Welcome to the Digital Guide Nya Lödöse – the Town beneath Gamlestaden. Between 1473 and 1621, a principal town was situated by the side of River Göta Älv at present-day Gamlestaden.

Traces of Nya Lödöse are hidden beneath Gamlestaden. Photo Daniel Lindskog, layout Sara Lyttkens.

Six information points will reveal the history of Nya Lödöse. Each mark on the map is linked to a story with audio, video, text and illustrations. Let us walk around town together, amongst dwelling houses, sales stalls, workshops, stables and barns. You can visit the quayside and walk along to the moat. You can encounter life and death at the church and churchyard. Imagine the cultivated fields and meadows before, after and at the time when the area was a flourishing town.  

A town is built  

At the same time as Gamlestaden was remodelled, archaeological excavations of the old town Nya Lödöse were carried out. Photo: Markus Andersson

Underneath the present-day roads, tramlines, buildings and factories in the part of Gothenburg called Gamlestaden, there is a town beneath the city. It was a vibrant sixteenth century town, founded in 1473 and existing until 1621. Its name was Nya Lödöse.  

If we move back in time to the end of the 1400s, we would see the construction work going on in the new town. The westernmost part of the town, alongside what was then an arm of River Göta Älv, is now a railway embankment with northbound trains to old Lödöse and Trollhättan and southbound trains to the centre of Gothenburg.  

Large-scale archaeological excavations of the town were carried out in the beginning of the twenty-first century. Along with results from previous excavations and data from historical sources, we have been supplied with plenty of information about the town and the people who lived there. 

Streets and houses 

Here, in the town centre, several town plots with buildings and streets congregated to form the town. One street ran to the west towards the river shore and to the east towards the church of the town. In the first few years, the street consisted of wood chips and earth. It was later improved with sand and cobbles when the plots were built up with houses. The ground underneath the street was stabilised by a thick layer of jaw-bones from cattle. 

There were regulations about keeping the streets clean, which was the responsibility of the people who lived in the town. In 1587, those who left dung in the streets were fined 3 marks, which corresponds to around 500 crowns in the currency of 2024. This might not sound much, but if your salary was 3 marks, then you would be fined your whole income. 

Close to Säveån, a tributary of the river, there was a butchery at one of the town plots during the first years of the town. In a pit on the plot, waste from the butchery was mixed with household rubbish such as broken leather shoes, pieces of cloth, wooden containers and a net made of bast fibre. Rosaries were made and sold on the plot too. Beneath the floor of the cottage, there were 38 beads made of amber, glass, rock, bone and metal. Some Danish coins minted during the reign of Kristian I in 1448-1483 were also found in the cottage.   

For a period in the middle of the 1500s, the town people left Nya Lödöse because of war. Instead, they went to live in the safer town of Älvsborgsstaden close to Älvsborg Castle further to the west. When they came back, the construction work of rebuilding Nya Lödöse started.  

Work in the town 

Far-reaching work to remodel Gamlestaden is underway in 2024, but the construction work today is somewhat different from the work that was required in the days of Nya Lödöse. Then, lime was mixed and worked into mortar in vats, logs had to be pulled into place, tar was boiled, bridges and quays were constructed, and cobbles were laid. Carpenters, glaziers and blacksmiths worked here. They were paid daily wages and ‘worked for their victuals’, which was a form of subsistence allowance. Beer was a common kind of payment. 

The people we see today at Gamlestads torg are usually on their way to or from home, school, work or leisure activities. In Nya Lödöse there were a variety of professions ranging from priests to butchers, bookbinders, fiddlers and women who worked as brewers. Some people had to beg or thieve to support themselves. 

Sara Vaskerska (Washerwoman) lived here in the beginning of the 1600s. She made a living on washing other people’s clothes in the river. Linen clothes were washed and wool clothes were aired. The washing was soaked before it was beaten with a washing bat. When the linen clothes had dried and were nicely bleached in the sun, they were mangled or flattened with a smoothing stone. This was a time-consuming job for Sara. 

