Gothenburg is the second-largest city in
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
(after
Stockholm' is the capital and largest city of Sweden. It is the site of the national Swedish government, the Riksdag , and the official residence of the Swedish Monarch as well as the prime minister. The Monarch resides at Drottningholm Palace outside of Stockholm since 1980 and uses the Royal Palace of...
) and the fifth-largest amongst the
Nordic countriesThe Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories which include the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
. Situated on the south-west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 502,833 with 622,287 in the urban area and total of 911,406 inhabitants in the
metropolitan areaMetropolitan Gothenburg , is a metropolitan area surrounding the city of Gothenburg in Sweden. The metropolitan region is located in Västra Götaland County, except for the municipality of Kungsbacka, which is located to the south in Halland County. As of 2005, the municipalities of Alingsås and...
.
The City of Gothenburg was founded in 1621 by King
Gustavus Adolphus of SwedenGustav II Adolf , widely known in English by the Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus and variously in historical writings sometimes as simply just Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolf the Great, , was founder of the Swedish...
. It is situated by the sea at the mouth of
Göta ÄlvThe Göta älv is a river that drains lake Vänern into Kattegat at the city of Gothenburg on the western coast of Sweden. It is located in Götaland, with the river itself being a site of early Geatish settlement. The length is 93 km. Often the combination of Göta älv and Klarälven is mentioned...
—the river running through the city—and is the largest sea port of the
Nordic countriesThe Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories which include the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
. Gothenburg is also home to many students, as the city includes both the University of Gothenburg and
Chalmers University of TechnologyChalmers University of Technology , is a university in Gothenburg, Sweden, that focuses on research and education in technology, natural science and architecture...
.
Name
The city was named after the
GeatGeats , sometimes associated with the Goths, were a North Germanic tribe inhabiting what is now Götaland in modern Sweden...
s (Swedish:
Götar varied: Geatas, Gautar,
GothsThe Goths were a heterogeneous East Germanic tribe. The historian Jordanes claimed that the Goths arrived from semi-legendary Scandza, believed to be somewhere in modern Götaland , and that a Gothic population had crossed the Baltic Sea before the 2nd century, lending their name to the region of...
, Gotar, Gøtar, Götar), the inhabitants of Gothia, now southern Sweden—i.e.
"Defense of the Geats". The river on which the city sits is the
Göta Älv or Gothia River.
Göta borg is the fort on the Göta River, built to protect the port, which was created to be Sweden's commercial window to the west.
In
DutchDutch is a West Germanic language spoken by over 22 million people as a native language, and over 5 million people as a second language.
"1% of the EU population claims to speak Dutch well enough in order to have a conversation." Outside the European Union the number of second language...
,
ScotsScots or Lowland Scots is the variety of Germanic language traditionally spoken in lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster. It is not to be confused with Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language varieties traditionally spoken in the Highlands and Hebrides....
,
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
and
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
— all languages with a long history of being spoken in the trade and maritime-oriented city — the name
Gothenburg has traditionally been used for the city. The
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
form of the city name is
Gothembourg.
Gottenburg can also be seen in some older English texts. These traditional forms are now sometimes replaced with the use of the Swedish
Göteborg, for example by the Göteborg Opera, Göteborg Ballet, Göteborg International Film Festival, and by the city itself (in English, the City of Göteborg). The U.S. Navy also refer to the city in English as Göteborg. Effective February 1, 2008, however, Göteborgs universitet, previously designated as Göteborg University in English, changed to the University of Gothenburg. Other old variations in Swedish are
Götheborgh, and the more common,
Götheborg. One English text written in the late 15th century says the name as "
Guthaeborg".
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 AdolphusGustav II Adolf , widely known in English by the Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus and variously in historical writings sometimes as simply just Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolf the Great, , was founder of the Swedish...
(Gustaf II Adolf). The city was heavily influenced by the Dutch. Dutch city planners were contracted to build the city as they had the skills needed to build in the marshy areas around the city. The town was planned after
DutchThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
cities to have canals like
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country...
, and the blueprint for the canals of Gothenburg are actually the same as those used for
JakartaJakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. It also has a greater population than any other city in Southeast Asia. It was formerly known as Sunda Kelapa , Jayakarta , Batavia , and Djakarta . Located on the northwest coast of Java, it has an area of and a population of 8,489,910...
. The Dutchmen initially won political power and it was not until 1652, when the last Dutch politician in the city's council died, that the
SwedesSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
acquired political power over Gothenburg. During the Dutch period the town followed Dutch town laws and there were propositions to make Dutch the official language in the town.
Along with the Dutch, the town also was influenced by
the ScottishThe Scots people and an ethnic group indigenous to Scotland.An ethnic group, historically they emerged from an amalgamation of Picts, Gaels and Brythons....
, who came to settle in Gothenburg. Many became people of high profile and one such person was
William ChalmersWilliam Chalmers was a Swedish merchant and freemason. He was born in Gothenburg in 1748 as the son of the Scottish merchant, William Chalmers, Sr., and his Swedish wife, Inga Orre. He became a director of the Swedish East India Company and in 1783 he was appointed as their resident representative...
, who donated his fortunes to create what later became
Chalmers University of TechnologyChalmers University of Technology , is a university in Gothenburg, Sweden, that focuses on research and education in technology, natural science and architecture...
. The Scottish influence can still be felt in Gothenburg in present day as names like Glenn and
Morgan-People named Morgan:*Morgan , people with the surname Morgan*Morgan , people with the given name Morgan*Morgan Lander, lead singer with the band Kittie-Places:USA*Morgan, California*Morgan, Georgia*Morgan, Minnesota...
, which in the rest of Sweden usually are rare, are not uncommon in Gothenburg, and the use of a Scottish sounding "r" in the local dialect.
The Gothenburg coat of arms was based on the lion of the
coat of arms of SwedenThe greater national coat of arms and the lesser national coat of arms are the official coats of arms of Sweden.- Shield :The shield has four elements:...
, symbolically holding a shield with the national emblem, the
Three CrownsThree Crowns is a national emblem of Sweden, present in the Coat of Arms of the Realm of Sweden, and composed by three yellow or gilded coronets ordered two above and one below, placed on a blue background....
, to defend against its enemies.
In the
Treaty of RoskildeThe Treaty of Roskilde was concluded on 26 February 1658 during the Northern Wars between Frederick III of Denmark-Norway and Charles X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde...
(1658) Denmark-Norway ceded the then Danish province
Halland' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...
, to the south, and the Norwegian province of Bohus County or
Bohuslän' is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden , situated on the west coast of the country. It borders Dalsland and Västergötland as well as the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea and Østfold in Norway....
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 thanks to the fact that it was the only city on the west coast that was granted, together with
MarstrandMarstrand is a seaside locality situated in Kungälv Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 1,432 inhabitants in 2005. It has held city privileges since 1200. The most striking feature about Marstrand is the 17th century fortress Carlsten, named after King Carl X Gustav of Sweden. The...
, the rights to trade with merchants from other countries.
In the 18th century, fishing was the most important industry. However, in 1731 the
Swedish East India CompanyThe Swedish East India Company was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with the far east...
