The wonderful city of Gothenburg was founded around 1621 by the king at that time Gustav 2 Adolf. At that time there was two cities at the beginning of Göta Älv, one called Älvsborg and the other was what is now called Hisingen. And had before been subject to the danish. Gustav 2 Adolf saw the difficulties of having the new city right at the edge of Göta Älv, and saw the advantages of the territory. To build a "big" powerful and as natural as possible "fästningsverk". One legend about Gothenburg tells of that one mountain that is even today called sometimes "Stora Otterhällan" had a major role in the planning of Gothenburg. He climbed up the mountain and from there pointed out the place where Gothenburg should lie. (How ever on Gustav Adolfs Torg there is a statue of him pointing when he pointed to say where the gothenburg should lie! well worth a visit!) However it is not totally sure if it was from the mountain now called "Stora Otterhällan" or from any other big mountain here in gothenburg, since there was more then one mountain named "Otterhällan" at that time. However all the mountains was at first incoperated into the layout for the new city and its former protection walls. At first a part of the city was gloomy, and at that time thought to be very unhealthy, fenland(marsh,swamp)mainly, it was at times back then almost as misty as London but that was before they started to build there. It got so bad already 4 years after the city was founded at parts of gothenburg where some lived they was forbidden to go to otherparts of the city for fear of carrying contagious diseaces, so Gothenburg was treated somewhat as a big hospital, but it got better through the years.
The 4 of july 1621 Gothenburgs priviliges for the time was set. And everyone was elligible to settle down in Gothenburg. They had the right to settle down and live there, they had the right to trade, and to have other jobs. At that time the people who lived there was free from tax during 16 years (most probably didn't include everyone even thought it should have)they also was set to be free from "tullar" and licenses they had at that time also right to fish for free in the "älven" and in the sea. The founder had the idea that it should be a nordic tradecentral equally with the other big cities, a city who could rival with the best of spanish for the southseastrade. For to be equall with danish, the city was at first anyways designed as the holland way, all the swaps part raised and channels digged for to help with the seatrade. It was thought to persued Holland pesants and other overseas to live there practice trade and work on the land for a cheap sum of money, to teach the swedish make butter and cheese in the holland ways. To mange and leed the move to the new city was one of the most trusted men.
It didn't go so well to persued people from Ny-Lödöse to move to the new city by june 1621 only 16 people had made the move.
But people from Holland was coming.
Some years after 1621 there was approximatley 1,0000 people living in the city that is called Gothenburg and that mainly was Englishmen, Scotsmen (Scotland), Holland, Germans.
Because of the swamp they dried it and raised the land. The city was then filled with digged channels and the earth and mudd that was digged up in the process was used around the places where the houses would be built.
The most saaught after propertiess at the time was the porperties very near the buit out channels where the merchants could load off and load up the trade from the boats that docked.
Even thought it was encouraged to built houses in stone most built houses of wood.