Bild: Washerwomen at Nya Lödöse. Illustration Cathrine Färnström

At the quayside

Shoreside areas of Nya Lödöse were situated under the present-day water level. Sheet piling was needed at the archaeological excavation to prevent flooding from Säveån. Photo: Markus Andersson.

The area alongside the present tramline to Angered was then the riverbank of River Göta Älv in the western part of the town, and in those days Marieholm, also called Säveholmen, was an island. Towards the north, by the side of the river, the shore zone of the town was 300 metres in length. To the east, there were streets and alleys that ended at the riverbank.  

Timber caissons, filled with earth, were constructed to reclaim land alongside the river. Here, there were cobbled areas, buildings, storehouses and stalls for sales and for preparing fish. Town plots located near the riverbank had their own landing places. The jetties in the river were used by the town people for fetching water, laundry, watering the animals and for dumping their waste in the river 

The quay was the town’s public space. It was a large area used for the work of transporting goods to and from the town via River Göta Älv. It was a place where merchants and seamen from all over Europe met the town people; many different languages were spoken while goods were loaded and unloaded. The quayside area was changed and rebuilt throughout the existence of the town, and it was finally demolished at the end of the town era in the beginning of the 1620s. 

To stabilise the damp and sloping ground, butchery waste from cattle was placed underneath riverside constructions. The land was filled with skulls, jawbones, metatarsal bones and other skeletal parts. The skull of an ox had a distinct mark of a club, indicating the slaughtering method. 

Where was the port?

Could large trading ships really sail all the way up the river to Nya Lödöse, or was it too shallow? One idea is that the harbour initially was located at the bend of the river just where the tributary Säveån turns south, and where the river is deeper. 

In the summer of 1526, King Gustav Vasa ordered the work of changing the course of River Göta Älv to increase the depth of the water alongside the town. The water between Säveholmen and Nya Lödöse was to be sailable, and the river should be steered away from Hisingen with the help of ‘piles and embankments’. Construction work was carried out, and the results varied. A large construction measuring 50×35 metres placed centrally in the shore zone may possibly have been intended for this purpose. Quays and long piers could probably reach the deepest part of the river, and large ships may have been able to moor there. When the town was excavated by Sixten Strömbom in the 1910s, the construction was called the ‘main wharf’, and the wooden constructions observed in the shore zone by Strömbom were interpreted as the major port of Nya Lödöse. 

Only a few traces of boats have been encountered during modern construction work, and only one has been excavated by marine archaeologists. A frame from a clinker-built boat, 10-15 metres in length, was found on the bottom of Säveån. Slightly further to the north along the riverbank, the archaeologists unearthed a piece of rope near a jetty from the 1500s. The rope was thick and six metres long. The loop for mooring was still in place around a post. 

Quayside life

In the northern parts of the town, there were many signs of trading, unloading, loading and storage of goods; for example, coins and lead seals that had been fastened to bales of cloth. There was also evidence of work, such as wooden work benches, as well as remains from metalworking and foundries. To the south, everyday life could be discerned through the waste from the town plots containing beads, book fittings and pottery. It was even possible to observe intimate details about the movement of the town people’s bowels. The contents of potties and latrines that had been emptied out showed that many town people suffered from intestinal worms. 

Daniel Nilsson was one of all the adventurous people in Nya Lödöse who sailed out with the ships. He was born at the end of the 1500s and his father was a merchant. After having been to school in Nya Lödöse and in Lübeck, he sailed to Spain with a merchant ship that traded in salt, wine and olive oil.  

Daniel Nilsson at sea. Illustration Cathrine Färnström

Defence of Nya Lödöse

Excavation of Nya Lödöse’s moat and palisade. Photo Markus Andersson.

