History of the University of Gothenburg

The idea about a free academy came from the citizens themselves during the late 19th century, when some some of the most influential figures of the time in Gothenburg used their commitment to advance the cause. In 1864, the idea was presented in the Gothenburg Trade and Shipping Gazette.

In 1891, Gothenburg University College was founded with the help of substantial private donations from Fredrik Lundgren, Eduard Magnus, Oscar Ekman, and the Carnegie family. Gothenburg University College gradually grew and eventually encompassed what we today call the philosophical faculties: humanities, social science, and partly science.

In 1907, it became an independent university college with the same status as the two national universities of Uppsala and Lund. The University of Gothenburg was formally founded in 1954 through the amalgamation of this university college with the medical college, which had been established in 1949.

All we have to offer is a window that is always open to the rest of the world. This window lets in a draft that seems to benefit the bacteria of freedom and rebellion.

Hjalmar Frisk, Vice Chancellor of Gothenburg University 1951–1966, in a speech connection with the student parliament in Gothenburg 1958.

During the 1950s and 60s, the University expanded rapidly, growing from 500 students in the late 1940s to approximately 21,000 in the late 1960s. Today, the University of Gothenburg has about 38,000 students, and 6,000 employees. There are 39 departments in all, many of which rent facilities in old stone buildings and other properties in the centre of town. Several new university buildings have increased our "centralisation", and most of the departments are now located in the city centre. This has made the University of Gothenburg a truly urban university.