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, NebraskaGothenburg is a city in Dawson County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Lexington, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,619 at the 2000 census. Gothenburg was founded in 1882 by Olof Bergstrom and is noted for its Swedish heritage. Gothenburg, Nebraska is named...
, 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 tenfold in the century, from 13,000 (1800) to 130,000 (1900). In the 20th century major companies that developed included
SKFSKF, Svenska Kullagerfabriken AB, later AB SKF, is a Swedish bearing company founded in 1907, supplying bearings, seals, lubrication and lubrication systems, maintenance products, mechatronics products, power transmission products and related services globally.-History:The company was founded on...
(est. 1907) and
VolvoThe Volvo Group is a Swedish supplier of commercial vehicles such as trucks, buses and construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications, aerospace components and financial services...
(est. 1926).
In more recent years however, the industrial section has faced a recession, which has spurred the development of new sectors such as increased merchandising, tourism and cultural and educational institutions.
In 2001,
major protests occurredThe protests during the EU summit in Gothenburg 2001, parts of which are often called the Gothenburg Riots , took place in the Swedish city of Gothenburg during the three days of the EU summit and EU–US Summit, June 14–16, 2001...
in the city during the EU summit and the visit by
U.S. presidentThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
.
Geography
Gothenburg is located on the west coast, in Southwestern Sweden, approximately half way between the capitals
CopenhagenCopenhagen ; ) is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban area with a population of 1,167,569 and a metropolitan area with a population of 1,875,179...
,
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
, and
Oslois the capital and largest city in Norway. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the town was largely destroyed by a fire in 1624. The Danish–Norwegian king Christian IV rebuilt the city as Christiania . Oslo, then an alternative name, became official again in 1925...
,
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
. The location at the mouth of the river
Göta älvThe Göta älv is a river that drains lake Vänern into Kattegat at the city of Gothenburg on the western coast of Sweden. It is located in Götaland, with the river itself being a site of early Geatish settlement. The length is 93 km. Often the combination of Göta älv and Klarälven is mentioned...
, which feeds into Kattegatt, an arm of the
North SeaThe North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean. It is more than long and wide, with an area of around...
, has helped the city grow in significance as a
trading cityA trading post is a place where the trading of goods takes place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, is known as a trade route....
. Due to the
Gulf StreamThe Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico, exits through the Strait of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland...
, the city has a mild climate and quite a lot of rain.
The
archipelagoAn archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands that are formed tectonically. The word archipelago is directly derived from the Greek arkhon and pelagos...
of Gothenburg consists of rough, barren rocks and cliffs, which also is typical for the coast of
Bohuslän' is one of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden , situated on the west coast of the country. It borders Dalsland and Västergötland as well as the Skagerrak arm of the North Sea and Østfold in Norway....
.
The Gothenburg Metropolitan Area extends to the municipalities of Ale,
HärrydaHärryda is a locality situated in Härryda Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 861 inhabitants in 2005. Despite its name it is not the seat of the municipality, which is the much larger Mölnlycke....
,
KungälvKungälv is a city and the seat of Kungälv Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 21,139 inhabitants in 2005.-Geography:Kungälv is roughly translated as "King River" and is such named because of the two rivers that float in the vicinity, Göta Älv and Nordre Älv...
,
LerumLerum is a locality and the seat of Lerum Municipality in Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 15,819 inhabitants in 2005.-Overview:Lerum has a station on the Gothenburg commuter rail system and acts as a Gothenburg suburb....
,
MölndalMölndal is a part of the Gothenburg urban area on the west-coast of Sweden, and constitutes the administrative centre of Mölndal Municipality. About 37,000 of the municipality's 50,000 inhabitants live here.-Geography:...
, Partille,
StenungsundStenungsund is a locality and the seat of Stenungsund Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 10,067 inhabitants in 2005.-Overview:...
, Tjörn,
ÖckeröÖckerö is an island and a locality and the seat of Öckerö Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 3,269 inhabitants in 2005.- References :...
in
Västra Götaland CountyVästra Götaland County is a county or län on the western coast of Sweden.The county is the second largest of Sweden's counties and it is subdivided into 49 municipalities . Its population of 1,550,000 amounts to 17% of Sweden's population...
, and
KungsbackaKungsbacka is a locality and the seat of Kungsbacka Municipality in Halland County, Sweden, with 17,784 inhabitants in 2005.It is one of the most affluent parts of Sweden, in part due to its simultaneous proximity to stunning countryside and the large city of Gothenburg..-History:The first records...
in
Halland CountyHalland County is a county on the western coast of Sweden. It corresponds roughly to the cultural and historical province of Halland. The capital is Halmstad....
.
Climate
Gothenburg has an
oceanic climateAn oceanic climate is the climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of all the world's continents, and in southeastern Australia...
according to
Köppen climate classificationThe Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by the Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself notably in 1918 and 1936...
. Despite its high northern latitude, temperatures are quite mild throughout the year and much warmer than places in similar latitude, or even somewhat further south, mainly because of the moderating influence of the warm
Gulf StreamThe Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico, exits through the Strait of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland...
. During the summer, daylight extends 17 hours, but lasts only around 7 hours in late December.
Summers are warm and pleasant with average high temperatures of 22°C (72°F) and lows of 13°C (55°F), but temperatures of 25–30°C (77–86°F) occur on many days during the summer.
Winters are cold and windy with temperatures around the freezing point, even though it rarely drops below −10 °C (14 °F). Winters are much warmer than other places in same latitude, and are not colder than either
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and most of northern United States.
Precipitation is regular but generally moderate throughout the year. Snow mainly occurs from January to March. Snow cover occurs but usually does not remain very long.
Typical temperatures and precipitation for each month:
Culture
The sea, trade and industrial history of the city is evident in the cultural life of Gothenburg. The greatest attraction in the city is the amusement park
LisebergLiseberg is an amusement park located in Gothenburg, Sweden, the park opened in 1923. Liesberg is the largest and one of the most visited amusement parks Scandinavia, attracting around 3 million visitors annually...
(see Sites of interest). 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 Röhsska Museum.
There are many free theatre ensembles in the city, besides institutions like
Gothenburg City TheatreGothenburg City Theatre opened in 1934 at Götaplatsen square in Gothenburg, Sweden. The theatre was drawn by Carl Bergsten who gave the exterior a Neo-Classical look with a touch of Art Deco. The critics thought it to be a too old-fashioned building – the International Style had had a big...
,
Backa TheatreBacka Theatre is a theatre and theatre company in Gothenburg, Sweden, specialized in youth and children theatre. When it started in 1970's it was touring company, but after some years it settled in an old bolt factory which was renovated.. Backa theatre has a good reputation in Sweden and has been...
(youth theatre), and
FolkteaternFolkteatern is a theatre in Gothenburg, Sweden. The big stage has 400 seats, while the smaller one have a capacity of 60 seats....
