Đến cảng Gothenburg rồi
Göteborg (trợ giúp·chi tiết)) /jœte'bɔrj/) là thành phố lớn thứ nhì ở Thụy Điển, sau thủ đô Stockholm, là thành phố lớn thứ 5 trong các quốc gia Nord.
Thành phố toạ lạc ở bờ biển tây nam Thuỵ Điển, dân số nội thành năm
2005 là 510.491, tổng dân số ở vùng đô thị là 906.691 người.[1]
Thành phố này được vua Gustavus Adolphus của Thụy Điển lập năm 1621. Thành phố nằm bên biển, tại cửa sông Göta Älv - một con sông chảy qua thành phố này, là hải cảng lớn nhất của các nước Bắc Âu.[3] Thành phố này có nhiều sinh viên do ở đây có Đại học Göteborg (đại học lớn nhất vùng Scandinavia) và Đại học Công nghệ Chalmers. Göteborg có Sân bay thành phố Göteborg.
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Gothenburg
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gothenburg, Sweden
Göteborg |
From left to right: View over Gothenburg and the Göta älv, Götaplatsen, Svenska Mässan, Gothenburg heritage tram, Elfsborg Fortress, Ullevi. |
Nickname(s): Little London
Little Amsterdam, |
|
|
Coordinates:  57°42′N 11°58′ECoordinates: 57°42′N 11°58′E |
| Country |
Sweden |
| Province |
Västergötland and Bohuslän |
| County |
Västra Götaland County |
| Municipality |
Gothenburg Municipality,
Härryda Municipality,
Partille Municipality and
Mölndal Municipality |
| Charter |
1621 |
| Area[1] |
| • City |
447.76 km2 (172.88 sq mi) |
| • Water |
14.5 km2 (5.6 sq mi) 3.2% |
| • Urban |
203.67 km2 (78.64 sq mi) |
| • Metro |
3,694.86 km2 (1,426.59 sq mi) |
| Elevation |
12 m (39 ft) |
| Population (2013 (urban: 2010))[1][2] |
| • City |
533,260 |
| • Density |
1,200/km2 (3,100/sq mi) |
| • Urban |
549,839 |
| • Urban density |
2,700/km2 (7,000/sq mi) |
| • Metro |
956,118 |
| • Metro density |
260/km2 (670/sq mi) |
| Demonym |
Gothenburger (Göteborgare) |
| Time zone |
CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) |
CEST (UTC+2) |
| Postal code |
40xxx - 41xxx - 421xx - 427xx |
| Area code(s) |
(+46) 31 |
| Website |
www.goteborg.se |
Gothenburg (
Swedish:
Göteborg,
pronounced [jœtəˈbɔrj] (
listen)) is the second largest city in
Sweden and the fifth largest in the
Nordic countries. Situated by the
Kattegat,
on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of
533,260, with 549,839 in the urban area and 956,118 inhabitants in the
metropolitan area.
[1] Gothenburg is classified as a
global city by
GaWC, with a ranking of Gamma−.
[3] The city was ranked as the 12th most inventive city in the world by
Forbes, and third in Sweden after
Malmö and
Stockholm.
[4]
Gothenburg was founded by
royal charter in 1621 by
King Gustavus Adolphus. At the mouth of the
Göta älv, the
Port of Gothenburg is the largest port in the Nordic countries.
[5]
Gothenburg is home to many students, as the city includes both the
University of Gothenburg and
Chalmers University of Technology.
Volvo was founded in Gothenburg in 1927.
[6] The city is a major centre in Sweden for sports and home to the
IFK Göteborg,
BK Häcken,
GAIS and
Örgryte IS association football teams as well as the
Frölunda HC ice hockey team.
Gothenburg is served by
Göteborg Landvetter Airport, located 30 km (18.64 mi) southeast of the city centre, and by
Göteborg City Airport, located 15 km (9.32 mi) from the city centre.
The city is known for hosting some of the largest annual events in Scandinavia. The
Göteborg International Film Festival, held in January since 1979, is the leading film festival in Scandinavia with over 155,000 visitors annually.
