Lödöse

Lödöse is a locality ( tätort ) in the Swedish municipality of Lilla Edet by the River Göta älv. It lies in the county of Västra Götaland County and the historic province of Västergötland. From the 13th to the 15th century it was an important town, which was characterized by Sweden's only port with a direct connection to the North Sea. The city is considered as the predecessor of Gothenburg.

History

Middle Ages

The origin of the city is occupied for the 12th century by archaeological finds, but could already be done a century earlier. In the 12th century there were three churches, a royal court and a coin and a defensive tower. The coinage began about 1150 after the coin in Sigtuna were shut down in 1030. After the reign of Magnus Ladulås (1275-1290) were minted until 1365, with the exception coins here. By 1200, the city Saxo Grammaticus in Gesta Danorum work with the Latin title Liuthusium was first mentioned. In the Icelandic sagas, which originated a little later, reports on events that allegedly took place in 1150 in Lödöse.

Around 1250 Sweden was a land connection to the Kattegat and in the following 200 years saw Lödöse due to the port 's heyday. Trade with other Scandinavians, Germans, English, Scots and Dutch took too strong and the German Hanse had representatives in the Municipality of the City. From here, animal products, wood and iron were exported and imported commodities in return, their production in Sweden was not possible. Duke Erik of Södermanland left the city in 1304 to burn down during a small war against his brother Valdemar, but it developed subsequently to an administrative center in the region. The actual decline of the town began with the establishment of better fortifications at the mouth of Göta älv and the Engelbrekt uprising to 1434.

Later Wasa - time and Swedish Great Power period

Gustav Vasa in 1526 was the city rights of Lödöse cancel. Notwithstanding the fixing of the place due to the riots that were related to the deposition of Christian II was extended by several towers. Gustav's son, John III. gave the place back in 1586, the city rights. In the following years Lödöse was repeatedly the scene of hostilities. After the Scanian War, which ended in 1679, the place had lost its strategic importance and began to decay.

Modern Times

Between 1877 and 1905 experienced a brief upswing Lödöse as near a railway line was built, the products from the Bergslagen region promoted the Kattegat. From 1952 to 1970 Lödöse was the chief town of a district of the same. Excavations of the medieval systems took place 1916-1920 and since 1961. Currently, about one-third of the former city has been archaeologically investigated. The found objects can be seen in the local museum and the Historical Museum in Stockholm.