. On December 29
th, 2004, the
Museum of World CultureThe national Museum of World Culture opened in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 2004. Its aim is to interpret the subject of world culture in an interdisciplinary way. The museum is situated next to the Universeum Science Centre and the amusement park Liseberg and close to Korsvägen."The museum interprets...
was opened in Gothenburg, located near
KorsvägenKorsvägen is a public square, traffic junction and public transport hub close to Universeum, The Swedish Fair, The Museum of World Culture and the amusement park Liseberg in Gothenburg, Sweden. A major armament of the square/junction was made in the 1990's...
.
The
Gothenburg Film FestivalGothenburg Film Festival, is an annual film festival in Gothenburg, Sweden, launched in 1979. The first year the festival showed 17 films on 3 screens, and had 3 000 visitors. Today, the film festival is the biggest in Scandinavia and takes place 10 days every year between January and February...
, held each year, is the largest film festival in Scandinavia. Similarly, the
Gothenburg Book FairThe Gothenburg Book Fair is an annual event held in Gothenburg, Sweden, since 1985. It started primarily as a trade fair but is now the biggest literary festival in Scandinavia and the second biggest book fair in Europe after the Frankfurt Book Fair...
, held every year in September, is the largest such event in Scandinavia.
Citing the
Financial CrisisThe financial crisis of 2007–2009 has been called the worst financial crisis since the one related to the Great Depression by leading economists, and it contributed to the failure of key businesses, declines in consumer wealth estimated in the trillions of U.S. dollars, substantial financial...
, in a move set to disappoint many in the
Asia-PacificAsia-Pacific or Apac is that part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean. The area includes much of East Asia, Southeast Asia, Australasia and Oceania)....
region,
IFLAThe International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions is the leading international association of library organisations. It is the global voice of the library and information profession, and its annual conference provides a venue for librarians to learn from one another...
has announced that Gothenburg will host the 2010 World Library and Information Congress, previously to be held in
BrisbaneBrisbane is the state capital of the Australian state of Queensland and is the largest city in that state. With an estimated population of approximately 2 million, it is also the third most populous city in Australia....
,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
.
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 CrownSkansen Kronan is a redoubt in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built in the later half of the 17th century according to the plans of Erik Dahlberg....
.
The first major architecturally interesting period is the 18th century when the
East India CompanyThe Swedish East India Company was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with the far east...
made Gothenburg an important trade city. Imposing stone houses with a
ClassicalClassical architecture is the architecture of classical antiquity; chiefly the impressive public buildings, which have survived to be studied in the modern age...
look were erected around the canals. One example from this period is the East India House, which today houses
Gothenburg’s City MuseumThe City Museum of Gothenburg is located in an eighteenth century house originally built for the Swedish East India Company in the city centre of Gothenburg, Sweden. The museum itself was created in 1861 with the British Victoria and Albert Museum as model. The City Museum is a Cultural History...
.
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 was still 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
HagaHaga is a city district in Gothenburg, Sweden, renowned for its picturesque wooden houses, 19th century-atmosphere and cafés. Originally a working class suburb of the city with a rather bad reputation, it was gradually transformed into a popular visiting place for tourists and Gothenburgers...
, 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,
KungsportsavenynKungsportsavenyn, commonly known as just Avenyn , is the main street of Gothenburg, Sweden, and a smaller counterpart of the Champs-Élysées. It was created in the 1860s and 1870s as a result of an international town planning competition...
. The perhaps most significant type of houses of the city,
LandshövdingehusLandshövdingehus is a building type unique for the Swedish city of Gothenburg. The history behind these buildings has its twists. 19th century city bylaws ruled that houses made of wood could be of maximum two storeys height, in order to protect against fires...
en, were built in the end of the 19th century; three storey-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 ChurchMasthugget Church in Gothenburg, Sweden, was built in 1914. Its position on a high hill close to the city and near the Göta älv makes it a striking sight – the church tower is 60 meters high in itself. The church represents the national romantic style in Nordic architecture and was drawn by...
can be mentioned.
And in the beginning of the 1920s, when the city celebrated its 300th anniversary, the
GötaplatsenGötaplatsen is a public square in Gothenburg, Sweden, at the southern end of Kungsportsavenyn , the city's main street. The square was inaugurated when Gothenburg held a major international industrial exhibition, 1923, celebrating the city's 300th anniversary.Götaplatsen is Gothenburg's cultural...
square with its
Neo-ClassicalNeoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, both as a reaction against the Rococo style of anti-tectonic naturalistic ornament, and an outgrowth of some classicizing features of Late Baroque...
look was built.
After this the predominant style in Gothenburg and rest of Sweden was
FunctionalismFunctionalism, in architecture, is the principle that architects should design a building based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less self-evident than it first appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern...
which especially dominated the suburbs like Västra Frölunda and
BergsjönBergsjön is a suburb in the north-eastern part of Gothenburg in western Sweden....
. The prominent Swedish functionalist architect
Uno ÅhrénUno Åhrén was a Swedish architect and city planner, and a leading proponent of Functionalism in Sweden.In 1930 Ahren was one of the designers for the Housing Exhibition of the Stockholm International Exhibition, and in 1931 he was one of the six co-authors of the Acceptera!, or Accept!, manifesto,...
served as the city planner here from 1932 through 1943. In the 1950s the big stadium
UlleviUllevi, Ullevi Stadium or Nya Ullevi as it is referred to by the inhabitants, meaning New Ullevi, to distinguish it from Gamla Ullevi , is a stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. The stadium is also the biggest in Scandinavia. It was opened in 1958, its original use was as a venue for the 1958 World Cup...
was erected when Sweden hosted the
1958 FIFA World CupThe 1958 FIFA World Cup, the sixth staging of the World Cup, was hosted by Sweden from 8 June to 29 June. Sweden was chosen as hosts by FIFA in June 1950. It was won by Brazil, who beat Sweden 5-2 in the final for their first title...
.
The modern architecture of the city is being formed by such architects as
Gert WingårdhGert Wingårdh is Sweden's best-known living architect, and has had a major influence on the Swedish architectural scene. His practice's main office is in Gothenburg, with a second office in Stockholm.- Personal life :...
who started as a Post-Modernist in the 1980s.
A further remarkable construction is Brudaremossen TV Tower, one of the few
partially guyed towerA partially guyed tower is a tower structure which consists of a free-standing basement, in most cases of concrete or of lattice steel with a guyed mast on the top. The anchor basements of the guyed mast can be on the top of the tower or on the ground.-Use:...
s in the world.
Music
Gothenburg has a rich music life—the
Gothenburg Symphony OrchestraThe Göteborgs Symfoniker is an orchestra based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Founded in 1905, it was granted the title of the "National Orchestra of Sweden" in 1997...
is the best known when it comes to classical music. Gothenburg also was the birthplace of the Swedish composer
Kurt AtterbergKurt Magnus Atterberg was a Swedish composer. He is best known for his symphonies, operas and ballets. Atterberg once said that: "The Russians, Brahms, Reger were my ideals." His music combines their influences with Swedish folk tunes.Atterberg was born in Gothenburg. He studied cello and would...