[7] During the summer a broad variety of music festivals take place, such as
Way Out West and
Metaltown.
Gothia Cup,
held every year in Gothenburg, is in regards to the number of
participants the world's largest football tournament: in 2011, a total
of 35,200 players from 1567 teams and 72 nations participated.
Name
The city was named after the
Geats (Swedish:
Götar varied: Geatas, Gautar,
Goths, Gotar, Gøtar, Götar), the inhabitants of Gothia, now southern Sweden—i.e.,
"Geat Castle".
[8] The river on which the city sits is the
Göta älv or Gothia River.
Göta borg "Gothia Fortress" is the fort on the Göta River, built to protect the port.
In
Dutch,
Scots, and English, all being languages with a long history of being spoken in this trade and maritime-oriented city, the name
Gothenburg is used for the city. The French form of the city name is
Gothembourg but in the French texts, the Swedish name
Göteborg is more frequent.
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
Göteborgsoperan and the Göteborg Ballet. However,
Göteborgs universitet, previously designated as Göteborg University in English, changed to the
University of Gothenburg in 2008.
[9] The municipality of Gothenburg has also reverted to the use of the English name in international contexts.
[10] Other old variations in Swedish are
Götheborgh, and the more common,
Götheborg. One English text written in the late 15th century states the name as "
Guthaeborg".
[citation needed].
History
In the
early modern period, the configuration of Sweden's borders made Gothenburg strategically critical as the only Swedish gateway to the
North Sea and
Atlantic, lying on the west coast in a very narrow strip of Swedish territory between Danish
Halland to the south and Norwegian
Bohuslen to the north. After several failed attempts, Gothenburg was successfully founded in 1621 by
King Gustavus Adolphus (Gustaf II Adolf).
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
Färjenäs park.
The church was built in 1603 and destroyed in 1611. 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 Island).
The plan of the streets and canals of Gothenburg closely resembles that
of Jakarta, which was built by the Dutch around the same time.
[11]
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.
[12]
During the Dutch period the town followed Dutch town laws and there
were propositions to make Dutch the official language in the town. Heavy
city walls were built during the 17th century. These city walls were
torn down after about 1810, because the development of
cannons made such walls less valuable as a defence.
[citation needed]
Along with the Dutch, the town also was heavily influenced by Scots
who came to settle in Gothenburg. Many became people of high profile.
William Chalmers was the son of a Scottish immigrant and donated his fortunes to set up what later became
Chalmers University of Technology. In 1841 the Scotsman
Alexander Keiller founded the
Götaverken shipbuilding company that still exists today. His son James Keiller donated Keiller Park to the city in 1906.
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 against its enemies.
Swedes emigrating to the Americas from Gothenburg
In the
Treaty of Roskilde (1658)
Denmark-Norway ceded the then Danish province
Halland, to the south, and the Norwegian province of Bohus County or
Bohuslän
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
Marstrand, the rights to trade with merchants from other countries.
[12]
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.
The harbour developed into Sweden's main harbour for trade towards
the west, and with Swedish emigration to the United States 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, Nebraska, a small Swedish settlement in the United States.
[13]
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
SKF (est. 1907) and
Volvo (est. 1926).
Geography
Gothenburg viewed from space
Gothenburg is located on the west coast, in Southwestern Sweden, approximately half way between the capitals
Copenhagen, Denmark, and
Oslo, Norway. The location at the mouth of the river
Göta älv, which feeds into
Kattegatt, an arm of the
North Sea, has helped the city grow in significance as a
trading city. The
archipelago of Gothenburg consists of rough, barren rocks and cliffs, which also is typical for the coast of
Bohuslän. Due to the
Gulf Stream the city has a mild climate and quite a lot of rain.
The Gothenburg Metropolitan Area (
Stor-Göteborg) has 816,931 inhabitants and extends to the municipalities of
Ale,
Härryda,
Kungälv,
Lerum,
Mölndal,
Partille,
Stenungsund,
Tjörn,
Öckerö in
Västra Götaland County, and
Kungsbacka in
Halland County.
