Gothenburg

Gothenburg (

The city was named Göteborg in the city's charter in 1621

In 2009, the city council launched a new logotype for Gothenburg. Since the name "Göteborg" contains the Swedish letter "ö", they planned to make the name more "international" and "up to date" by turning the "ö" sideways. As of 2015^[update], the name is spelled "Go:teborg" on a large number of signs in the city.^[23]

History

In the

King Gustavus Adolphus (Gustaf II Adolf).^[24]

The site of the first church built in Gothenburg, subsequently destroyed by Danish invaders, is marked by a stone near the north end of the Älvsborg Bridge in the Färjenäs Park. The church was built in 1603 and destroyed in 1611.^[25] The city was heavily influenced by the Dutch, Germans, and Scots, and Dutch planners and engineers were contracted to construct the city as they had the skills needed to drain and build in the marshy areas chosen for the city. The town was designed like Dutch cities such as Amsterdam, Batavia (Jakarta) and New Amsterdam (Manhattan).^[24] The planning of the streets and canals of Gothenburg closely resembled that of Jakarta, which was built by the Dutch around the same time.^[26] The Dutchmen initially won political power, and it was not until 1652, when the last Dutch politician in the city's council died, that Swedes acquired political power over Gothenburg.^[27] During the Dutch period, the town followed Dutch town laws and Dutch was proposed as the official language in the town. Robust city walls were built during the 17th century. In 1807, a decision was made to tear down most of the city's wall. The work started in 1810 and was carried out by 150 soldiers from the Bohus regiment.^[28]

Along with the Dutch, the town also was heavily influenced by Scots who settled down in Gothenburg. Many became people of high-profile.[29] William Chalmers, the son of a Scottish immigrant, donated his fortunes to set up what later became the Chalmers University of Technology.^[30] In 1841, the Scotsman Alexander Keiller founded the Götaverken shipbuilding company that was in business until 1989.^[31] His son James Keiller donated Keiller Park to the city in 1906.^[32]

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 the city against its enemies.^[33]

In the Treaty of Roskilde (1658), Denmark–Norway ceded the Danish province of Halland, in the south, and the Norwegian province of Bohus County or Bohuslän in the north, which left Gothenburg less exposed. Gothenburg grew into a significant port and trade centre on the west coast, because it was the only city on the west coast that, along with Marstrand, was granted the rights to trade with merchants from other countries.^[27]

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 China.^[34]

The harbour developed into Sweden's main harbour for trade towards the west, and when Swedish emigration to the United States increased, Gothenburg became Sweden's main point of departure for these travellers. 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.^[35]

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).^[36][37][38] In the 20th century, major companies that developed included SKF (1907)^[39] and Volvo (1927).^[40]

Panoramic view of Gothenburg's downtown coast line

Geography

Gothenburg is located on the west coast, in southwestern Sweden, about halfway between the capital cities of

The Gothenburg Metropolitan Area (Stor-Göteborg) has 982,360 inhabitants and extends to the municipalities of Ale, Alingsås, Göteborg, Härryda, Kungälv, Lerum, Lilla Edet, Mölndal, Partille, Stenungsund, Tjörn, Öckerö within Västra Götaland County, and Kungsbacka within Halland County.^[44]

Angered, a suburb outside Gothenburg, consists of Hjällbo, Eriksbo, Rannebergen, Hammarkullen, Gårdsten, and Lövgärdet.^[45] It is a Million Programme part of Gothenburg, like Rosengård in Malmö and Botkyrka in Stockholm.^[46] Angered had about 50,000 inhabitants in 2015.^[47][?] It lies north of Gothenburg and is isolated from the rest of the city. Bergsjön is another Million Programme suburb north of Gothenburg, it has 14,000 inhabitants. Biskopsgården is the biggest multicultural suburb on the island of Hisingen, which is a part of Gothenburg but separated from the city by the river.

Gothenburg has an oceanic climate (Cfb according to the Köppen climate classification). Despite its northerly latitude, temperatures are quite mild throughout the year and warmer than places at a similar latitude such as Stockholm; this is mainly because of the moderating influence of the Gulf Stream.^[42] During the summer, daylight extends 18 hours and 5 minutes, but lasts 6 hours and 32 minutes in late December. The climate has become significantly milder in later decades, particularly in summer and winter; July temperatures used to be below Stockholm's 1961–1990 averages, but have since been warmer than that benchmark.