. Bands like
The Soundtrack of Our LivesThe Soundtrack of Our Lives, alternatively known as T.S.O.O.L. or Soundtrack, is a Swedish rock band that formed in 1995 from the ashes of punk band Union Carbide Productions....
and
Ace of BaseAce of Base is a pop band from Gothenburg, Sweden, comprising Ulf Ekberg and siblings Jonas Berggren and Jenny Berggren. They released their debut album in 1993 and went on to sell more than 30 million albums worldwide, topping the charts with hits such as "All That She Wants" and "The Sign"...
are well known pop representatives of the city. There is also an active indie scene. For example, the musician
Jens LekmanJens Martin Lekman is a Swedish indie pop musician residing in Melbourne, Australia. His music is guitar-based pop with heavy use of samples and strings; the lyrics are often witty, romantic, and melancholic...
was born in the suburb of
AngeredAngered is a suburb in Gothenburg Municipality, Sweden. Angered is the biggest Million Programme area in Gothenburg, and one of the biggest in the country with 40 000 inhabitants....
and named his 2007 release
Night Falls Over KortedalaNight Falls Over Kortedala is the second full length release by Swedish pop singer Jens Lekman. Announced on July 25, 2007 and advertised on Lekman's website as a "a collection of recordings 2004-2007", the album was released in Scandinavia on the label Service on September 5, 2007 and worldwide on...
after another suburb (
KortedalaKortedala is a district, mainly residential , in the north-eastern part of Gothenburg in western Sweden. The area houses a population of around 10,000 inhabitants and is one of the typical 1950s suburbs of Gothenburg. The area is very lush and green with many trees and parks...
). Other internationally acclaimed indie artists include the electro pop duos
StudioStudio is a Swedish electronic music band. They have been described as the missing link between The Cure and Lindstrøm touching on Can, Neu, Happy Mondays and The Smiths in their creation of an afrobeat-dub-disco-indie-pop adventure...
and
Air FranceAir France is a band from Gothenburg, Sweden. Their music has been described as "post-rave bliss", "beach foam pop", and "Balearic disco". Their No Way Down EP received a Best New Music inclusion from Pitchfork Media and a rating of 8.6....
, dance group
The Tough AllianceThe Tough Alliance, or TTA, is an electronic pop music duo from Gothenburg, Sweden. The duo first came together in 2003 and consists of childhood mates Henning Fürst and Eric Berglund...
, songwriter
José GonzálezJosé González is a Swedish indie folk singer-songwriter of Argentine descent.-Biography:González was born in a suburb near Gothenburg, Sweden. He commented; "It's a very small town. It has about a half-million people living there. It's a pretty good music city by the ocean...
and pop singer
El Perro Del MarEl Perro del Mar is a musical project that was founded in December 2003 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The sole member of El Perro del Mar, Sarah Assbring, initially started as an MP3/CD-R artist and released her first songs through Hybris Records...
.
The city is also noted for being the centre of the heavy metal subgenre
melodic death metalMelodic death metal is a subgenre of death metal which combines the melody of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with the intensity of death metal. The genre is also known as Gothenburg metal, a reference to the city in Sweden where it originated...
(sometimes even called "The Gothenburg sound"). Gothenburg metal is distinct to the traditional
death metalDeath metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
due to its mixture of melody, harmony and extensive guitar solos. Often, keyboards and
clean singingThe term clean vocals is used to describe melodic and clear singing styles. It is most notably used to refer to heavy metal music, as an alternative to harsh, screamed or growled vocals, which are mainly seen in extreme metal bands, and occasionally in some hardcore punk bands...
are incorporated (instead of using the traditional
death metal growlA death growl, also known as death metal vocals, guttural vocals, death grunts, unclean vocals, among other names, is a vocalization style usually employed by vocalists of the death metal music genre, but also used in a variety of heavy metal and hardcore punk subgenres...
vocal style). Gothenburg's own commercially successful
At the GatesAt the Gates was a melodic death metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden, and a major progenitor of the Gothenburg death metal sound. Initially active from 1990 to 1996, the band reformed in 2007 for a reunion tour. The last show was on 21 September, 2008....
,
In FlamesIn Flames is a Swedish band from Gothenburg, formed in 1990. The band is considered to be a pioneer and major influence to the melodic death metal music genre. Since the band's conception in 1990, they have received numerous awards and released nine studio albums and one live DVD. The band has...
and
Dark TranquillityDark Tranquillity is a melodic death metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. They are one of the longest-standing bands from the original Gothenburg metal scene and one of the pioneers of the melodic death metal genre, along with In Flames and At the Gates....
are credited with pioneering this melodic style, although first made by
Michael AmottMichael Amott is a Swedish guitarist, songwriter, founding member of the bands Arch Enemy, Spiritual Beggars, and Carnage, as well as a member of the death metal band Carcass. He is the older brother of Christopher Amott...
of Arch Enemy,
Spiritual BeggarsSpiritual Beggars is a stoner metal band from Halmstad, Sweden, formed by Michael Amott, who is known from Arch Enemy, Carcass and Carnage.- Biography :...
, ex-
CarcassCarcass are an extreme metal band from England, formed in 1985 and disbanded in 1995. A reunion was enacted in 2008 without one of its original members, drummer Ken Owen....
and ex-
CarnageCarnage may refer to:* Gory death* Post battle foliage destruction in northern Ireland during the 18th centuryORIn Fiction*Carnage , a symbiotic Marvel comic book supervillain, spawn of Venom; notable adversary of Spider-Man and archenemy of Venom.*Twitch of the Death Nerve, a Mario Bava horror...
. Another well known band of the Gothenburg scene is
SoilworkSoilwork is a Swedish melodic death metal band from Helsingborg. They are currently signed to Nuclear Blast. Formed in late 1995 by Björn Strid and Peter Wichers, originally under the name Inferior Breed, the band changed their name in late 1996 to Soilwork .Their sound is a fusion of the classic...
, although they hail from
HelsingborgHelsingborg Helsingborg Helsingborg ( is a locality and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 91,457 inhabitants in 2005. The population of Helsingborg city is increasing by around 1,700 people every year....
. Progressive power metal band
EvergreyEvergrey is a progressive power metal band from Gothenburg, Sweden. The band was founded in 1996 and released its debut album The Dark Discovery in 1998. Their most recent album is Torn, was released in 2008.-Lyrical themes:...
also originate from the city as do power metal band
HammerfallHammerfall or HammerFall may refer to:*HammerFall, a Swedish power metal band*Hammerfall, a novel in The Gene Wars universe....
.
Food and drink
Gothenburg, with its location by the sea, is famous for the quality and variety of its
seafoodSeafood is any sea animal or plant that is served as food and eaten by humans. Seafoods include seawater animals, such as fish and shellfish...
dishes. Various fish restaurants exist in the city, from low-class shacks to world-class eateries. 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.
A popular place to buy fish ingredients is the
FeskekôrkaFeskekôrka is an indoor fish market in Gothenburg, Sweden, which got its name from the building's resemblance to a Gothic church. It opened in 1874 and was drawn by the city architect Victor von Gegerfelt...
