country west link
Gothenburg is the second - largest city in ___MASK63___ and the fifth - largest in the Nordic countries . Situated by the Kattegat , on the west coast of ___MASK63___ , the city has a population of approximately 550 , 000 in the urban area and 990 , 000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area . The Nordic countries or Nordics are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic , where they are most commonly known as Norden ( lit ., " The North "). They consist of ___MASK89___ , ___MASK70___ , Iceland , Norway , and ___MASK63___ , including their associated territories ( Greenland , the Faroe Islands , and the Åland Islands ). Scandinavium is an indoor arena located in Gothenburg , ___MASK63___ . Construction on Scandinavium began in 1969 after decades of setbacks , and was inaugurated on 18 May 1971 . The Kattegat or Kattegatt is a sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west , the Danish straits islands of ___MASK89___ to the south and the provinces of Västergötland , Scania , Halland and Bohuslän in ___MASK63___ in the east . The Baltic Sea drains into the Kattegat through the Danish Straits . The sea area is a continuation of the Skagerrak and may be seen as a bay of the Baltic Sea or the North Sea or , as in traditional Scandinavian usage , neither of these . Korsvägen ( literary  the cross road ) is a public square and transport hub in the events district of Gothenburg , ___MASK63___ . Many important event venues and visitor attractions are located on or near Korsvägen , including the Swedish Exhibition and Congress Centre and Gothia Towers hotel , the Universeum science centre , the Museum of World Culture , Scandinavium and the amusement park Liseberg . Gothenburg Central Station is the main railway station of Gothenburg , ___MASK63___ . The station serves 27 million passengers per year , making it the second largest railway station in ___MASK63___ after Stockholm Central Station . The station opened on October 4 , 1858 . The station is situated in the city of Gothenburg , right by Drottningtorget . The Gothenburg Central Station , Centralhuset and Nils Ericson Terminalen are a part of Resecentrum , Göteborg . Gothenburg Central Station is owned and administered by Jernhusen . Stockholm ( or ) is the capital of ___MASK63___ and the most populous city in the Nordic countries ; 932 , 917 people live in the municipality , approximately 1 . 5 million in the urban area , and 2 . 3 million in the metropolitan area . The city is spread across 14 islands on the coast in the southeast of ___MASK63___ at the mouth of Lake Mälaren , by the Stockholm archipelago and the Baltic Sea . The area has been settled since the Stone Age , in the 6th millennium BC , and was founded as a city in 1252 by a Swedish statesman Birger Jarl . It is also the capital of Stockholm County . The Nils Ericson Terminal is a major bus terminus in Gothenburg , ___MASK63___ . It is placed in the city centre just next to Gothenburg Central Station ( Centralstationen ), and across the street from the main Nordstan shopping centre . The main street and most hotels are within walking distance from the terminal . Universeum is a public science centre and museum in Gothenburg , ___MASK63___ that opened in 2001 . It is a part of " Evenemangsstråket ", the " thoroughfare of events "  close to Korsvägen and Skånegatan  which includes sights of interest like Scandinavium , Ullevi , Svenska Mässan ( Swedish Exhibition Centre ), Liseberg and the Museum of World Culture . Västlänken ( English : the West link ) is a planned railway tunnel under central Gothenburg . The purpose of the project is to increase capacity and reduce travel times on the Gothenburg network by changing the Gothenburg Central Station from a terminus to an underground transit station . Two new underground transit stations , Haga and Korsvägen , will also be built . Of the 920 , 000 people ( 2009 figure ) who live in Greater Gothenburg , 410 , 000 people live outside the Gothenburg urban area . Approximately 250 , 000 people in the region commute to or from Gothenburg Municipality . The majority of these people use cars for transportation and the roads in the region are overloaded . Better rail communications to different parts of Gothenburg and better connections to trams would improve the situation . There is a political wish to attract more public transport users . Significant sums of money have been -- and are being -- invested in rail infrastructure in the Stockholm region and the Malmö region , more than 20 bn SEK each during 1990 - 2010 , but much less in the Gothenburg region . The largest improvement according to the prosed plan would be for people who commute from places along the railways to Kungsbacka / Borås and who work or study near Haga station , where a large part of the University of Gothenburg is located . 15 minutes could be saved per journey . Time would be also saved on other journeys , for example around 5 minutes from Alingsås to Sahlgrenska or Chalmers . Jernhusen AB owns and runs railway stations and other buildings attached to the railway network in ___MASK63___ . The company was formed in January 2001 as part of the break - up of Statens Järnvägar , the former national railway . It remains wholly owned by the Swedish government . The Swedish Exhibition and Congress Centre is an exhibition and convention centre in Gothenburg , ___MASK63___ and one of Scandinavia ' s largest assembly points , which attracts around 1 . 8 million visitors a year . It is one of Europe ' s largest , fully integrated hotel and congress facilities , owned and run by a nonprofit foundation , the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre Foundation . The national Museum of ___MASK24___ Culture opened in Gothenburg , ___MASK63___ , in 2004 . Its aim is to interpret the subject of world culture in an interdisciplinary way . The museum is situated next to the Universeum science centre and the amusement park Liseberg , and close to Korsvägen . "" The museum interprets the concept of world culture in a dynamic and open - ended manner . On the one hand , various cultures are incorporating impulses from each other and becoming more alike . On the other hand , local , national , ethnic and gender differences are shaping much of that process . ___MASK24___ culture is not only about communication , reciprocity , and interdependence , but the specificity , concretion and uniqueness of each and every individual ."" ( From the background info on the museums homepage .) Liseberg is an amusement park located in Gothenburg , ___MASK63___ , that opened in 1923 . It is one of the most visited amusement parks in Scandinavia , attracting about three million visitors annually . Among the noteworthy attractions is the wooden roller coaster Balder , twice ( 2003 and 2005 ) voted as the " Best Wooden Tracked Roller Coaster " in the world in a major international poll . The park itself has also been chosen as one of the top ten amusement parks in the world ( 2005 ) by " Forbes " magazine . Stockholm Central Station is the largest railway station in ___MASK63___ . It is situated in the district of Norrmalm at Vasagatan / Central Plan . Opened July 18 , 1871 , it has over 200 , 000 visitors daily , of which about 170 , 000 are travellers ( 105 , 000 with commuter trains , 25 , 000 with Arlanda Express and 40 , 000 with other trains ).