Gothenburg (Göteborg)

Sweden’s second city is one of its youngest. The country needed a west-facing seaport in the 17th century and the king sanctioned the building of a fortified city with canals on the Dutch model.

Gothenburg became the base for Swedish enterprises in oriental trade and a strategic strongpoint in the Baltic. Today it is a centre of industry, business and culture and headquarters of international names such as Volvo, Ericsson and SKF.