Sweden - Göteborg

An aerial view of Göteborg in Sweden.

Sent by Tone, a WiP partner from Norway.

Gothenburg (Swedish: Göteborg) is the second largest city in Sweden and the fifth largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by theKattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 526,054, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 945,713 inhabitants in the metropolitan area. Gothenburg is classified as a global city by GaWC, with a ranking of Gamma−.

Gothenburg was founded by royal charter in 1621 by King Gustavus Adolphus. At the mouth of the Göta älv, it is the largest port in the Nordic countries.

Gothenburg is home to many students, as the city includes both the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology. Volvo was founded in Gothenburg in 1927. The city is a major centre in Sweden for sports and home to the IFK Göteborg, BK Häcken, GAIS and Örgryte IS association football teams as well as the Frölunda HC ice hockey team.

Gothenburg is served by Göteborg Landvetter Airport, located 30 km (18.64 mi) southeast of the city centre, and by Göteborg City Airport, located 15 km (9.32 mi) from the city centre.

The city is known for hosting some of the largest annual events in Scandinavia. The Göteborg International Film Festival, held in January since 1979, is the leading film festival in Scandinavia with over 155,000 visitors annually. During the summer a broad variety of music festivals take place, such as Way Out West and Metaltown. Gothia Cup, held every year in Gothenburg, is in regards to the number of participants the world's largest football tournament: in 2011, a total of 35,200 players from 1567 teams and 72 nations participated.

Gothenburg is also famous for Liseberg, chosen as one of the top ten amusement parks in the world (2005) by Forbes Magazine.