("Fish Church"); an indoor fish market which got its name from the building's resemblance to a
GothicGothic architecture is a style of architecture which flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
church.
Five Gothenburg restaurants have a star in the 2008
Michelin GuideThe Michelin Guide is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries. The term refers by default to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest and best-known European hotel and restaurant guide, which awards the Michelin stars...
:
28 +,
Basement,
Fond,
Kock & Vin and
Sjömagasinet.
Sports
As in all of Sweden, a variety of sports are followed, including but not limited to
ice hockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
,
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball...
,
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
, and
team handballHandball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass and bounce a ball to throw it into the goal of the opposing team...
. There is a varied amateur and professional sports clubs scene. Gothenburg is the birthplace of
football in SwedenFootball is the third most popular sport in Sweden , with over 240,000 licensed players—of which 56,000 are women—plus another 240,000 youth players. There are around 3,200 active clubs fielding over 8,500 teams, which are playing on the 7,900 pitches available in the country...
as the
first football match in SwedenThe first football match in Sweden was played at Heden, Gothenburg 22 may 1892 between Örgryte IS and Idrottssällskapet Lyckans Soldater. Örgryte IS won the game. The final score was 1-0.To memorize this event there is a stone at Heden with the inscription:...
was played there in 1892. The city's three major clubs,
IFK GöteborgIFK Göteborg is a Swedish professional football club based in Gothenburg. The club can be referred to as IFK, although this can be confusing as there are many other clubs in Sweden who use the abbreviation as part of their name. The club is more usually known in Sweden as "Blåvitt" , in reference...
,
Örgryte ISÖrgryte IS, also commonly referred to as ÖIS, is a Swedish football club based in Gothenburg. The club was founded on 4 December 1887 and participated in the first football match in Sweden on 22 May 1892. Örgryte IS has won 12 national championship titles and one national cup title. They are...
and
GAISGöteborgs Atlet- och Idrottssällskap is a Swedish football club based in Gothenburg, currently playing in Allsvenskan. The club is commonly referred to simply as GAIS, while its fans also refers to the club as grönsvart or the mackerels because of the traditional shirt colours...
share a total of 34 Swedish Championships between them. IFK has also won the
UEFA CupThe UEFA Europa League is a competition for eligible European football clubs; the second most prestigious European football contest after the UEFA Champions League. It is an annual football cup competition for European club teams organised by the Union of European Football Associations...
twice. Other notable clubs include
BK HäckenBK Häcken is a Swedish football club based in Gothenburg. The club, formed on 2 August 1940, is currently playing in the Swedish premier division, Allsvenskan after being promoted in 2008.- The beginning :...
(
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball...
),
Pixbo Wallenstam IBKPixbo Wallenstam Innebandyklubb, also known as Redfox or Pixbo IBK, is one of the most successful floorball clubs in the world. It is based in Mölnlycke, Västra Götaland and is widely recognized as the best floorball club in Sweden, more specifically, in the Swedish Super League...
(
floorballFloorball, a type of floor hockey, is an indoor team sport which was developed in the 1970s. It is a fast paced sport, with limited physical contact allowed. Floorball is most popular in areas where the sport has developed the longest, such as the Czech Republic, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland...
), multiple national
team handballHandball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass and bounce a ball to throw it into the goal of the opposing team...
champion
Redbergslids IKRedbergslids IK, RIK, is a handball team from Gothenburg, Sweden founded in 1916. Redbergslid is the most successful in Swedish titles, with twenty titles...
, and three time national ice hockey champion
Frölunda HCFrölunda Hockey Club, also known as the Frölunda Indians, are a Swedish professional ice hockey club based in Gothenburg. They are currently playing in the highest Swedish league, Elitserien, where they have played the majority of the seasons during its existence. The last time they played in the...
, Gothenburg has also a proffesionl Basketball team
Gothia BasketGothia Basket is a Swedish basketball club playing in Gothenburg, they play currently in ligan- Roster 2009-2010 :- External links :**...
.
The city's most notable sports venues are
ScandinaviumScandinavium is the primary indoor sports and event arena in Gothenburg, Sweden. Construction on Scandinavium began in 1969 after decades of setbacks, the arena was built in time for the 350th year anniversary celebration of the City of Gothenburg and was inaugurated on May 18, 1971.Scandinavium...
(
ice hockeyIce Hockey is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use sticks to direct a puck into the opposing team's goal. It is a fast-paced and physical sport...
), and Nya Ullevi (multisport) and the new-built
Gamla UlleviGamla Ullevi meaning Old Ullevi, named Ullevi until 1958 when Nya Ullevi was built, was a football stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built in 1915-1916 opened on 17 September 1916 with the game IFK Göteborg-AB København and the later years, it had a capacity of 15,000–18,000 depending on...
(
footballAssociation football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players using a spherical ball...
).
Gothenburg has hosted a number of international sporting events including the
1958 FIFA World CupThe 1958 FIFA World Cup, the sixth staging of the World Cup, was hosted by Sweden from 8 June to 29 June. Sweden was chosen as hosts by FIFA in June 1950. It was won by Brazil, who beat Sweden 5-2 in the final for their first title...
, the 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, the 1992 European Football Championship, the 1993 and the 2002
World Men's Handball ChampionshipThe World Championship in team handball for men has been organized by the International Handball Federation since 1938.- History :In 1938, the first indoor handball world championship was played in the Deutschlandhalle in Berlin,Germany on 5 February and 6 February...
, the
1995 World Championships in AthleticsThe 5th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, were held at the Ullevi Stadium, Gothenburg, Sweden between August 5 and August 13.This edition featured 1804 athletes from 191 nations....
, the 1997 World Championships in
SwimmingThe aquatic sport of swimming involves competition amongst participants to be the fastest over a given distance under self propulsion.The different events include 25, 50, 100, 200, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly, the 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 500, 800, 1000, 1500, and 1650 free and the 100,...
(Short track), the 2002
Ice Hockey World ChampionshipsThe Ice Hockey World Championship is an annual ice hockey tournament organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation . First officially held at the 1920 Summer Olympics, it is the sport's highest profile annual international tournament. The IIHF was created in 1908 while the European...
, the 2004
UEFA CupThe UEFA Europa League is a competition for eligible European football clubs; the second most prestigious European football contest after the UEFA Champions League. It is an annual football cup competition for European club teams organised by the Union of European Football Associations...
final, the
2006 European Championships in AthleticsThe 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between August 7 and August 13, 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit"...
, and the
2008 World Figure Skating ChampionshipsThe 2008 World Figure Skating Championships was the World Figure Skating Championships of the 2007–2008 figure skating season. The World Championships are an annual figure skating competition in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion. The event was open to figure skaters...
. Annual events held in the city are the
Gothia CupGothia Cup is a youth association football tournament held annually in Gothenburg, Sweden, open for both boys and girls of ages 11 to 19 years. With respect to the number of participants, it is the world's largest football tournament: in 2007, a total of 34,200 players and team leaders from 1585...
and the
GöteborgsvarvetGöteborgsvarvet is an annual half marathon running competition in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is the largest annual running competition in Sweden, with about 40,000 participants each year...