Summers are warm and pleasant with average high temperatures of 20 to 22 °C (68 to 72 °F) and lows of 12 to 15 °C (54 to 59 °F), but temperatures of 25–30 °C (77–86 °F) occur on many days during the summer. Winters are cold and windy with temperatures of around −1 to 4 °C (30 to 39 °F), though it rarely drops below −20 °C (−4 °F). Precipitation is regular but generally moderate throughout the year. Snow mainly occurs from December to March, but is not unusual in November and April and can sometimes occur even in October and May.^[48]

Parks and nature

Gothenburg has several parks and nature reserves ranging in size from tens of square meters to hundreds of hectares. It also has many green areas that are not designated as parks or reserves.

Selection of parks:

• Kungsparken, 13 ha (32 acres), built between 1839 and 1861, surrounds the canal that circles the city centre.^[54]
• Garden Society of Gothenburg, a park and horticultural garden, is located next to Kungsportsavenyen. Founded in 1842 by the Swedish king Carl XIV Johan and on initiative of the amateur botanist Henric Elof von Normann, the park has a noted rose garden with some 4,000 roses of 1,900 cultivars.^[55]
• Slottsskogen, 137 ha (340 acres), was created in 1874 by August Kobb. It has a free "open" zoo that includes harbor seals, penguins, horses, pigs, deer, moose, goats, and many birds. The Natural History Museum (Naturhistoriska Museet) and the city's oldest observatory are located in the park.^[55] The annual Way Out West festival is held in the park.^[56]
• Änggårdsbergens naturreservat, 320 ha (790 acres), was bought in 1840 by pharmacist Arvid Gren, and donated in 1963 to the city by Sven and Carl Gren Broberg, who stated the area must remain a nature and bird reserve. It lies partly in Mölndal.^[57]
• Delsjöområdets naturreservat, about 760 ha (1,900 acres),^[58] has been in use since the 17th century as a farming area; significant forest management was carried out in the late 19th century. Skatås gym and motionscentrum is situated here.
• Rya Skogs Naturreservat, 17 ha (42 acres), became a protected area in 1928. It contains remnants of a defensive wall built in the mid- to late-17th century.^[59]
• Keillers park was donated by James Keiller in 1906. He was the son of Scottish Alexander Keiller, who founded the Götaverken shipbuilding company.^[32][45]
• S A Hedlunds park: Sven Adolf Hedlund, newspaper publisher and politician, bought the 15 ha (37 acres) Bjurslätt farm in 1857, and in 1928 it was given to the city.
• Hisingsparken is Gothenburg's largest park.^[60]
• Flunsåsparken, built in 1950, has many free activities during the summer such as concerts and theatre.^[61]
• Gothenburg Botanical Garden, 175 ha (430 acres), opened in 1923.^[62] It won an award in 2003, and in 2006 was third in "The most beautiful garden in Europe" competition. It has around 16,000 species of plants and trees. The greenhouses contain around 4,500 species including 1,600 orchids.^[55] It is considered to be one of the most important botanical gardens in Europe with three stars in the French Guide Rouge.

Architecture

Very few buildings are left from the 17th century when the city was founded, since all but the military and royal houses were built of wood.^[63] Some structures which do survive from this early phase in the city's history are Kronhuset and the Torstenson Palace, and the fortresses Skansen Kronan^[64] and Skansen Lejonet.

The first major architecturally interesting period is the 18th century when the East India Company made Gothenburg an important trade city. Imposing stone houses in

In the 19th century, the wealthy bourgeoisie began to move outside the city walls which had protected the city. The style now was an eclectic, academic, somewhat overdecorated style which the middle-class favoured. The working class lived in the overcrowded city district Haga in wooden houses.^[66]

In the 19th century, the first comprehensive town plan after the founding of city was created, which led to the construction of the main street, Kungsportsavenyen.^[67] Perhaps the most significant type of houses of the city, Landshövdingehusen, were built in the end of the 19th century – three-storey houses with the first floor in stone and the other two in wood.^[68]

The early 20th century, characterized by the National Romantic style, was rich in architectural achievements.^[66] Masthugg Church is a noted example of the style of this period.^[69][70] In the early 1920s, on the city's 300th anniversary, the Götaplatsen square with its Neoclassical look was built.^[66]