View from Älvsborg Bridge
Angered, a suburb outside Gothenburg, consists of Hjällbo, Rannebergen, Hammarkullen, Gårdsten and Lövgärdet. It is a
Million Programme part of Gothenburg, like
Rosengård in Malmö and
Botkyrka
in Stockholm. Angered has 40,000 inhabitants in total. It lies north
from Gothenburg and is isolated from the rest of the city.
Bergsjön
is another Million Programme suburb north of Gothenburg, Bergsjön has
14,000 inhabitants. Biskopsgården is the biggest multicultural suburb on
the island
Hisingen, which is a part of Gothenburg separated by the river.
Climate
Gothenburg has an
oceanic climate according to
Köppen climate classification.
Despite its 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 Stream.
[citation needed] During the summer, daylight extends 18 hours and 5 minutes, but lasts 6 hours and 32 minutes in late December.
Summers are warm and pleasant with average high temperatures of 19 to
20 °C (66 to 68 °F) and lows of 10 to 12 °C (50 to 54 °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 −5 to
3 °C (23 to 37 °F), even though it rarely drops below −15 °C (5 °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.
Typical temperatures and precipitation for each month:
[14]
| [hide]Climate data for Gothenburg |
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
| Record high °C (°F) |
10
(50) |
10
(50) |
19
(66) |
28
(82) |
30
(86) |
34
(93) |
34
(93) |
34
(93) |
29
(84) |
21
(70) |
13
(55) |
10
(50) |
34
(93) |
| Average high °C (°F) |
1
(34) |
1
(34) |
5
(41) |
9
(48) |
16
(61) |
19
(66) |
20
(68) |
20
(68) |
16
(61) |
11
(52) |
6
(43) |
3
(37) |
10.5
(50.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) |
−1.5
(29.3) |
−2.0
(28.4) |
1.5
(34.7) |
5.0
(41) |
11.0
(51.8) |
14.5
(58.1) |
16.0
(60.8) |
16.0
(60.8) |
12.0
(53.6) |
8.5
(47.3) |
3.5
(38.3) |
0.0
(32) |
7.04
(44.68) |
| Average low °C (°F) |
−4
(25) |
−5
(23) |
−2
(28) |
1
(34) |
6
(43) |
10
(50) |
12
(54) |
12
(54) |
8
(46) |
6
(43) |
1
(34) |
−3
(27) |
3.4
(38.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) |
−26
(−15) |
−26
(−15) |
−19
(−2) |
−10
(14) |
−4
(25) |
1
(34) |
6
(43) |
2
(36) |
−3
(27) |
−7
(19) |
−16
(3) |
−22
(−8) |
−26
(−15) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) |
62
(2.44) |
41
(1.61) |
50
(1.97) |
42
(1.65) |
51
(2.01) |
61
(2.4) |
68
(2.68) |
77
(3.03) |
81
(3.19) |
84
(3.31) |
84
(3.31) |
75
(2.95) |
776
(30.55) |
| Avg. precipitation days |
15 |
12 |
10 |
12 |
10 |
12 |
14 |
14 |
16 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
163 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours |
40 |
71 |
126 |
182 |
241 |
266 |
243 |
220 |
143 |
94 |
58 |
38 |
1,722 |
| Source: climatedata[15] |
Parks and nature
Gothenburg has several parks and nature reserves ranging in size from
tens of metres to hundreds of hectares. There are also many green areas
which are not designated parks or reserves.
Selection of parks:
- Kungsparken. 13 hectares, built between 1839–1861. Surrounds the canal that circles the city centre.
- Trädgårdsföreningen. A park and horticultural garden, it is located next to Kungsportsavenyn.
Founded in 1842 by the Swedish king Carl XIV Johan and on initiative of
the amateur botanist Henric Elof von Normann. In the park there is an
acclaimed rose garden with some 4,000 roses of 1,900 species.
- Slottsskogen. 137 hectares, Created in 1874 by August Kobb. Has a free "open" zoo that includes Harbor seals, penguins, horses, pigs, deer, moose, goats and many birds. Hosts the Way Out West Festival.