.
Gothenburg will host the XIII FINA World Masters Championships 2010. Diving, swimming, synchronized swimming and open water competitions will take place from July 28 to August 7. The water polo events will be held on the neighboring city of
BoråsBorås is a locality and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 63,441 inhabitants in 2005.- Geography :Borås is located at the point of two crossing railways, among them the railway between Gothenburg and Kalmar, and is often considered the Swedish city gaining the...
.
Economy
Due to the Gothenburg's advantageous location in the centre of Scandinavia, trade and shipping have always played a major role in the city's economic history, and they continue to do so. Gothenburg port has come to be the largest harbour in the whole of
ScandinaviaScandinavia is a geographical region in northern Europe that includes, and is named after, the Scanian Province. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark...
.
Apart from trade, the second pillar of Gothenburg has traditionally been manufacturing, and industry which significantly contributes to the city's wealth. Major companies operating plants in the area include
SKFSKF, Svenska Kullagerfabriken AB, later AB SKF, is a Swedish bearing company founded in 1907, supplying bearings, seals, lubrication and lubrication systems, maintenance products, mechatronics products, power transmission products and related services globally.-History:The company was founded on...
,
VolvoThe Volvo Group is a Swedish supplier of commercial vehicles such as trucks, buses and construction equipment, drive systems for marine and industrial applications, aerospace components and financial services...
, and
EricssonEricsson , one of the largest Swedish companies, is a leading provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
.
Volvo CarsVolvo Cars, or Volvo Personvagnar AB, is a Swedish automobile manufacturer founded in 1927 in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden, and currently owned by Ford Motor Company....
is the largest employer in Gothenburg, not including jobs in supply companies. The blue collar industries which have dominated the city for long are still important factors in the city's economy, but they are being gradually replaced by high tech industries.
Banking and finance are also important trades as well as the event and tourist industry.
Historically, Gothenburg was home base of the 18th century
Swedish East India CompanyThe Swedish East India Company was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with the far east...
and were from the founding of the city until the late 1970s a world leading city in ship building with shipyards as
Eriksbergs Mekaniska Verkstads ABEriksbergs Mekaniska Verkstads AB was a Swedish shipbuilding company based in Gothenburg. It was founded in 1850 by Christian Barchman under the name Ericsbergs metall och tackjerms-gjuteri. It delivered its last ship in 1979.-Introduction:...
,
GötaverkenGötaverken was a shipbuilding company that was located on Hisingen, Gothenburg. It was founded in 1841, and went bankrupt in 1989.The company was founded in 1841 by a Scottish businessman called Alexander Keiller under the name Keillers Werkstad i Göteborg, and was aimed at industrial production...
, Arendalsvarvet and Lindholmens varv.
Demographics
Gothenburg, as with most Swedish metropolitan areas, has a large immigrant population. According to Statistics Sweden in 2005, there are 108,480 immigrants resident in Gothenburg, which is about 25% of the population, out of which 10% are from
FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
and 9% from
IranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
. The Iranian population, as well as other immigrants from the
Middle EastThe Middle East is a region that spans southwestern Asia, southeastern Europe, and northeastern Africa. It has no clear boundaries, often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East...
(notably
IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
),
SomaliaSomalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa...
and former
YugoslaviaYugoslavia is a term that describes three political entities that existed successively on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century.The first country to be known by this...
, is concentrated in
AngeredAngered is a suburb in Gothenburg Municipality, Sweden. Angered is the biggest Million Programme area in Gothenburg, and one of the biggest in the country with 40 000 inhabitants....
(most notably Hjällbo and Hammarkullen) and other suburbs in the north east (
BergsjönBergsjön is a suburb in the north-eastern part of Gothenburg in western Sweden....
), while other immigrants from Scandinavia,
Southern EuropeThe term Southern Europe, at its most general definition, is used to mean "all countries in the south of Europe". However, the concept, at different times, has had different meanings, providing additional political, linguistic and cultural context to the definition in addition to the typical...
(notably
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a country in southeast Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Zagreb...
,
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( or (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Latin: Bosna i Hercegovina; Serbian Cyrillic: Босна и Херцеговина) is a country in Southeast Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula...
,
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
and
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
) and
Eastern EuropeEastern Europe is a region lying in the Eastern part of Europe. The term is highly context-dependent and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
are far less segregated.
Education
Gothenburg has two universities, both of which started off as colleges founded by private donations in the 19th century. The University of Gothenburg has approximately 25,000 students and is one of the largest universities in
ScandinaviaScandinavia is a geographical region in northern Europe that includes, and is named after, the Scanian Province. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark...
and one of the most versatile in Sweden.
Chalmers University of TechnologyChalmers University of Technology , is a university in Gothenburg, Sweden, that focuses on research and education in technology, natural science and architecture...
is a well known university located in Johanneberg 2 km south of inner city, lately also established at Lindholmen in Norra Älvstranden,
HisingenHisingen is the fourth largest island of Sweden, at 199 km², and most populous, forming part of Gothenburg Municipality, Västra Götaland County. Formed by Göta älv in the south and the east, Nordre älv in the north and Kattegat in the west...
.
There are also four
folk high schoolFolk high schools are institutions for adult education that do not grant academic degrees. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and in Germany and Austria...
s (
Arbetarrörelsens Folkhögskola i Göteborg,
Folkhögskolan i Angered,
Göteborgs Folkhögskola, and
Kvinnofolkhögskolan).
Gothenburg has some 25-30
high schoolsA gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools...
. Four of the more notable schools are Schillerska gymnasiet, Donnergymnasiet,
Hvitfeldtska gymnasietHvitfeldtska gymnasiet, the "Hvitfeldtska High School" , is located in Gothenburg, Sweden. The school was founded in 1647 by Queen Kristina,...
, Burgårdens Utbildningscentrum and
Göteborgs Högre Samskola-Information:In 2006 the school had about 1350 students. The school has students aged 5 through 18 and has a Förskola, a Grundskola and a Gymnasium. The school consists of a series of buildings for the younger grades 1 through 6 and a separate building for the Middle and High school children...
. There are also some high-schools connected to big Swedish companies. One is SKF Technical high-school(belonging to SKF) and Gothenburgs technical high-school(belonging to Volvo).
Points of interest
Gothenburg is a popular destination for tourists on the Swedish west-coast, and offers a number of cultural and architectural highlights.
The main boulevard is called
KungsportsavenynKungsportsavenyn, commonly known as just Avenyn , is the main street of Gothenburg, Sweden, and a smaller counterpart of the Champs-Élysées. It was created in the 1860s and 1870s as a result of an international town planning competition...
(commonly known as
Avenyn, "The Avenue"). It is about one kilometre long and starts at
GötaplatsenGötaplatsen is a public square in Gothenburg, Sweden, at the southern end of Kungsportsavenyn , the city's main street. The square was inaugurated when Gothenburg held a major international industrial exhibition, 1923, celebrating the city's 300th anniversary.Götaplatsen is Gothenburg's cultural...
