Sweden, Gothenburg

Gothenburg is a city, a municipality and an urban area on the west-coast of Sweden. As of 2006, the population was 489,787 in the municipality (Göteborgs kommun) and 510,491 in the urban area (Göteborgs tätort), making it the second largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm.

The metropolitan area (Storgöteborg), which is a statistical area, encompassing thirteen municipalities in western Sweden has 890,000 inhabitants.

Gothenburg is also a significant university city with Scandinavia's largest university (University of Gothenburg) in terms of number of students.

History

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.

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.

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.

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).

Geography

Gothenburg is situated on the western coast by Kattegatt, an arm of the North Sea, at the outlet of the river Göta älv and the Göta Canal. Due to the Gulf Stream the city has a mild climate and quite a lot of rain. The archipelago of Gothenburg consists of rough, barren rocks and cliffs, which also is typical for the coast of Bohuslän.

Demographics

Gothenburg, as with most Swedish metropolitan areas, has a large immigrant population. According to Statistics Sweden in 2005, there are 98,480 immigrants resident in Gothenburg, which is about 20% of the population, out of which 10% are from Iran and 9% from Finland.

Economy

By its naturally advantageous location, Gothenburg houses the largest harbour installation in Scandinavia.

Trade and shipping have always been important businesses and in the 18th century, the city was the home to the Swedish East India Company. Industry developed into an important business, e.g., SKF, Volvo, and Ericsson.

Culture

The sea, trade and industrial history of the city is evident in the cultural life of Gothenburg. The biggest attraction in the city is the amusement park Liseberg (see Sites 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 Röhss Museum.

The event culture of the city was an important factor behind the creation of a number of other sport and cultural institutions.

There are many free theatre ensembles in the city, besides institutions like Gothenburg City Theatre, Backa Theatre (youth theatre), and Folkteatern.

Transport

Gothenburg-Landvetter Airport is an international airport serving the Gothenburg region in Sweden. With 5.2 million passengers in 2005 it is Sweden's second-largest airport. It is operated by the Swedish Civil Aviation Administration (Luftfartsverket). The airport is named after the small town of Landvetter, which is located in the municipality of Härryda.

Gothenburg's second international airport is Gothenburg City Airport formerly known as Säve Flygplats and Sweden's 7th largest airport. It is located within the borders of Gothenburg Municipality. Prior to the arrival of Ryanair in 2001, the airport had 9000 passengers per year. In 2005, more than 500,000 flew from City Airport.