Göteborg – Gothenburg Posted by Stephen Maconi on Nov 13, 2012 in Culture
The city of Göteborg, perhaps better known as Gothenburg outside of Scandinavia, is Sweden’s second-largest city with just over 500 000 inhabitants. It is a beautiful city with a lot to offer, from an indoor zoo called Universeum to the Scandinavia-wide famous Liseberg amusement park. There are also several churches to be observed around the city. The people of Göteborg, known by Swedes as göteborgare, are famous for their easy-going attitude and pleasantness. Of course, this is only a generalization, but on my trip there in late October 2012, the rumors really seemed to be true about several people I met. It was a fantastic trip to what is now my favorite city in Sweden.
Gothenburg is located on Sweden’s west coast, just east across the Kattegatt from the northern tip of Denmark. It lies about half-way between Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, and Oslo, the capital of Norway. The city has two highly-ranked universities, Göteborgs universitet or Gothenburg University and Chalmers tekniska högskola, the Chalmers University of Technology. Chalmers is particularly known for offering a very competitive degree in architectural design, a program that takes five years to complete.
The city was originally founded by King Charles IX of Sweden (known as Karl IX in Scandinavia) on the island of Hisingen, just north of today’s Gothenburg. Eventually the island was overtaken by the Danes in 1611, but ten years later the city was able to be refounded by the Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus II (known as Gustav Adolf II in Scandinavia). From that point on, it prospered.
Gothenburg is a fantastic city, and during my travels there I made a point of filming around the city to share with all of you loyal readers. Here it is:
In case any of you are wondering, the view at the end of the video is from Svenska Mässan, or the Swedish Exhibition and Congress Centre, just accross from Universeum in an area known as Evenemangstråket in Gothenburg. 🙂
Enjoy!
[Source for statistics above: goteborg.se, Wikipedia]
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About the Author: Stephen Maconi
Stephen Maconi has been writing for the Transparent Swedish Blog since 2010. Wielding a Bachelor's Degree in Swedish and Nordic Linguistics from Uppsala University in Sweden, Stephen is an expert on Swedish language and culture.
Comments:
J. Eric:
Thanks for the tour. My Great Grandparents left this port in April of 1882 on their way to Minnesota. Their first born son here was named after Gustav Adolf. That son was my Grandfather. The pronunciation of this city was passed through four generations here in America.
Yo-ta-borya.
Harry:
I am happy to spend a day or two in Gothenburg every year during my holidys in Sweden. I like this City, especially the Centre and, of course, the lovely coast.
Thanks for keeping my memories alive!
Stacy:
And don’t forget that the masterful guitarist Jose Gonzalez and band JULIP also hails from there! I had the pleasure to visit Gothenburg with my former high school foreign exchange student and his family two summers ago and really enjoyed it.
Batistuta:
On the issue of Gothenburg: as a foreigner who has been living there (or should I say “here”?) for a year, I often come across mentions of ‘göteborgska’.
Could you tell us what makes göteborgska different from your average Swedish? A similar thing with skånska might be helpful too… or maybe just a general guide to accents around Sweden? Maybe I’m asking for too much, but this is something I find fascinating