The Coat of arms of Gothenburg consists of images from Sweden's great coat of arms and is meant to symbolize the city as Sweden's western defence.

[1] The lion in the arms of Gothenburg is turned to heraldic left.

This was originally probably made by mistake, but due to its long tradition the lion has remained in this position.

[1][2][3] The left facing version was eventually decided by Royal decision in 1952, in spite of protests from the National Heraldry Office.

[1] It may be noted that the Gothenburg-based football club IFK Göteborg has the lion turned to the other side in its logo which is based on the city arms.