Gothenburg

Gothenburg, or Göteborg, is a city and a municipality on the western coast of Sweden, in the county of Västra Götaland. It is the largest city in Sweden after Stockholm and the seat of residence for the county.

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.

Politics Main article: Politics of Gothenburg[?]

Boroughs Main article: Boroughs 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.

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. Nearby municipalities include Mölndal, Partille, Lerum, Kungälv and Kungsbacka.

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

• Chalmers University of Technology
• Chalmers Lindholmen University College
• Gothenburg University
• Gothenburg School of Economics and Commercial Law

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 teams

Notable natives

Miscellaneous topics Gothenberg 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.

External links

• Gothenburg (http://www.goteborg.se/) - Official City site
• Gothenburg & Co. (http://www.goteborg.com/) - Official Tourist site