Göteborg, Sweden
(Gothenburg, Sweden)

Göteborg, Sweden's second city, was founded in 1621 by the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus II. Over the years the city has consistently retained its international character. Shipping and trade dominated the industry in Göteborg for a long time and the city became the centre for the East India trade. 

Throughout the 1900s, Göteborg was dominated by a large number of successful industrial enterprises and during the 1960s the city was one of the world's largest shipbuilding and repair centres. Today Göteborg has a highly diverse industrial structure with an emphasis on transport and biomedicine. 

Castles

Läckö Castle (built 1298).  To the north of Lidköping the peninsula of Kållandshalvö reaches out into Lake Vänern. Off its northern tip is the island of Kållandsö, on the shores of which is Läckö Castle, built in 1298 by Bishop Brynolt Algotsson.

Örebro Castle (13th century).  In the Middle Ages, Örebro became an early centre for the iron trade, and several German merchants helped in the building up of the town. In the centre lay, just as it does to this day, a square with a town hall and the then recently-begun Church of Saint Nicholas.

The tower was square, about 30 metres high and surrounded by a 7-metre high and 3-metre thick ring-wall. In the 14th century the fort was enlarged by King Magnus Eriksson.

In the Middle Ages the castle was involved in warfare repeatedly, and up to 1568 it was besieged in all nine times. However, there was no question of any major alterations until the latter part of the 16th century.

The Göteborg region is an old and exciting cultural area. The many ruins in the area prove that people were already living here 8,000 years ago.  Göteborg, which was granted its charter in 1621, was intended to act as Sweden´s gateway to the west. Its position was strategic. The area around the mouth of "Göta Älv", the river, had been an important trading centre since the 12th century. The city was built according to Dutch patterns, with streets and manmade canals in a strictly-designed system and a large square, the current Gustaf Adolfs Torg, next to the Large Canal.
 
Surrounded by walls, bastions and a moat, Göteborg was one of the most well-defended fortresses in Northern Europe at the end of the century. Three of the fortresses that were built outside the city still stand - "Skansen Kronan", "Skansen Lejonet" and "Nya Älvsborg". "Nya Älvsborg" is located  at the mouth of the river.
 
"Kronhuset", the artillery´s magazine for ammunition and grain, and the Torstensson Palace, now the County Govenor´s Residence, are two of the few buildings inside the moat which have been preserved from the first decades. The Large Canal and the moat, together with the street network and the rectangular districts inside the moat, still stand.
  
The buildings which have been preserved from the 18th century are the East India Building, orginally a warehouse, auction room and office for the East India Company, and Kronhusbodarna, where the artillery had its workshops. The East India Company, which made Göteborg a flourishing city, was founded in 1731. The following year, the first East-Indiaman set sail for China and returned with a valuable cargo of tea, silk and china.
 
The appearance of the city changed dramatically during the 19th century.

Most fortresses were demolished and made way for "Kungsparken" and "Trädgårdsföreningen",  two parks in the centre of the city.

The city expanded, some of the canals were filled in, the harbours and quays were extended.