It was King Charles IX, popularly known as the King on the Stallion (Kopparmärra) at Kungsportsplatsen, who decided to build the city of Gothenburg in 1607. Unfortunately, the city was burnt to the ground by the Danes in 1611. Then in the year 1619, King Gustavus Adolphus rebuilt the city in its current location. A statue of King Gustavus Adolphus, by artist Bengt Erland Fogelberg, has been erected at the Gustaf Adolf Square forever immortalizing the moment that His Highness pointed at the ground and proclaimed “Here, the city shall lie!”

Statue of King Gustavus Adolphus