Sweden - Becky Ohlsen [156]
More botanical bliss awaits at the Botaniska Trädgården (Carl Skottsbergsgatan 22A; admission free; gardens 9am-sunset, greenhouses 10am-5pm May-Aug, 10am-4pm Sep-Apr). Sweden’s largest botanical garden, it breathes easy with around 16,000 plant species.
Just across Dag Hammarskjöldsleden, Slottsskogsparken (admission free; 24hr) is superb for a stroll. The Naturhistoriska Museet (opposite) is perched on a hill in the park, with other attractions including Barnens Zoo (Children’s Zoo; admission free; daily May-Aug) and Djurgårdarna (admission free), an animal park with farm animals, elk, deer and other furry and feathered Swedish creatures. Feeding time at the seal pond is 2pm daily.
The rocky heights of Ramberget (87m) in Keillers Park (Hisingen) give the best view of the city. Get there on the city bus tour (Click here) or take a tram to Ramsbergsvallen and walk up.
Churches
Göteborg’s churches aren’t very old but they are a better reflection of Swedish architecture than Stockholm’s Italian imitations.
The elegant Domkyrkan (Gustavi Cathedral; Västra Hamngatan; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 11am-5pm Sat, 10am-3pm Sun Jun-Aug; 8am-6pm Mon-Fri, 9am-4pm Sat, 10am-3pm Sun Sep-May) was consecrated in 1815 – the two previous cathedrals having been destroyed by town fires. Although many of the cathedral’s contents are modern, seasoned features include an 18th-century clock and reredos.
The park behind the beautiful 19th-century Hagakyrkan (731 61 60; Haga Kyrkoplan; 11am-3pm Mon-Thu & Sat) is home to a simple yet moving monument to Swedish hero Raoul Wallenberg. A Nordic Schindler of sorts, Wallenberg is credited with saving the lives of around 15,000 Hungarian Jews during WWII. Wallenberg himself was arrested by the Russian government in 1945 and executed two years later.
One of Göteborg’s most distinctive buildings, Masthuggskyrkan (Storebackegatan; 9am-6pm Jun-Aug, 9am-4pm Sep-May) is a welcome landmark for sailors and a smashing viewpoint over the western half of the city. Completed in 1914, its interior resembles an upturned boat.
Other Sights
The Haga district is Göteborg’s oldest suburb, dating back to 1648. A hardcore hippy hang-out in the 1960s and ’70s, its cobbled streets and vintage buildings are now a gentrified blend of cafes, op shops and boutiques. It’s also home to Galleri Mors Mössa (13 22 82; Husargatan 11; usually noon-4pm Mon-Thu), one of Göteborg’s better private art galleries.
A short walk further west, the Linné district holds fast to its grungy roots, especially along the Långgatan streets. Here, uberhip cafes, junk shops and street-smart boutiques mix it with seedy sex shops and eclectic locals. It’s a magnet for creative types and home to the kicking Andra Långdagen block party, a wild, one-day street bash on Andra Långgatan organised by the street’s traders and fans. Held annually between April and June (check the Andra Långgatan group on Facebook for dates), it’s a thumping concoction of curbside DJ sets, film screenings, barbecues, clothes swaps and backyard B-boy battles. Looking out over the ’hood is the spindly, neo-Gothic Oscar Fredriks kyrka (731 92 50; Oscar Fredriks Kyrkogatan; 8am-4pm Mon-Fri), another 19th-century ecclesial creation.
Across town, the red-and-white ‘skyscraper’ Göteborgs-Utkiken (15 61 47; Lilla Bommen torg 1; adult/child Skr30/15; 11am-4pm Jul & Aug, 11am-4pm Mon-Fri Sep-Jun), nicknamed ‘The Lipstick’ for obvious reasons, has killer views of the harbour from the top.
Once a bustle of industry (with glassworks, foundries, breweries and salting houses) the Klippan precinct has been revamped into a rather fetching heritage centre. It includes 18th-century sailor’s cottages, the remains of Gamla Älvsborgs fort (ransomed from the Danes in 1619), a brewery opened by the Scot David Carnegie (now a hotel) and St Birgittas kapell. Klippan is just off Oscarsleden, about 400m east of Älvsborgsbron – take tram 3 or 9 to Vagnhallen Majorna.
Kronhuset, lying between Postgatan and Kronhusgatan, is the city’s oldest secular building, a former arsenal built