Gothenburg

This article is about the city in Sweden. For other uses, see Gothenburg (disambiguation).
"Göteborg" and "Goteborg" redirect here. For other uses, see Göteborg (disambiguation).

Gothenburg
Göteborg
City
Central Gothenburg River
Museum of Gothenburg and German Church in Nordstaden
Trädgårdsföreningen
Garden Society
Kineum Skyscraper
Skyscrapers in Gårda
Gothenburg Cathedral
Gothenburg Cathedral
Skansen Lejonet
Skansen Lejonet
The Fish Church
Feskekôrka building
Karlatornet
Gunnebo House
Flag of Gothenburg
Flag
Coat of arms of Gothenburg
Coat of arms
Gothenburg is located in Västra Götaland
Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Location within Västra Götaland
Gothenburg is located in Southern Sweden
Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Location within South Sweden
Gothenburg is located in Sweden
Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Location within Sweden
Coordinates: 57°42′27″N 11°58′03″E / 57.70750°N 11.96750°E / 57.70750; 11.96750
Country Sweden
ProvinceVästergötland, Bohuslän and Halland
CountyVästra Götaland County
MunicipalityGothenburg Municipality
Charter1621
Area
[1]
 • City
447.76 km2 (172.88 sq mi)
 • Water14.5 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
 (2023)[1][2]
 • City
604,616
 • Density1,400/km2 (3,500/sq mi)
 • Metro
1,080,980
DemonymGöteborgare/Gothenburger
GDP
[3]
 • Metro€79.086 billion (2021)
 • Per capita€73,400 (2021)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
40xxx – 41xxx – 421xx – 427xx
Area code(+46) 31
Website

Gothenburg (/ˈɡɒθənbɜːrɡ/ ⓘ;[4] abbreviated Gbg;[5][6] Swedish: Göteborg [jœtɛˈbɔrj] ⓘ) is the gubernatorial seat of Västra Götaland County in Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. It is situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, with a population of approximately 600,000 in the city proper and about 1.1 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area.[7][8]

King Gustavus Adolphus founded Gothenburg by royal charter in 1621 as a heavily fortified, primarily Dutch, trading colony. In addition to the generous privileges given to his Dutch allies during the ongoing Thirty Years' War, e.g. tax relaxation, he also attracted significant numbers of his German and Scottish allies to populate his only town on the western coast; this trading status was furthered by the founding of the Swedish East India Company. At a key strategic location at the mouth of the Göta älv, where Scandinavia's largest drainage basin enters the sea, the Port of Gothenburg is now the largest port in the Nordic countries.[9] The presence of the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology has led Gothenburg to become home to many students. Volvo was founded in Gothenburg in 1927,[10] with both the original Volvo Group and the separate Volvo Car Corporation still headquartered on the island of Hisingen in the city. Other key companies in the area are AstraZeneca, Ericsson, and SKF.

Gothenburg is served by Göteborg Landvetter Airport 25 km (16 mi) southeast of the city centre. The smaller Göteborg City Airport, 15 km (9.3 mi) from the city centre, was closed to regular airline traffic in 2015. The city hosts the Gothia Cup, the world's largest youth football tournament, and the Göteborg Basketball Festival, Europe's largest youth basketball tournament, alongside some of the largest annual events in Scandinavia. The Gothenburg Film Festival, held in January since 1979, is the leading Scandinavian film festival and attracts over 155,000 visitors each year.[11] In summer, a wide variety of music festivals are held in the city, including the popular Way Out West Festival.

  1. ^ a b "Localities 2015; population 2010–2016, area, overlap holiday home areas, coordinates". Statistics Sweden. 28 May 2017. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 7 July 2017.
  2. ^ "Kvartal 2 2014". Statistiska Centralbyrån. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014.
  3. ^ "Gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices by metropolitan regions". ec.europa.eu.
  4. ^ "Gothenburg". Oxford Dictionaries. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Göteborg". Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Förkortningar för svenska och utländska ortnamn". 19 December 2017. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Göteborg över 600 000 invånare – och Sverige har fått en ny minsta kommun".
  8. ^ "Folkmängd i riket, län och kommuner 31 december 2021 och befolkningsförändringar 1 oktober –31 december 2021. Totalt". SEB. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  9. ^ Swedish National Encyclopedia (password needed)
  10. ^ "Volvo's founders – Our founders & presidents : Volvo Group Global". volvogroup.com. Archived from the original on 9 April 2010.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference filmfestival was invoked but never defined (see the help page).