- Änggårdsbergens Naturreservat. 220 hectares. Bought in 1840 by Arvid
Gren, a pharmacist, in 1963 donated to the city by Sven and Carl Gren
Broberg who stated the area must remain a nature and bird reserve. Lies
partly in Mölndal.
- Delsjöområdets Naturreservat. Approx. 760 hectares. In use since
17th century as a farming area, a lot of forest management was carried
out in the late 19th century. Skatås gym & motionscentrum is
situated here.
- Rya Skogs Naturreservat. 17 hectares, in 1928 became a protected area. Contains remnants of a defensive wall built in the mid to late 17th century.
- Keillers Park. James Keiller donated the park in 1906. He was the son of Scottish Alexander Keiller who founded Götaverken, a shipbuilding company.
- S.A. Hedlunds Park. Sven Adolf Hedlund, newspaper publisher and politician bought the 15 hectare Bjurslätt farm in 1857, in 1928 it was given to the city.
- Hisingsparken. Gothenburg's biggest park.
- Flunsåsparken. Built in 1950. Has many free activities during the summer such as concerts and theatre. See links.
- Gothenburg Botanical Garden.
175 hectares. Opened in 1923. Won an award in 2003 and in 2006 was 3rd
in "The most beautiful garden in Europe" competition. Around 16,000
species of plant and tree. The greenhouses contain around 4500 species
including 1600 orchids.
Culture
The Poseidon Statue at
Götaplatsen remains a well-known cultural symbol and landmark.
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
Liseberg
(see Points 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.
The
Universeum
is a public science centre that opened in 2001, the largest of such a
kind in Scandinavia. It is divided into six sections, each containing
experiment workshops and a collection of reptiles, fish and insects. The
Universeum occasionally gives Swedish secondary school students a
chance to debate with
Nobel prize-winners and professors.
There are many free theatre ensembles in the city, besides institutions like
Gothenburg City Theatre,
Backa Theatre (youth theatre), and
Folkteatern. On 29 December 2004, the
Museum of World Culture was opened in Gothenburg, located near
Korsvägen.
The
Göteborg International Film Festival, held each year, is the largest film festival in Scandinavia.
[16] Similarly, the
Gothenburg Book Fair, held every year in September, is the largest such event in Scandinavia.
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.
[17] This makes it the largest popular science event in
Sweden[18] and one of the largest popular science events in
Europe.
[19]
Citing the
Financial Crisis the
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions has announced that Gothenburg will host the 2010 World Library and Information Congress,
[20] previously to be held in
Brisbane, Australia.
Architecture
Many buildings in the old part of the city were built along canals
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.
[21] A rare exception is
Skansen Kronan.
The first major architecturally interesting period is the 18th century when the
East India Company made Gothenburg an important trade city. Imposing stone houses with a
Classical look were erected around the canals. One example from this period is the East India House, which today houses Gothenburg’s
City Museum.
[citation needed]
In the 19th century, the wealthy bourgeoisie began to move outside
the city walls which had protected the city when the Union of Denmark
and Norway was still a threat.
[citation needed]
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
Haga 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,
Kungsportsavenyn. The perhaps 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.
The early 20th century, characterized by the
National Romantic style, was rich in architectural achievements.
[citation needed] Masthugget Church stands out as one of the architectural monuments of this period. In the early 1920s, on the city's 300th anniversary, the
Götaplatsen square with its
Neoclassical look was built.
After this the predominant style in Gothenburg and rest of Sweden was
Functionalism which especially dominated the suburbs like
Västra Frölunda and
Bergsjön. The prominent Swedish functionalist architect
Uno Åhrén served as the city planner here from 1932 through 1943. In the 1950s, the big stadium
Ullevi was erected when Sweden hosted the
1958 FIFA World Cup.
The modern architecture of the city is being formed by such architects as
Gert Wingårdh who started as a
Post-Modernist in the 1980s.
[citation needed]
A further remarkable construction is
Brudaremossen TV Tower, one of the few
partially guyed towers in the world.
Characteristic buildings
The
Gothenburg Central Station
is in the heart of the city, just next to Nordstan and Drottningtorget.
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. Not far from
the central station is
Skanskaskrapan,
or more common known as "The Lipstick". It is 86 meters 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.
By the shore of Göta älv is the
Gothenburg 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."
Feskekôrka, or
Fiskhallen,
[22] is a fishmarket by the
Rosenlundskanalen in the heart of Gothenburg. Feskekôrkan was opened on 1 November 1874 and the name comes from being compared with a church.
The
Gothenburg Law Court is in the
Beaux-Arts.
The
Gothenburg Synagogue at Stora Nygatan, near
Drottningtorget, was built in 1855 according to the designs of the German architect
August Krüger.
Music
Gothenburg has a diverse music community—the
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra is the best known when it comes to classical music. Gothenburg also was the birthplace of the Swedish composer
Kurt Atterberg. Bands like
The Soundtrack of Our Lives and
Ace of Base are well known pop representatives of the city. There is also an active indie scene. For example, the musician
Jens Lekman was born in the suburb of
Angered and named his 2007 release
Night Falls Over Kortedala after another suburb (
Kortedala). Other internationally acclaimed indie artists include the electro pop duos
Studio,
The Knife,
Air France,
The Tough Alliance, songwriter
José González and pop singer
El Perro Del Mar as well as genre bending quartet
Little Dragon fronted by vocalist
Yukimi Nagano. 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. The
glam rock group
Supergroupies derives from Gothenburg.
Gothenburg's own commercially successful
At the Gates,
In Flames, and
Dark Tranquillity are credited with pioneering
melodic death metal, but in fact bands such as
Eucharist (band) from the Gothenburg suburb Veddige, and
Ceremonial Oath came first. Other well known bands of the Gothenburg scene are thrash metal band
The Haunted, progressive power metal band
Evergrey and power metal bands
HammerFall and
Dream Evil.
There are many music festivals that take place in the city every year. The
Metaltown Festival is a two-day festival featuring
heavy metal music
bands, held in Gothenburg. It has been arranged annually since 2004,
taking place at the Frihamnen venue. The previous festival in June 2012,
included bands such as
In Flames,
Marilyn Manson,
Slayer,
Lamb of God, and
Mastodon. Another popular festival,
Way Out West, focuses more on
rock,
electronic and
hip-hop genres.
The 3D-animated anthropomorphic blue frog known as
Crazy Frog
originally hails from Gothenburg as well. The eurodance act marketed to
kids gained some brief success on several international music charts in
the mid-
noughties.
Food and drink
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 Gothenburgers.
[23] A popular place to buy fish ingredients is the
Feskekôrka ("Fish Church"); an indoor fish market which got its name from the building's resemblance to a
Gothic church. Five Gothenburg restaurants have a star in the 2008
Michelin Guide:
28 +,
Basement,
Fond,
Kock & Vin,
Fiskekrogen and
Sjömagasinet.
[24]
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.
Sports
Ullevi Stadium, the second largest outdoor sports arena in Scandinavia
With around 20,000 sailboats and yachts scattered about the city,
sailing is a popular sports activity in the region, particularly because
of the nearby
Gothenburg Archipelago.
As in all of Sweden, a variety of sports are followed, including but not limited to
football,
ice hockey, basketball,
team handball, baseball, and
figure skating. There is a varied amateur and professional sports clubs scene.
Gothenburg is the birthplace of
football in Sweden as the
first football match in Sweden was played there in 1892. The city's three major football clubs,
IFK Göteborg,
Örgryte IS and
GAIS share a total of 34 Swedish Championships between them. IFK has also won the
UEFA Cup twice. Other notable clubs include
BK Häcken (
football),
Pixbo Wallenstam IBK (
floorball), multiple national
team handball champion
Redbergslids IK, and three time national ice hockey champion
Frölunda HC, Gothenburg has also a professional basketball team
Gothia Basket. The
bandy department of GAIS,
GAIS Bandy, played the first season in the highest division
Elitserien last season. The group stage match between the main rivals
Sweden and
Russia in the
Bandy World Championship for men 2013 was played at
Arena Heden in central Gothenburg.
