Gothenburg (Sweden)

Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden. It is situated on the west coast in the province of Västergötland, and is county capital of Western Gotaland. The Swedish name of the city is Göteborg.

The flag of Gothenburg is a banner of the arms. The arms were given to the city at its foundation in 1621, and comprises charges taken from the fields in the main shield in the Greater state arms: the lion of the House of Folkungar holding the shield with the three crowns (and defending it with a sword). It is not clear why the lion was turned to the heraldic left or if there was an intention to do so from the start, and the same can be said about the fact that the lion wears a royal crown in stead of an open crown. However, this is the traditional way of depicting the arms of Gothenburg, and therefore these details were kept when the blazon was given a modern form in a royal grant in 1952.
Elias Granqvist, 3 June 2003

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An interesting text on these arms is found on Ralf’s site, Heraldry of the World (International Civic Arms) mainly concerning the lion’s position, and his crown.
Jan Mertens, 14 December 2008

Official blazon in Swedish: "I blått fält tre av vågskuror bildade ginbalkar av silver, överlagda med ett vänstervänt, gyllene, med sluten krona krönt lejon med svansen kluven och tunga, tänder och klor röda, svingande med högra framtassen ett gyllene svärd och hållande i den vänstra en blå sköld, vari tre gyllene kronor, ordnade två och en."
Blazoned in English: "Azure, three bends sinister wavy Argent, over all a crowned, doubletailed lion rampant contourné Or, armed and langued Gules, holding in its dexter forepaw a sword of the third and in its sinister forepaw a shield, Azure, three crowns Or, two over one."
English blazon by Ole Andersen 3 June 2003

I suppose this flag variant has been designed for decorative purposes only.
Jan Mertens, 14 December 2008