Gåstorget
Encyclopedia
Public Square
Public Square is the central plaza in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It takes up four city blocks; Superior Avenue and Ontario Street cross through it. Cleveland's three tallest buildings, Key Tower, 200 Public Square and the Terminal Tower, face the square...
in Gamla stan
Gamla stan
Gamla stan , until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna , is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. The surrounding islets Riddarholmen, Helgeandsholmen, and Strömsborg are officially part of, but not colloquially included in, Gamla stan...
, the old town in central Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, situated between the two alleys Överskärargränd
Överskärargränd
Överskärargränd is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden...
and Gåsgränd
Gåsgränd
Gåsgränd is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Connecting the streets Västerlånggatan, Stora Nygatan, and Lilla Nygatan, it forms a parallel street to Ignatiigränd and Överskärargränd, and leads down to the square Munkbron on the western waterfront of the old town...
.
Starting in 1730 as a proposal from the City Architect J E Carlberg (1683-1773), turning spaces for horse-drawn vehicle
Horse-drawn vehicle
A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load...
s were being created on various locations in the city, mostly for the purpose of facilitating fire fighting, and in 1796 such a space was created on the present location. Though the square wasn't given an official name, it was occasionally referred to as either Gåsplan ("Goose Plane") or Gåsgtorget, and as proposal in 1981 to name the square after the troubadour Evert Taube
Evert Taube
Evert Axel Taube was a Swedish author, artist, composer and singer. He is best known for his folk songs, and is widely regarded as one of Sweden's most respected musicians.-Biography:...
(1890-1976) wasn't met with sympathy, the present name was made official instead.
On the square is a one metre tall bronze sculpture on a granite base, Tungviktare ("Heavyweights") from 1967 by the sculptor Sven Lundqvist (1918-).