[25]
The city's most notable sports venues are
Scandinavium (
ice hockey), and
Ullevi (multisport) and the new-built
Gamla Ullevi[26] (
football).
The
2003 World Allround Speed Skating Championships were held in Rudhallen,
Sweden's only indoor speed skating arena. It's a part of Ruddalens IP, which also has a
bandy field and several football fields.
The one and only Swedish heavyweight champion of the world in boxing,
Ingemar Johansson, who took the title from Floyd Paterson in 1959, was from Gothenburg.
Gothenburg has hosted a number of international sporting events including the
1958 FIFA World Cup, the
1983 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, an
NFL preseason game on 14 August 1988 between the
Chicago Bears and the
Minnesota Vikings, the
1992 European Football Championship, the 1993 and the 2002
World Men's Handball Championship, the
1995 World Championships in Athletics, the 1997 World Championships in Swimming (Short track), the 2002
Ice Hockey World Championships, the 2004
UEFA Cup final, the
2006 European Championships in Athletics, and the
2008 World Figure Skating Championships. Annual events held in the city are the
Gothia Cup and the
Göteborgsvarvet.
Gothenburg hosted the XIII
FINA World Masters Championships 2010.
[27]
Diving, swimming, synchronized swimming and open water competitions
took place from 28 July to 7 August. The water polo events were played
on the neighboring city of
Borås.
Gothenburg is also home to the Gothenburg Sharks, a professional
baseball team in the Elitserien (highest) Division of baseball in
Sweden.
In June 2015, the Volvo Ocean Race, professional sailing's leading crewed offshore race, will conclude in Gothenburg.
Economy
Fireworks at the opening ceremony of Gothia Cup.
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
Scandinavia.
[5]
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
SKF,
Volvo, 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.
Banking and finance are also important trades as well as the event and tourist industry.
[5]
Gothenburg is the terminus of the Valdemar-Göteborg gas
pipeline, which brings natural gas from the
North Sea fields to Sweden, through Denmark.
[28]
Historically, Gothenburg was home base of the 18th century
Swedish East India Company 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 AB,
Götaverken,
Arendalsvarvet and
Lindholmens varv.
Government
Demographics
Gothenburg has an ethnic
Swedish population of approximately 78%.
[29] Like most Swedish metropolitan areas the city has a sizeable immigrant population.
[30] According to Statistics Sweden in 2005, there are 108,480 immigrants resident in Gothenburg,
[31] which is about 22% of the population, out of which 10% are from
Iran, 9% from
Iraq and 7% from
Finland.
[29]
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
Scandinavia[32] 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.
[33]
There are also four
folk high schools (
Arbetarrörelsens Folkhögskola i Göteborg,
Folkhögskolan i Angered,
Göteborgs Folkhögskola, and
Kvinnofolkhögskolan).
Gothenburg has some 25–30
high schools. Three of the more notable schools are
Sigrid Rudebecks gymnasium,
Hvitfeldtska gymnasiet and
Göteborgs Högre Samskola.
There are also some high-schools connected to big Swedish companies.
One is SKF Technical high-school (belonging to SKF) and Gothenburg's
technical high-school (belonging to Volvo). There is an
International school with campuses in Guldheden and central Gothenburg called the
International School of the Gothenburg Region.
Points of interest
Liseberg, the largest amusement park in Scandinavia, chosen as one of the top ten amusement parks in the world (2005) by
Forbes.
[34]
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
Kungsportsavenyn (commonly known as
Avenyn, "The Avenue"). It is about one kilometre (0.62 miles) long and starts at
Götaplatsen — which is the location of the
Gothenburg Museum of Art, the city's theatre, the city library as well as the concert hall— and stretches out all the way to
Kungsportsplatsen 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.
[35] Avenyn has Gothenburg's highest concentration of pubs and clubs.
Gustaf Adolf Square
is a located in central Gothenburg. Interesting 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.
Scandinavia's largest shopping centre,
Nordstan, is located in central Gothenburg. Gothenburg's
Haga district is known for its picturesque wooden houses and its cafés.
