to buy the raw ingredient is the
Feskekôrka ; an indoor fish market, it got its name from the building's resemblance to a
Gothic church. Four restaurants have presently a star in the
Michelin Guide: 28 +, Basement, Fond and Sjömagasinet.
Gothenburg is perhaps the city with the highest concentration of cafés and coffee shops in Sweden; with a large group of students in the city centre and a long tradition of more traditional cafés the number of establishments exploded in the 1990s.
There are also a large number of pubs, bars and discotheques – for example at the main street
Kungsportsavenyn.
Sports
;Held events:
