Gothenburg, the Great Castle | Sweden

This nice postcard was sent by Sara from Gothenburg via postcrossing [SE-89039]. It shows Gothenburg's northern archipelago with among others the islands: Riso, Foto, Hono and Ockero.

Gothenburg (Swedish: Göteborg) is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 543,005, with 549,839 in the urban area and 973,261 inhabitants in the metropolitan area. The city was ranked as the 12th-most inventive city in the world by Forbes.

Gothenburg was founded by royal charter in 1621 by King Gustavus Adolphus. At the mouth of the Göta älv, the Port of Gothenburg is the largest port in the Nordic countries. The city was named after the Geats (Swedish: Götar varied: Geatas, Gautar, Goths, Gotar, Gøtar, Götar), the inhabitants of Gothia, now southern Sweden—i.e. "Geat Castle". The river on which the city sits is the Göta älv or Gothia River. Göta borg "Gothia Fortress" is the fort on the Göta Älv, built to protect the port.

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 center for sports and home to the IFK Göteborg, BK Häcken, GAIS, and Örgryte IS association football teams, the team handball team Redbergslids IK, 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 center. The smaller Göteborg City Airport, located 15 km (9.32 mi) from the city center, was closed to regular airline traffic in 2015.

The city is known for hosting some of the largest annual events in Scandinavia. The Gothenburg Film Festival, held in January since 1979, is the leading Scandinavian film festival with over 155,000 visitors each year. In summer, a wide variety of music festivals are held in the city, such as Way Out West and Metaltown. The annual Gothia Cup, is the world's largest football tournament with regards to the number of participants: in 2011, a total of 35,200 players from 1,567 teams and 72 nations participated.