History of Gothenburg

Prehistory

The region on the west coast of Sweden has been inhabited for several thousands of years. During the Stone Age, there was incidentally a settlement right on present day Gothenburg. As a reminiscence, there are eleven rock carvings in the Gothenburg area.

Predecessors of Gothenburg

Lödöse

The predecessor of present day Gothenburg was Lödöse, 40 kilometers upstream from the present day city on the Göta River, which served as trade centre and port to the west in the Middle Ages. However, Lödöse had problems further down the river – at the Bohus Fortress (present day Kungälv) the Norwegians and the Danes could control the ships to and fro Lödöse and in 1473 the town was moved into a new location called Nya Lödöse (New Lödöse, where the present day suburb Gamlestan in Gothenburg is today). But the new settlement also had its problems and the town dwellers had to seek protection at the old Älvsborg Fortress.

The Gothenburg of Charles IX

The Swedish king Gustav Vasa tried to build a new city near the old Älvsborg Fortress, but was not successful. When Sweden rose to be a major European power in the 17th century, king Charles IX founded a town on the northern bank of Göta älv and near the outlet to the sea, on the island Hisingen. This was the first time that the town was named as it is presently. This short lived town was almost wholly inhabited by Dutch merchants and immigrants, and Dutch was the official language. The Swedish king...
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