Gothenburg

Gothenburg is the second city of Sweden with approximately 500 000 inhabitants. The city is located on the Swedish west coast and is a central point in Scandinavia, right in the middle between three capital cities; Stockholm, Oslo and Copenhagen.

Due to hard battles with Denmark the Swedish king at the time, Gustav II Adolf founded the city Göteborg in 1621 to secure the important coast area that enabled trade to the west. The city was designed by Dutch architects who gave Gothenburg the structure of straight streets separated by canals and green parks.

Gothenburg is strongly characterised by water and the closeness to the sea. The river Göta connects the largest lake in Sweden, Vänern, with the sea in the port of Gothenburg. This has been of great importance for the development of Swedish industry and trade, due to good transportation possibilities. Many important and world famous companies derive from Gothenburg, for example VOLVO and SKF, and other big companies are located here, for example Ericsson and Astra Zeneca.

Today, Gothenburg is a Scandinavian centre of events and happenings, especially in the summers. The world’s largest youth football tournament Gothia Cup is played here every year, and the summer of 2006 Gothenburg hosted the European Athletics Championship. The city also offers the largest amusement park in Scandinavia, Liseberg, and many interesting museums, for example the Museum of World Culture.

Gothenburg is a large town with an atmosphere of a small town, with most of the cultural institutions and shopping just a few minutes walk away. The city is surrounded by a green countryside and a beautiful archipelago.