Tyska Brunnsplan
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....
. It is located in the junction between the streets Svartmangatan and Själagårdsgatan
Själagårdsgatan
Själagårdsgatan is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching south from Köpmangatan to Tyska Brunnsplan, it forms a parallel street to Baggensgatan...
, the former leading to Stortorget
Stortorget (Stockholm)
Stortorget is a small public square in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is the oldest square in Stockholm, the historical centre around which the medieval urban conglomeration gradually came into being...
and the latter to Brända Tomten
Brända Tomten
Brända Tomten is a small, triangular public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.A few benches under a chestnut tree, the ivy hanging from the surrounding façades makes the space a lush, relaxed spot...
. As several local names knows to tell (e.g. Tyska Stallplan
Tyska Stallplan
Tyska Stallplan is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching south from Svartmangatan to Prästgatan, it is connected to Baggensgatan and Mårten Trotzigs Gränd, while forming a parallel street to Österlånggatan and Tyska Brinken.By the street are the public...
and Tyska Skolgränd
Tyska Skolgränd
Tyska Skolgränd is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden, stretching from Svartmangatan to Baggensgatan, and crossed by Själagårdsgatan....
) the square is named after the vicinity to the German Church
German Church, Stockholm
Tyska kyrkan , sometimes called St. Gertrude's Church , is a church in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden....
and the German community which once occupied the neighbourhood.
Origin of the name
The square appears as Tyske Brunnen ("German Well") and Stadsens brunn vid Gillestugan ("the city's well by the guild homestead") in 1649; as Tyska Brunn in both 1728 and 1820; and as Tyska Brunsplan in 1863.History
Until the early 18th century, the corner where the two streets meet was the location for a well of considerable proportions. During the later part of the century, the city's fire company established so called 'turning spaces' (spaces big enough for the turning radius of horse-drawn vehicles) on various locations to prevent throngs of people to cause accidents in case of fire, and thus had a building demolished on this location in 1783 to allow more space. They appointed the city architect Erik PalmstedtErik Palmstedt
Erik Palmstedt was an outstanding Swedish architect working for the court circle of Gustav III, where he was in the forefront of Neoclassical style and at the heart of a social and intellectual circle that formed round him...
(1741-1803) to design the new square, its well and façades. The Neoclassical
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
ambitions of the Gustavian architect had to compromise in the Medieval urban landscape, which resulted in the present small-scale composition; the concave façade with its windows of various sizes acting as a scenic background for the magnificent well and its doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
columns. The first synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
in Stockholm (see Aaron Isaac) was found on the square's eastern side in the 19th century, from 1870 the location for a police station.
Where are today the well flanked by two chestnut
Chestnut
Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
trees, was once the pharmacy Svanen ("The Swan") which gave the block its Latin name Cygnus. With the creation of the square the pharmacy moved across Svartmangatan were its sign is still hanging. The address is today the location for a public bath and the school of the old town.