After this, the predominant style in Gothenburg and rest of Sweden was Functionalism which especially dominated the suburbs such as Västra Frölunda and Bergsjön. The Swedish functionalist architect Uno Åhrén served as city planner from 1932 through 1943.^[66] In the 1950s, the big stadium Ullevi was built when Sweden hosted the 1958 FIFA World Cup.^[71]

The modern architecture of the city has been formed by such architects as Gert Wingårdh,^[72] who started as a Post-modernist in the 1980s.^[73]

Gustaf Adolf Square is a town square located in central Gothenburg. Noted buildings on the square include Gothenburg City Hall (formerly the stock exchange, opened in 1849) and the Nordic Classicism law court. The main canal of Gothenburg also flanks the square.^[66]

Characteristic buildings

The Gothenburg Central Station is in the centre of the city, next to Nordstan and Drottningtorget.^[74] The building has been renovated and expanded numerous times since the grand opening in October 1858. In 2003, a major reconstruction was finished which brought the 19th-century building into the 21st century expanding the capacity for trains, travellers, and shopping.^[75] Not far from the central station is the Skanskaskrapan, or more commonly known as "The Lipstick". It is 86 m (282 ft) high with 22 floors and coloured in red-white stripes. The skyscraper was designed by Ralph Erskine and built by Skanska in the late 1980s as the headquarters for the company.^[76]

By the shore of the Göta Älv at Lilla Bommen is The Göteborg Opera. It was completed in 1994. The architect Jan Izikowitz was inspired by the landscape and described his vision as "Something that makes your mind float over the squiggling landscape like the wings of a seagull."^[77]

The Gunnebo House is a country house located to the south of Gothenburg, in Mölndal. It was built in a neoclassical architecture towards the end of the 18th century.^[80] Created in the early 1900s was the Vasa Church. It is located in Vasastan and is built of granite in a neo-Romanesque style.^[81]

Another noted construction is

The sea, trade, and industrial history of the city are evident in the cultural life of Gothenburg.^[83] It is also a popular destination for tourists on the Swedish west coast.

Museums

Many of the cultural institutions, as well as hospitals and the university, were created by donations from rich merchants and industrialists, for example the Röhsska Museum.^[84] On 29 December 2004, the Museum of World Culture opened near Korsvägen.^[85][86] Museums include the Göteborgs Konsthall, Gothenburg Museum of Art, and several museums of sea and navigation history, natural history, the sciences, and East India.^[87] Aeroseum, close to the Göteborg City Airport, is an aircraft museum in a former military underground air force base.^[88] The Volvo museum has exhibits of the history of Volvo and the development from 1927 until today. Products shown include cars, trucks, marine engines, and buses.^[89]

Universeum is a public science centre that opened in 2001, the largest of its kind in Scandinavia. It is divided into six sections, each containing experimental workshops and a collection of reptiles, fish, and insects.^[90] Universeum occasionally host debates between Swedish secondary-school students and Nobel Prize laureates or other scholars.^[91]

Leisure and entertainment

The most noted attraction is the amusement park Liseberg, located in the central part of the city. It is the largest amusement park in Scandinavia by number of rides,^[92] and was chosen as one of the top ten amusement parks in the world (2005) by Forbes.^[93] It is the most popular attraction in Sweden by number of visitors per year (more than 3 million).^[94]

There are a number of independent theatre ensembles in the city, besides institutions such as Gothenburg City Theatre, Backa Theatre (youth theatre), and Folkteatern.^[95]

The main boulevard is called Kungsportsavenyn (commonly known as Avenyn, "The Avenue"). It is about 1 km (0.6 mi) long and starts at Götaplatsen – which is the location of the Gothenburg Museum of Art, the city's theatre, and the city library, as well as the concert hall – and stretches all the way to Kungsportsplatsen in the old city centre of Gothenburg, crossing a canal and a small park.^[96] 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 remodelling.^[97] Avenyn has Gothenburg's highest concentration of pubs and clubs. Gothenburg's largest shopping centre (8th largest in Sweden), Nordstan, is located in central Gothenburg.^[98]

Gothenburg's Haga district is known for its picturesque wooden houses^[94] and its cafés serving the well-known Haga bulle – a large cinnamon roll similar to the kanelbulle.^[99]