— which is the location of the
Gothenburg Museum of ArtThe Göteborg Museum of Art at Götaplatsen, Gothenburg, is renowned for its collection of Nordic art from around the close of the 19th century. A must see is the lavishly decorated Fürstenberg Gallery, named after a leading Gothenburg art donor, Pontus Fürstenberg and his wife Göthilda. Among the...
, the city's theatre, the city library as well as the concert hall— and stretches out all the way to
KungsportsplatsenKungsportsplatsen is a square in the city centre of Gothenburg, Sweden. The square was constructed 1852 and got its name after the King's gate . The gate was the main entrance to the fortified city, which was and still is surrounded by a moat...
in the old city centre of Gothenburg, crossing a canal and a small park. The
Avenyn was created in the 1860s and 1870s as a result of an international architecture contest, and is the product of a period of extensive town planning and re-modelling.
Avenyn has Gothenburg's highest concentration of pubs and clubs.
Scandinavia's largest shopping centre,
NordstanNordstan is a shopping centre in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is the largest shopping centre in Scandinavia, with approximately 180 shops and 150 offices, and Europe's most visited shopping centre with more than 35 million visitors in 2008...
, is located in central Gothenburg. Gothenburg's
HagaHaga is a city district in Gothenburg, Sweden, renowned for its picturesque wooden houses, 19th century-atmosphere and cafés. Originally a working class suburb of the city with a rather bad reputation, it was gradually transformed into a popular visiting place for tourists and Gothenburgers...
district is known for its picturesque wooden houses and its cafés.
The
Gothenburg OperaThe GöteborgsOperan or Gothenburg Opera is an opera house in Gothenburg, Sweden.- History :The Göteborg Opera house is relatively new: construction started in September 1989 after significant local commitment in the late 1980s and it was completed with great speed...
house was inaugurated in 1994, and is an architectural landmark situated right next to the
Göta älvThe Göta älv is a river that drains lake Vänern into Kattegat at the city of Gothenburg on the western coast of Sweden. It is located in Götaland, with the river itself being a site of early Geatish settlement. The length is 93 km. Often the combination of Göta älv and Klarälven is mentioned...
river. Museums include the
Gothenburg Museum of ArtThe Göteborg Museum of Art at Götaplatsen, Gothenburg, is renowned for its collection of Nordic art from around the close of the 19th century. A must see is the lavishly decorated Fürstenberg Gallery, named after a leading Gothenburg art donor, Pontus Fürstenberg and his wife Göthilda. Among the...
,
Göteborgs KonsthallGöteborgs Konsthall is a center for contemporary art in Gothenburg , Sweden, showing both Swedish and international art. It is placed in a classicistic building from 1923 at Götaplatsen in the center of the city...
,
Röhss MuseumThe Röhsska Museum in Gothenburg, Sweden, is a museum focused on design and applied art. It was created through donations from Vilhelm and August Röhss and opened to the public in 1916; it has since expanded...
, and several museums of sea and navigation history, natural history, the sciences, and East India. The
Museum of World CultureThe national Museum of World Culture opened in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 2004. Its aim is to interpret the subject of world culture in an interdisciplinary way. The museum is situated next to the Universeum Science Centre and the amusement park Liseberg and close to Korsvägen."The museum interprets...
was inaugurated in 2004.
The
Göteborg Botanical GardenThe Gothenburg Botanical Garden is located in Gothenburg, Sweden, and one of the leading botanical gardens in Europe.-History:It was planned by the city council, created thanks to generous donors, and inaugurated in 1923 when Gothenburg celebrated its 300th anniversary.One of the prominent...
is considered to be one of the most important
botanical gardenBotanical gardens grow a wide variety of plants primarily to categorize and document for scientific purposes. Botanists and horticulturalists tend the flora and maintain the garden's library and herbarium of dried and documented plant material. Botanical gardens may also serve to entertain and...
s in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
with three stars in the French Guide Rouge. Next to the botanical garden is Gothenburg's largest park,
SlottsskogenSlottsskogen is a 137 hectares large park located in central Gothenburg, Sweden.-History:When Gothenburg was founded in the 17th century, the area of Slottsskogen was a forest that belonged to Älvsborg Fortress...
, where the Natural History Museum (Naturhistoriska Museet) is located. The park is also home to the city's oldest observatorie.
The amusement park
LisebergLiseberg is an amusement park located in Gothenburg, Sweden, the park opened in 1923. Liesberg is the largest and one of the most visited amusement parks Scandinavia, attracting around 3 million visitors annually...
is located in the central part of the city. Liseberg is
ScandinaviaScandinavia is a geographical region in northern Europe that includes, and is named after, the Scanian Province. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark...
's largest amusement park by number of rides, and the most popular attraction in Sweden by number of visitors per year (>3 millions). Located near Liseberg is a science discovery centre named
UniverseumUniverseum is a public science centre in Gothenburg, Sweden that opened in 2001. It is a part of Evenemangsstråket, the thoroughfare of events – close to Korsvägen and Skånegatan – which includes sights of interest like Scandinavium, Ullevi, Svenska Mässan , Liseberg and the Museum of World...
.
One of Gothenburg's most popular natural tourist attractions is the
Southern Gothenburg ArchipelagoThe Southern Gothenburg Archipelago lies off the coast of Gothenburg, Sweden's second-largest city. It has 5,000 permanent and another 6,000 summer residents. The archipelago is completely car free....
, which is a set of many picturesque islands that can be reached by ferry boat. Within the archipelago
Älvsborg FortressÄlvsborg, also Elfsborg Castle, is a fortress located in today's Gothenburg , Sweden. Situated on the mouth of the Göta Älv river, it served to protect Sweden's access to the Atlantic Ocean and the nearby settlement of today's Gothenburg and its four predecessors. The castle was relocated in the...
,
VingaVinga is a small island ten nautic miles outside Gothenburg's harbour entrance, Sweden. The Vinga Lighthouse from the 19th century is famous not only as a beacon in the waterway of the Swedish west coast, but also as the place were the Swedish poet laureate Evert Taube grew up. Vinga is today a...
and
StyrsöStyrsö is a small island and a locality situated in Göteborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 1,331 inhabitants in 2005.It lies in the Southern Göteborg Archipelago of Sweden with about 1,400 inhabitants. Regular ferries connect the island to Gothenburg and a bridge links Styrsö...
islands are popular places to visit.
Twin towns — sister cities
Gothenburg is
twinnedSister cities, also known as town twinning, is an agreement between towns, cities and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties...
with:
| Aarhus Aarhus, or Århus , is the second largest city and the principal port of Denmark, situated on the peninsula of Jutland. Aarhus is the seat of the council of Aarhus municipality with 303,318 inhabitants and claims the unofficial title "Capital of Jutland"...
, DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
Bergen, NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
, United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Lyon||-||}Lyon , often Anglicized as Lyons, is a city in east-central France in the region Rhône-Alpes, situated between Paris and Marseille. Its name is pronounced in French and Arpitan, and or in English...
, FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
Oslois the capital and largest city in Norway. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the town was largely destroyed by a fire in 1624. The Danish–Norwegian king Christian IV rebuilt the city as Christiania . Oslo, then an alternative name, became official again in 1925...
, NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
RostockRostock is the largest city in the north German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rostock is located on the Warnow river; the quarter of Warnemünde 12 km north of the city centre lies directly on the coast of the Baltic Sea.-Geography:Rostock is located nearly centrally on...
, GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
|
ShanghaiShanghai is the largest city in China, and one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world, with over 20 million people. Located on China's central eastern coast at the mouth of the Yangtze River, the city is administered as a municipality of the People's Republic of China with province-level...
, People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city's other names were Petrograd and Leningrad...
, RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
TallinnTallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies a surface of in which 405,867 inhabitants live. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki.-Historical names:...
, EstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russian Federation...
Turku/ÅboTurku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper in the Province of Western Finland. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
, FinlandFinland , officially the Republic of Finland , is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
Port Elizabeth, Republic of South Africa BadalonaBadalona is a city in Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the comarca of the Barcelonès near the city of Barcelona. It is situated on the left bank of the small river Besòs and on the Mediterranean Sea....
, SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. [The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
. |
Air
Gothenburg-Landvetter AirportGothenburg-Landvetter Airport is an international airport serving the Gothenburg region in Sweden. With 4.3 million passengers in 2006 it is Sweden's second-largest airport...
is an international airport serving the Gothenburg region in Sweden. With 4.3 million passengers in 2006 it is Sweden's second-largest airport. It is operated by the Swedish Civil Aviation Administration (Luftfartsverket). The airport is named after the small town of
LandvetterLandvetter is a locality situated in Härryda Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 6,680 inhabitants in 2005.It is the second largest town in the municipality and has given its name to the international airport Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport, located 5 km east of Landvetter.The name...
, which is located in the municipality of Härryda. It is located 20 km east of Gothenburg.
Gothenburg's second international airport is
Gothenburg City AirportGothenburg City Airport or Göteborg City Airport , formerly known as Säve Flygplats, is Gothenburg's second international airport located north-west from the centre of Gothenburg on the island of Hisingen, Bohuslän, Sweden. It is located within the borders of Gothenburg Municipality, hence its...
formerly known as Säve Flygplats and Sweden's 7th largest airport. It is located within the borders of
Gothenburg MunicipalityGothenburg Municipality is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Gothenburg....
. In 2007, more than 700,000 flew from City Airport. In addition to commercial airlines, the airport is also operated by a number of rescue services, including the Swedish Coast Guard.
Sea
The Swedish company
Stena LineStena Line is one of the world's largest ferry operators, with ferry services serving Scotland, Sweden, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Norway, England, Wales, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands and Poland. Stena Line is a major unit of Stena AB, itself a part of the Stena Sphere, a grouping of Stena AB,...
operates between Gothenburg/Fredrikshavn in
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
and Gothenburg/
KielKiel is the capital and most populous city of the northern German state Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of over 236,000 .Kiel is approximately to the north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore...
in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
.
The "
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
ferry" (
Englandsfärjan) to Newcastle over Kristiansand (run by the
DanishDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
company
DFDS SeawaysDFDS A/S, an abbreviation of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab is a Danish shipping company. It is one of the world's largest ferry operators. DFDS was formed in 1866 as a merger of various minor shipping companies under the leadership of industrialist Carl Frederik Tietgen...
) ceased at the end of October 2006, after being a Gothenburg institution since the 19th century. DFDS Seaways' sister company, DFDS Tor Line, continues to run scheduled freight ships between Gothenburg and several English ports, and these have limited capacity for passengers, but not private vehicles. There are also freight ships to North America and East Asia.
Rail and intercity bus
Other major transportation hubs are
Centralstationen (
Gothenburg Central StationGothenburg Central Station is the main railway station of Gothenburg and the second largest railway station in Sweden after Stockholm Central Station. The station is situated in the district of Inom Vallgraven at Drottningtorget. The station was opened October 4, 1858.The station has got 16 tracks....
) and the
Nils Ericson TerminalThe Nils Ericson Terminal is the major bus terminal in Gothenburg, Sweden. It is placed in the city centre just next to the central railway station and across the street from the main shopping centre Nordstan. The main street and most hotels are within walking distance from the terminal.The...
with trains and buses to various destinations in Sweden, as well as connections to
Oslois the capital and largest city in Norway. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the town was largely destroyed by a fire in 1624. The Danish–Norwegian king Christian IV rebuilt the city as Christiania . Oslo, then an alternative name, became official again in 1925...
and
CopenhagenCopenhagen ; ) is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban area with a population of 1,167,569 and a metropolitan area with a population of 1,875,179...
(via
MalmöMalmö is the third most populous city in Sweden, situated in its southernmost province of Scania.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County. The administrative entity for most of the city is Malmö Municipality which has 290 007 inhabitants in eight different...
).
Freight
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 (2004).
Public transport
With over 80 km of double track the
Gothenburg tramThe Gothenburg tram network is part of the public transport system organised by Göteborgs Spårvägar AB, controlled by Västtrafik in the Swedish city of Gothenburg...
is the largest tram/light rail network in
ScandinaviaScandinavia is a geographical region in northern Europe that includes, and is named after, the Scanian Province. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark...
. The bus network, however, is almost as important. There are also some boat and ferry services. The lack of a subway is due to the soft ground on which Göteborg is situated. Tunneling is very expensive in such conditions. There is also a
commuter railGothenburg commuter rail or Göteborgs pendeltåg is the commuter rail system associated with Gothenburg, Sweden. The trains go on the main-line tracks, shared with long-distance trains and freight trains. They are operated with X11 electric multiple units.-Lines:There are two lines in the Gothenburg...
in Gothenburg servicing nearby some nearby cities and villages.
See also
- Metropolitan Gothenburg
Metropolitan Gothenburg , is a metropolitan area surrounding the city of Gothenburg in Sweden. The metropolitan region is located in Västra Götaland County, except for the municipality of Kungsbacka, which is located to the south in Halland County. As of 2005, the municipalities of Alingsås and...
- Gothenburg archipelago
- East Indiaman Götheborg
Götheborg is a sailing replica of an 18th century Swedish East Indiaman, a wooden sailing vessel. The original sank off Gothenburg, Sweden on 12 September 1745 while approaching its home harbour after returning from her third voyage to China...
- Largest European metropolitan areas
__FORCETOC__This is a list of metropolitan areas in Europe, with their population according to five different sources. The list includes metropolitan areas that have a population of over 1 million....
- Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits
This is a list of the largest cities in the European Union by population within city limits which have more than 300,000 inhabitants. It deals exclusively with the areas within city administrative boundaries as opposed to urban areas or metropolitan areas, which are generally larger in terms of...
- Tuve landslide
The Tuve landslide was a large landslide in Tuve, Gothenburg, Sweden on November 30, 1977. Some 67 houses were destroyed, killing 9, injuring about 60 and making around 600 people homeless. The slide occurred at 16.05 and was over in 5-6 minutes. The slide affected 270 000 square meters...
External links