Brantingtorget (

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used b ...

: "Square of Branting") is the

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

of the Chancery House annex (''Kanslihusannexet''), acting as one of the

public square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

s in

Gamla stan Gamla stan (, "The Old Town"), until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna ("The Town between the Bridges"), is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. Officially, but not colloquially, Gamla st ...

, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden.

History

The square is named after the country's first democratically elected Prime Minister

Hjalmar Branting Karl Hjalmar Branting (; 23 November 1860 – 24 February 1925) was a Swedish politician who was the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party (SAP) from 1907 until his death in 1925, and three times Prime Minister of Sweden. When Branting cam ...

(1860–1925). It was designed together with the surrounding building by the architect Artur von Schmalensee (1900–1972) and built in 1945–1950. It is connected to surrounding streets by several passages, of which some are the remains of alleys once criss-crossing the block –

Klockgjutargränd Klockgjutargränd ( Swedish: "Bell-Founder's Alley") is a small alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Passing under a low vault, it connects the street Västerlånggatan to the public square and courtyard Brantingtorget ...

Kolmätargränd Kolmätargränd is a small alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Passing under a low vault it connects the street Västerlånggatan to the square and courtyard Brantingtorget forming a parallel street to Klockgjutargr� ...

, and

Stenbastugränd Stenbastugränd is a small alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Connecting Västerlånggatan to the square Brantingtorget, it forms a parallel street to Kolmätargränd and Storkyrkobrinken. The present name of the a ...

. The dramatic contrast between the narrow alleys and the relatively large round open space they hide, is astonishingly harmonic, the result of a compromise between the will of antiquaries wanting to preserve the medieval architecture and that of the department wanting to displace what it regarded as slum in disrepair. The post-WW2

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...

of the place excited a mode of indignation among other contemporary architects, claiming modern democracy had dressed itself up in a disguise. Centred on the square is the bronze sculpture ''Morgon'' from 1962 by Ivar Johnsson (1885-1970).

References

Squares in Stockholm {{Stockholm-geo-stub

History

See also

References