Five Gothenburg restaurants have a star in the 2008 Michelin Guide: 28 +, Basement, Fond, Kock & Vin, Fiskekrogen, and Sjömagasinet.^[100] The city has a number of star chefs – over the past decade, seven of the Swedish Chef of the Year awards have been won by people from Gothenburg.^[101]

The Gustavus Adolphus pastry, eaten every 6 November in Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus Day, is especially connected to, and appreciated in, Gothenburg because the city was founded by King Gustavus Adolphus.^[102]

One of Gothenburg's most popular natural tourist attractions is the southern

The annual Gothenburg Film Festival, is the largest film festival in Scandinavia.^[13] The Gothenburg Book Fair, held each year in September.^[103] It is the largest literary festival in Scandinavia, and the second largest book fair in Europe.^[104] A radical bookfair is held at the same time at the Syndikalistiskt Forum.^[105]

The International Science Festival in Gothenburg is an annual festival since April 1997, in central Gothenburg with thought-provoking science activities for the public. The festival is visited by about 100,000 people each year.^[106] This makes it the largest popular-science event in Sweden^[107] and one of the leading popular-science events in Europe.^[108]

Citing the

Gothenburg has a diverse music community—the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra is the best-known in classical music.^[110] Gothenburg also was the birthplace of the Swedish composer Kurt Atterberg.^[111] The first internationally successfully Swedish group, instrumental rock group The Spotnicks came from Gothenburg.^[112]

Bands such as The Soundtrack of Our Lives^[113] and Ace of Base are well-known pop representatives of the city. During the 1970s, Gothenburg had strong roots in the Swedish progressive movement (progg) with such groups as Nationalteatern, Nynningen, and Motvind. The record company Nacksving and the editorial office for the magazine Musikens Makt which also were part of the progg movement were located in Gothenburg during this time as well.^[114]

There is also an active indie scene in Gothenburg. For example, the musician Jens Lekman was born in the suburb of Angered^[115] and named his 2007 release Night Falls Over Kortedala after another suburb, Kortedala.^[116] Other internationally acclaimed indie artists include the electro pop duos Studio,^[117] The Knife,^[118] Air France,^[119] The Tough Alliance,^[120] indie rock band Love is All, songwriter José González,^[121] and pop singer El Perro del Mar,^[122] as well as genre-bending quartet Little Dragon fronted by vocalist Yukimi Nagano.^[123] Another son of the city is one of Sweden's most popular singers, Håkan Hellström, who often includes many places from the city in his songs.^[124][125] The glam rock group Supergroupies derives from Gothenburg.^[126]

Gothenburg's own commercially successful At the Gates, In Flames, and Dark Tranquillity are credited with pioneering melodic death metal.^[127] Other well-known bands of the Gothenburg scene are thrash metal band The Haunted,^[128] progressive power metal band Evergrey,^[129] and power metal bands HammerFall and Dream Evil.^[130]

Many music festivals take place in the city every year. The Metaltown Festival was a two-day festival featuring heavy metal music bands, held in Gothenburg. It used to be arranged annually since 2004, taking place at the Frihamnen venue.^[131] In June 2012, the festival included bands such as In Flames, Marilyn Manson, Slayer, Lamb of God, and Mastodon.^[132] Another popular festival, Way Out West, focuses more on rock, electronic, and hip-hop genres.^[133][134]

Sports

As in all of Sweden, a variety of sports are followed, including football, ice hockey, basketball, handball, floorball, baseball, and figure skating. A varied amateur and professional sports clubs scene exists.^[135]

Gothenburg is the birthplace of

The city's most notable sports venues are Scandinavium,^[146] and Ullevi (multisport) and the newly built Gamla Ullevi^[147] (football).

The 2003 World Allround Speed Skating Championships were held in Rudhallen, Sweden's only indoor speed-skating arena.^[148] It is a part of Ruddalens IP, which also has a bandy field and several football fields.^[149]

The only Swedish heavyweight champion of the world in boxing, Ingemar Johansson, who took the title from Floyd Paterson in 1959, was from Gothenburg.^[150]

Gothenburg has hosted a number of international sporting events including the

Gothenburg hosted the XIII FINA World Masters Championships in 2010.^[162] Diving, swimming, synchronized swimming and open-water competitions were held on 28 July to 7 August. The water polo events were played on the neighboring city of Borås.^[163]

Gothenburg is also home to the Gothenburg Sharks, a professional baseball team in the Elitserien division of baseball in Sweden.^[164]

With around 25,000 sailboats and yachts scattered about the city, sailing is a popular sports activity in the region, particularly because of the nearby Gothenburg archipelago.

