From Oslo, we took the train to Goteborg, Sweden. Per usual on the Scandinavian trains, this went considerably faster than 100 miles per hour. Goteborg is named after the Gota river.

We explored Goteborg by going for a half day walk. The walk brought us down to the harbor where (photo 1) we saw an old bridge that used to rotate to allow boats to pass. During much of the walk, we followed the route of a canal since it had a pretty park along side. The park was a focal point for people who wanted to relax. Photo 2 shows two girls who were sketching the view. Photos 3 & 4 give a good idea of how the canal looked. Photos 5 & 6 show typical Goteborg city streets.

Near the end of our walk we came along an interesting corner building. Close to this was the Skansen Crown Fort. Now for some relevant history.

Even though people had been settled in the area for some time, Gothenborg (alternate spelling of Goteborg) was given its charter in 1621. However, the Dutch colonists were in no hurry to move there as long as the city was not defended. In 1639 building began of numerous forts located on hills around Gotenborg. Skansen is one of those forts and was built around 1641. At that time, the purpose of the forts was to guard against the Danes. In 1680 the fort was improved by giving it the stone walls we see to today. The Skansen walls are 4-5 meters thick. The first crown on its roof was installed in 1699 and coated with guilded lead. The crown has alternately been degraded by time, and then restored again. The latest gold reguilding was done in 1997.

The Skansen Crown fort was used as a prison in the mid 19th century and in the 1870's was used for general accomodations because of a housing shortage. In 1904 the fort was openned as a museum. It was not open the day we were there.

These views were taken from the fort's hill.