The
Gothenburg Opera house was inaugurated in 1994, and is an architectural landmark situated right next to the
Göta älv river. Museums include the
Gothenburg Museum of Art,
Göteborgs Konsthall,
Röhss Museum, and several museums of sea and navigation history, natural history, the sciences, and East India. The
Museum of World Culture[36] was inaugurated in 2004.
Aeroseum, close to the
Göteborg City Airport, is a unique aircraft museum in a former military under ground Air Force base.
The
Gothenburg Botanical Garden[37] is considered to be one of the most important
botanical gardens in Europe with three stars in the French Guide Rouge. Next to the botanical garden is Gothenburg's largest park,
Slottsskogen, where the Natural History Museum (
Naturhistoriska Museet) is located. The park is also home to the city's oldest observatory and a zoo.
The amusement park
Liseberg is located in the central part of the city. Liseberg is
Scandinavia's largest amusement park by number of rides,
[38]
and the most popular attraction in Sweden by number of visitors per
year (more than 3 million). Located near Liseberg is a science discovery
centre named
Universeum.
One of Gothenburg's most popular natural tourist attractions is the
Southern Gothenburg Archipelago,
which is a set of several picturesque islands that can be reached by
ferry boats mainly operating from Saltholmen. Within the archipelago
Älvsborg Fortress,
Vinga and
Styrsö islands are popular places to visit.
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.
Created in the early 1900s was the
Vasa Church. It is located in
Vasastan and is built of granite in a Neo-Romanesque style.
The
Volvo museum has exhibits of the history of
Volvo and the development from 1927 until today. Products shown range from cars, trucks, marine engines, buses, etc.
Transport
Map showing the locations of airports around Gothenburg
Air
There are two
international airports around Gothenburg:
- Göteborg Landvetter Airport (IATA: GOT, ICAO: ESGG)
is located 20 km (12 mi) east of Gothenburg, and is the largest
international airport serving the Gothenburg region in Sweden. With
4.9 million passengers in 2011 it is Sweden's second-largest airport. It
is operated by the Swedish Civil Aviation Administration
(Luftfartsverket). It has connections with about 40 scheduled
destinations.
- Göteborg City Airport (IATA: GSE, ICAO: ESGP) is located 10 km (6 mi) northwest of the city centre. It was formerly known as Säve Flygplats, and today it is Gothenburg's second international airport and Sweden's 7th largest airport.[39] It is located within the borders of Gothenburg Municipality.
In addition to commercial airlines, the airport is also operated by a
number of rescue services, including the Swedish Coast Guard, and is
used for other general aviation. Most civil air traffic to Göteborg City Airport is via low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and Wizzair. It has connections with 23 scheduled destinations.
Sea
The Swedish company
Stena Line operates between Gothenburg/
Frederikshavn in Denmark and Gothenburg/
Kiel in Germany.
The "England ferry" (
Englandsfärjan) to Newcastle over Kristiansand (run by the
Danish company
DFDS Seaways) ceased at the end of October 2006,
[40]
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 and their 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 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).
Freight
Gothenburg is an intermodal logistics hub and Gothenburg harbour has
access to Sweden and Norway via rail and trucks. Gothenburg harbour is
the largest port in Scandinavia with a cargo turnover of 36.9 million
tonnes per year in 2004.
[41]
Public transport
Gothenburg's popular
tram system covers most of the city which makes it the most extensive in Scandinavia.
With over 80 km (50 mi) of double track the
Gothenburg tram is the largest tram/light rail network in
Scandinavia.
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 Gothenburg is situated. Tunneling is very expensive in such
conditions. There is also a
commuter rail in Gothenburg servicing some nearby cities and towns.
Notable people
International relations
The
Gothenburg Award
is the city’s international prize that recognises and supports work to
achieve sustainable development – in the Gothenburg region and from a
global perspective. The award, which is one million Swedish crowns, is
administrated and funded by a coalition of the City of Gothenburg and
twelve companies.
[42] Past winners of the award have included
Kofi Annan,
Al Gore, and
Michael Biddle.
[43]