The Gothenburg Amateur Diving Club (Göteborgs amatördykarklubb) has been operating since October 1938.

Economy

Due to 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 Scandinavia.^[11]

Apart from trade, the second pillar of Gothenburg has traditionally been manufacturing and industry, which significantly contributes to the city's wealth.^[168] Major companies operating plants in the area include SKF, Volvo (both cars and trucks), and Ericsson. Volvo Cars 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.^[169][170]

Banking and finance are also important, as well as the event and tourist industry.^[11]

Gothenburg is the terminus of the Valdemar-Göteborg gas

Gothenburg became a city municipality with an elected city council when the first Swedish local government acts were implemented in 1863.^[176] The municipality has an assembly consisting of 81 members,^[177] elected every fourth year.^[178] Political decisions depend on citizens considering them legitimate. Political legitimacy can be based on various factors: legality, due process, and equality before the law, as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of public policy. One method used to achieve greater legitimacy for controversial policy reforms such as congestion charges is to allow citizens to decide or advise on the issue in public referendums.

In December 2010 a petition for a local referendum on the congestion tax, signed by 28,000 citizens, was submitted to the City Council. This right to submit so-called "people's initiatives" was inscribed in the Local Government Act, which obliged local governments to hold a local referendum if petitioned by 5% of the citizens unless the issue was deemed to be outside their area of jurisdiction or if a majority in the City Council voted against holding such a referendum.^[179] A second petition for a referendum, signed by 57,000 citizens, was submitted to the local government in February 2013. This petition followed a campaign organised by a local newspaper – Göteborgs Tidningen – whose editor-in-chief argued that the paper's involvement was justified by the large public response to a series of articles on the congestion tax, as well as out of concern for the local democracy.^[180][179]

Largest groups of foreign residents[181]
Foreign born	Population (2021)
Iraq	12,999
Iran	12,902
Somalia	9,756
Syria	8,839
India	7,639
Bosnia	7,151
Poland	5,901
Finland	5,539
Turkey	5,382
China	4,315
Afghanistan	3,685
Germany	3,117
Romania	2,975
Lebanon	2,691
Ethiopia	2,474

In 2019, approximately 28% (159,342 residents) of the population of Gothenburg were foreign born and approximately 46% (265,019 residents) had at least one parent born abroad.^[182] In addition, approximately 12% (69,263 residents) were foreign citizens.^[183]

In 2016, 45% of Gothenburg's immigrant population is from other parts of Europe, and 10% of the total population is from another Nordic country.^[184]

Education

Gothenburg has two universities, both of which started as colleges founded by private donations in the 19th century. The University of Gothenburg has about 38,000 students and is one of the largest universities in Scandinavia,^[185] and one of the most versatile in Sweden. Chalmers University of Technology is a well-known university located in Johanneberg 2 km (1 mi) south of the inner city, lately also established at Lindholmen in Norra Älvstranden, Hisingen.^[186]

In 2015, there were ten adult education centres in Gothenburg: Agnesbergs folkhögskola, Arbetarrörelsens folkhögskola i Göteborg, Finska folkhögskolan, Folkhögskolan i Angered, Göteborgs folkhögskola, Kvinnofolkhögskolan, Mo Gård folkhögskola, S:ta Birgittas folkhögskola, Västra Götalands folkhögskolor and Wendelsbergs folkhögskola.^[187]

In 2015, there were 49

Public transport

With over 80 km (50 mi) of double track, the Gothenburg tram network covers most of the city and is the largest tram/light rail network in Scandinavia. Gothenburg also has a bus network. Boat and ferry services connect the Gothenburg archipelago to the mainland. The lack of a subway is due to the soft ground on which Gothenburg is situated. Tunneling is very expensive in such conditions.^[189]

The Gothenburg commuter rail with three lines services some nearby cities and towns.^[190]

Public transport on the Göta älv river is operated on the Älvsnabben ferry line, operated by Styrsöbolaget on a commission from Västtrafik.

Rail and intercity bus

Other major transportation hubs are Centralstationen (Gothenburg Central Station) and the Nils Ericson Terminal with trains and buses to various destinations in Sweden, as well as connections to Oslo and Copenhagen (via Malmö).^[191]

Air