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Gothenburg

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For other uses, see Gothenburg (disambiguation).

Gothenburg (Swedish: Göteborg [jøːtə'bɔrj]) is a city and a municipality on the western coast of Sweden, in the County of Västra Götaland. With 478,055 inhabitants in the city and 816,931 in the metropolitan area it is the second largest city in Sweden after Stockholm and the seat of residence for the county. In English, German and Dutch - languages with a long history of being spoken in the trade and maritime-oriented city - the name Gothenburg (with varying pronunciations) is traditionally used for the city, while the French form of the city name is Gothembourg. Without displacing these traditional forms, the use of the Swedish form Göteborg has in recent years spread to other languages.

Gothenburg is the hometown of Ingemar Johansson, world heavyweight champion of boxing, who beat Floyd Patterson in 1959. Also jazz star pianists Bengt Hallberg and Jan Johansson were born there. Among attractions the Botanic Gardens of Gothenburg should be mentioned, considered to be one of the outstanding gardens in Europe.

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History

Main article: History of Gothenburg

In the early 17th century Sweden controlled only one point on the western coastline. An attempt in 1607 to found a city by the name of Gothenburg on the nearby island of Hisingen had failed due to the Kalmar War, but the second attempt in 1621, by King Gustavus Adolphus, was successful. Following the successive wars, by 1658 all the Danish eastern provinces were ceded to Sweden, by the Treaty of Roskilde.


Starting June 15, 2001 there were heavy protests against the European Union summit. Demonstrators arrested during and after the summit were given heavy sentences. This was the topic of the documentary film Terrorister.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Gothenburg

The municipality is subdivided into 21 boroughs, which carry responsibility for primary school, social, leisure and cultural services within their respective areas. A point of some controversy is the fact that the borough councils do not reflect the local majority, but follow the majority at City Hall for the entire municipality. In the election of 1998 three boroughs -- Askim, Torslanda and Älvsborg -- held local referenda on forming their own municipalities, but their petitions were rejected by the Government of Sweden.

File:Carl Milles Poseidon 01.jpg
The statue of Poseidon by Carl Milles, at Götaplatsen.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Gothenburg

Situated on the western coast by Kattegat, an arm of the North Sea, at the outlet of the river Göta älv and Göta kanal. The Gothenburg Metropolitan Area (Stor-Göteborg) extends to the municipalities of Ale, Härryda, Kungälv, Lerum, Mölndal, Partille, Stenungsund, Tjörn, Öckerö in Västra Götaland County and Kungsbacka in Halland County.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Gothenburg

By its naturally advantageous location, Gothenburg houses the largest and most important harbor installation in Scandinavia. Trade and shipping have always been important businesses and already in the 18th century it was the home to the Swedish East India Company. Industry developed into an important business, and examples include SKF, Volvo and Ericsson.

Universities

Main article: Universities in Sweden


Heraldry

Main article: Heraldry of Gothenburg

Sites of interest

Gothenburg has a wide selection of cultural establishments, including theatres and museums. A new opera house was inaugurated in the 1990s. Museums include art, design and handicrafts, sea history, natural history, science, East India, etc. and a new museum on world culture to be inaugurated in 2004. It is also the site of Scandinavia's largest amusement park, Liseberg.

Sports

Held Events:

Planned Events:

Arenas: Scandinavium, Ullevi

Notable natives

Miscellaneous topics

Gothenburg is also noted for being the centre of the melodic death metal movement, a typically Swedish musical style, being home to such internationally known bands as At The Gates and In Flames. It is also the hip-hop capital of Sweden.

See also

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