Kungsportsavenyn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kungsportsavenyn, commonly known as just Avenyn ("The Avenue", It is the major avenue in the city), is the main street of Gothenburg, Sweden, and a smaller counterpart of the Champs-Élysées. It was created in the 1860s and 1870s as a result of an international town planning competition. With a total length of about 1000 meters, it stretches from the old moat at the edge of the older part of Gothenburg, and ends at the Götaplatsen square, where the Gothenburg Museum of Art and several other cultural institutions are located.
At the moat, it connects to the smaller street Östra Hamngatan, and the Avenue takes its it full name after Kungsporten, the "King's Gate" which was located at the point in the fortifications where Östra Hamngatan ends (see Kungsportsplatsen). The gate and the rest of the fortifications were demolished in the 19th century and replaced by a park.
Avenyn passes the Stora teatern, the Neo-Renaissance theatre and opera building from 1859, and has a major concentration of pubs, discoteques and restaurants.
