In the middle of central Gothenburg, you can enter or leave by train or bus from Central Station.
History
The central station was inaugurated in 1858 and the site actually housed Gothenburg's County Jail/prison before. It stood here between 1816 and 1855 when it was called to action for 1850 riksdaler by the railway chief's colonel Nils Ericsson.
Before Centralen was in place, there was a station house at Lilla Bommen. In 1855, there were 16 employees who handled everything related to the train connections in Gothenburg. Where the station house stands was formerly one of the bastions that existed in the city from the beginning of the 17th century to the middle of the 19th century, Johannes Rex. Today the quarter is called Drottningtorget, before that it was called Kvarteret 9 Nye Port. Statens Järnvägsstation was the name until it changed its name to Centralstationen in the 1930s.
Architect
The first architect for the State Railway Station was Adolf Wilhelm Edelsvärd. In 1923, the station was expanded and rebuilt according to drawings by Folke Zettervall. The vestibule became a ticket hall (the one facing Drottningtorget) and the track hall became a waiting hall.
The central station was on fire
In 1923, there was a fire at the Central Station, which resulted in extensive damage to the building. In 1930, the station was expanded with more buildings and a restaurant facing Drottningtorget came into place.
Renovation/Central building
n 1993 the center underwent a restoration and in 2003 the Central House was completed. In the Central House there are hotels, several shops, restaurants, cafes. Adjacent to the Central House is the Nils Ericson terminal, where the majority of buses take you within Sweden and the rest of Europe. Feels a bit like entering a large airport hall - and the travel vein gets a little faster in the blood!
Clas Haeke artwork
Are you wondering what the stone artwork is called at the western entrance to Central Station. "Bohuslän" by Clas Haeke in 1983. It used to stand by a railway track but was moved to the site in 2009. Clas Haeke has more stone monuments in Gothenburg, including the "Södra porten" at the Ullevimote, "The Fire victim monument" at Hisingen and "Solringen" outside the University Library.
Some fun tips
Female train driver
Who was Sweden's first female locomotive driver? Ulla-Brita Neibig who started driving for Järnvägs AB Roslagsbanan on 10 June 1972.
Storage boxes etc
Inside the Central House one flight down are fresh toilets, showers and storage boxes. There is also storage in a few other places inside the hall.
Restaurants, Hotels, Cafes
Adjacent to Central Station there are some fast food chains and restaurants. Above the central station you will find "Hotel G" which is one of Gothenburg's largest hotels. Also don't miss the "Scandic Gothenburg Central Hotel" which is located in the Platinan property, a few hundred meters from the central station. On the fourteenth floor of the hotel you have a roof terrace with a panoramic view from the Älvsborg Bridge to Gamlestaden.
The emigration to America
People who had intended to emigrate to America came to the center at the end of the 19th century. The street that runs between the Central Station and the Customs House led straight to the former harbor where all boats departed and arrived. On Postgatan, (during the emigration the street was called Sillgatan and in some other places in the city at this time there were several different transatlantic companies. They were called, Wilson Line, Inman Line, Cunard Line, White Star Line, American Steamship Co and Guion Line and others.
hotels, shops and restaurants and pubs were set up on Sillgatan for the emigrants who were waiting for their ship that would take them to "the promised land".