Nya Lödöse was surrounded by earthworks and a moat with water from River Göta Älv to the west. Just about where there is now a pedestrian tunnel at the southern end of Gamlestaden’s Station, there was a gateway in the earthworks and a bridge over the moat, both constructed around 1530. Almost 80 years later, the bridge was demolished and the gateway was sealed, probably during the Kalmar War in 1611.  

The earthworks were constructed of clay and, according to written sources, five ells in height, which is about three metres. The moat was ten metres wide with a depth of a couple of decimetres. A broken spade left from the construction work in the 1500s was found in the layers of clay. 

Along the southern side of the earthworks, there had been a palisade of closely set poles, and remains of the basement of a tower were discovered underneath parts of the earthworks. A considerable amount of hazelnut shells and walnut shells were found in the moat. These were perhaps leftovers from nut-munching guards posted at the bridge.  

A fortified town 

Why was this type of defence necessary? Partly, it was a case of controlling the coming and going of goods and people to the town. Tolls were levied on all trade, and not everybody had permission to trade in the town. And then it was all the wars. The town was situated in a border zone between Sweden, Norway and Denmark. During the 150 years of the town’s history, several wars were fought in the region: Gustav Vasa’s War of Liberation, The Seven Year’s War of the North and the Kalmar War.  

Nya Lödöse was a fortified town. The military function of the palisade was to protect the town against assault, it acted as a barrier against attackers. The earthworks and moat were a way of controlling travellers in and out of the town even in times of peace. From the beginning, when the town was founded, it was mentioned in the town charter from 1473 that the town should be fortified. After the dissolution of the Kalmar Union in 1523, King Gustav Vasa engaged in the development and fortification of Nya Lödöse. In correspondence, it can be read that farmers from Västergötland were ordered to perform three days of construction work at the fortifications in Nya Lödöse.  

Every-day life around the moat

All the battles that were fought in and around Nya Lödöse are not so noticeable among the objects encountered around the fortifications. A few lead bullets, parts of a crossbow and the pommel of a sword were discovered. The inhabitants of the town used the area around the moat for dumping their rubbish. The archaeologists found ceramic vessels, glass, pieces of leather, shoes and animal bones from butchering. Work like retting flax to make linen cloth and preparing animal hides was carried out in and around the moat. Both retted linen and soaked hides have a nasty smell, which would be a reason for performing these jobs outside the town. 

 To the south of the moat, there were vegetable patches called cabbage gardens, and herb gardens where medicinal herbs were grown such as parsnips, parsley, motherwort and Scotch marigold. Fruit and berries grew here too, like apples, pears, cherries, wild strawberries and raspberries.  

The earthworks and moat of Nya Lödöse are a sign that not all could enter the town, but also that those who lived in the town could be expelled. This happened to Green Malin, single mother who was expelled from the town by the council in 1594. Her crime was petty theft and that she had become pregnant, and the father of the child was a married man.  

Green Malin, Illustration Cathrine Färnström

Nya Lödöse church and churchyard

Nya Lödöse church. Animation Carolina Ask

 Rising high above the low wooden houses of the town, the church and churchyard were situated at the highest point of the town, to the north of Säveån. The plan was that it should be 50 metres in length, but when it was built it was only 36 metres. 

After Sixten Strömbom’s excavations in the 1910s, the area became part of a park where the site of the church was marked out. There was also a playground and allotments with kitchen gardens. The site of the church was marked until the 1960s, but in 1965 a new traffic junction was to be constructed. An archaeological excavation was conducted, led by Charlotte Önstad; the church was to be removed completely. However, the plans were changed and the area was untouched until 2013. 

Continual construction work on the church appears to have been going on from the time of the founding of the town in 1473, until at least the 1600s. In accounting records from 1588, we can see how the construction of the church was financed through church collection and so called ‘stall payment’, which was paid by people coming from outside the town selling goods at stalls in the market. Other means of income to finance the construction of the church were payment for bell ringing for the dead, sales of wax candles to women who were churched after childbirth, or storage of sails in the church. The money was used for the purchase of lime, timber, tools and nails, but also for saffron to dye candles, paper and communion bread from Lübeck. 

