The Swedish East India Company, which was a large shipping firm during most of the 18th century, commissioned prolific architect Bengt Wilhelm Carlberg to construct the East India House in 1747. The left or east wing along Norra Hamngatan (North Harbour Street) was finished in 1750. It took another twelve years to complete the building that faces the Great Harbor Canal. In 1861 Ostindiskahuset became a museum which, since 1993, has been called the Gothenburg City Museum. Göteborgs Stadsmuseum contains Swedish historical exhibits dating back to the antiquity.
