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Gothenburg (Swedish: sv-Göteborg.ogg Göteborg (help·info)) /jœte'bɔrj/) is the second largest city in Sweden after Stockholm and the fifth largest amongst the Nordic countries. The city is located on the south west-coast.

Gothenburg has a population of 500,197 and 906,691 in the metropolitan area.

The City of Gothenburg was founded in 1621 by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. It is situated by the sea at the mouth of Göta Älv, the river running through the city, and is the largest sea port of the Nordic countries.[4] Gothenburg is also a significant university city with large student populations at both the University of Gothenburg, which is Scandinavia's largest university, and Chalmers University of Technology.

In the 16th and 17th century, the configuration of Sweden's borders made Gothenburg strategically important as the Swedish gateway to the west, lying on the west coast in the narrow area between the territories of Denmark-Norway. After several failed attempts, Gothenburg was successfully founded in 1621 by King Gustavus Adolphus (Gustaf II Adolf). The city was heavily influenced by the Dutch. Dutch city planners were contracted to build the city as they had the skills needed to build in the marshy areas around the city. The town was planned after Dutch cities to have canals like Amsterdam, and the blueprint for the canals of Gothenburg are actually the same as those used for Jakarta.[citation needed] The Dutchmen initially won political power and it was not until 1652, when the last Dutch politician in the city's council died, that the Swedes acquired political power over Gothenburg.[7] During the Dutch period the town followed Dutch town laws and there were propositions to make Dutch the official language in the town.

Along with the Dutch, the town also was influenced by the Scottish, that came to settle down in Gothenburg. Many became people of high profile and one such person was William Chalmers, who donated his fortunes to create what later became Chalmers University of Technology. The Scottish influence can still be felt in Gothenburg in present day as names like Glenn and Morgan, which in the rest of Sweden usually are rare, are not uncommon in Gothenburg, and the use of a Scottish sounding "r" in the local dialect.

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.

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.[7]

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 Asian countries.


The harbour developed into Sweden's main harbour for trade towards the west, and with the Swedish emigration to North America 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.

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).