The churchyard, which was extended throughout the time-span of the town, surrounded the church to the west, north and to the south. In a decision from 26 May 1587, it was made clear that the land to the north of Säveån was to be included in the churchyard and the cabbage gardens on this land should be moved within eight days. The affected land comprised the fields of Jon Persson and Severin Svart and the cabbage gardens of Hans Nilsson, although Hans Nilsson’s field with ‘hops roots’ was to be fenced in. Hops that provided beer for the living was more important than a final resting place for the dead. 

People buried at Nya Lödöse

Around 1300 burials have been excavated. Graves, coffins and grave gifts varied greatly over time and depending on where in the churchyard they were placed. The most common burial practice was to shroud the corpse and place it on a bed of meadow hay, moss or straw. In the northern part of the churchyard where the most vulnerable people seem to have been buried, a touching burial was discovered. An eight-year-old girl had been placed on a bed of cottongrass. Her shroud had been covered with the white flowers of sneezewort (Fair-maid-of-France).  

A majority of the dead were men, 53% compared with 34% for women. Most likely, more men than women moved to the town. It is also possible that temporary visitors such as merchants, sailors and soldiers died in the town and were buried there. 25% of the dead were small children, 0-6 years old, showing that infant mortality was high. A smaller share of women compared to men were 40 years old or older. 

By studying bones of the buried people, we are supplied with plenty of information about diseases, repetitive strain injury and violence. Inequality prevailed in Nya Lödöse. Some individuals suffered from welfare diseases, but malnutrition was much more common. A certain amount of healthcare existed. Bone fractures could be treated, and medicinal herbs were used. Probably, not all had access to healthcare and the lack of knowledge was considerable. Housing was often overcrowded; it would have been difficult to keep clean and diseases spread easily. Nya Lödöse was in all likelihood a crowded, unhygienic and sometimes violent place to live. 

One of the buried individuals in Nya Lödöse. Photo Markus Andersson

Farmland

Section from a geometrical map of Gothenburg’s country estates, made by land surveyor Erik Kuus in 1696. It shows the site of Nya Lödöse at the inlet of Säveån into River Göta Älv. Lantmäteriverket, N31-1:rta över landerier.

Before the town was founded in 1473, the land to the north of Säveån was part of the hamlet of Kviberg and the land to the south of Säveån belonged to the hamlet of Härlanda. The meadows were used for grazing and haymaking. In the beginning of the 1500s, it seems that the southern and eastern parts of the town were cultivated farmland. Archaeological evidence indicates that the land differed from the built-up areas of the northern part of the town. Apart from cultivation, there were also storehouses and fenced fields for cattle. In the place where Gamlestadens fabriker stands today, there was a cemetery with burials dating from the late 1500s; these had been dug in the previously cultivated fields. 

When Gothenburg was founded, the function of Nya Lödöse as a town was terminated in 1624. Many of the town people moved to the new town, even moving their houses and buildings. The site of Nya Lödöse came to be called ‘the old town’– Gamlestaden. The land was used as farmland, for cultivation and grazing. To begin with, Dutch farmers could lease land here, which was a way of attracting more Dutch people to the new town of Gothenburg. Over time, large country estates were established, these were called ‘landerier’, and manor houses were built on several of the estates.  

Country estates (landerier) in Gamlestaden

To the east was Kristinedals landeri and to the west was Ånäs landeri. Both were owned by Niclas Sahlgren in the 1700s. A sugar mill was built at Ånäs landeri which came to be called ‘Gamla sockerbruket’; it stood at the site where Gamlestadens fabriker now stands. In the northeastern parts of Nya Lödöse, the country estate Kviberg, also called Gamlestadens landeri, was built. At an early stage, it was divided into plots where Dutch farmers grew vegetables and kept cattle. In the late 1800s, this country estate was called Mariedal. Another country estate, Marieholms landeri, was situated to the northwest of Säveån; the buildings stood until 1938.  

When the archaeologists excavated the area, the remains of the country estates covered the sixteenth century town. The traces that were left consisted of cobbled surfaces, sherds of Chinese porcelain and clay pipes. The picture that arises of the 1700s is of the country estate owner sitting with a view over his land, drinking tea, coffee or hot chocolate and smoking his pipe.  

The cobbled yards of the country estates covered the sixteenth century town plots. Photo Markus Andersson

Life and housing

Town plots in Nya Lödöse. Animation Carolina Ask

In the street in front of the library Världslitteraturhuset, where the tramlines run today, two sixteenth century town plots are marked with red stones. During the archaeological excavations they were called town plot 1 and 3. They were located between two streets, which were oriented in an east-westerly direction. The plots were divided by a narrow strip of unbuilt land. In the 1357 Urban Code of King Magnus Eriksson, regulations about the space between neighbouring houses stipulated that there should be enough room so that water did not run onto the neighbour’s roof.  

Town plot 1 was laid out when Nya Lödöse was founded in 1473. Important occupations in those days, when Nya Lödöse was new, were cattle herding and slaughter. Plenty of waste from slaughtering of cows, bulls and oxen was discovered on this plot. The town plots of Nya Lödöse all had a similar structure with adjoining or detached buildings placed at the sides of the plot alongside the street. The buildings closed off the yard, separating it from the street apart from access through one or several gateways. 

Over time, two lengths of houses were added to town plot 1 along one of the main streets of the town. The western house had six rooms. Two large rooms had entrances from the street, and could be used as a shop or for serving food and beer. On the inner side of these, there was an entrance hall with a door to the yard. Fibres of bulrush were discovered in between the floorboards of the entrance hall indicating that soft quilts had been stored there. Beyond the entrance hall, there was a larger room with a fireplace and chimney; a heated room for daily use. 

The eastern house had a large room that was later divided into two. Initially, it was a stable for horses, cows or sheep, which was later rebuilt and divided into two rooms and a hay loft. The one part was used as a cattle house and the other as a dwelling house where food was cooked and beer, made with hops or bog myrtle, was brewed. Household waste was thrown out in the space between the houses. Fish bones, animal bones and broken pottery were found here, but also the contents of potties, which showed that people had eaten berries and chewed fishbones.  

A guesthouse with international visitors?

Large parts of the neighbouring house on town plot 2 were intended for dwelling, and many objects had been left behind. Beer brewing and pig husbandry indicate that the buildings might have functioned as a guesthouse. During the first period of the town, until 1540, beer made of hops was popular. In the later part of the 1500s, the beer was made of bog myrtle (sweet gale).  

Six knives and six locks were found at town plot 2. Perhaps the need to lock one’s door would have been greater at a guesthouse? Ceramic and glass vessels from the North Sea region and the Mediterranean region, along with lead seals for goods from Regensburg in southeastern Germany, indicate contact and trading with the whole of Europe.  

An extremely unusual object, a pocket watch, was discovered in the part of the house that dated from the earliest period of the town. The pocket watch must have been brought to Nya Lödöse before 1540. Since production of such pocket watches only started in the beginning of the 1500s, this would have been an object that was highly modern. We do not know who it belonged to but presumably somebody who liked novelties and prestige. Perhaps the guesthouse was a good place to show off one’s new possessions? 

The rusty lump did not look like much when it came to light, but an x-ray revealed that a mechanism was hidden under the ruined surface. Photo Markus Andersson and Studio Västsvensk konservering.

In a painting from 1532, the German merchant Georg Giese is seen with a portable clock in front of him on the table. Painting by Hans Holbein the Younger. Wikimedia commons. License public domain