() or () is a historical

public square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...

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. Gamla Stan includes the surrounding islets ...

, the old town in central

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. It was once located on the east shore of the island

Stadsholmen Stadsholmen is the historical name of an island in the centre of Stockholm, Sweden. Stadsholmen is connected to the mainland via several bridges. Together with the small islands of Riddarholmen and Helgeandsholmen it forms Gamla stan, the old to ...

, between the present streets

Österlånggatan is a street in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching southward from Slottsbacken to Järntorget (Stockholm), Järntorget, it forms a parallel street to Baggensgatan and Skeppsbron. Major sights include the statue of Saint Ge ...

and

Skeppsbron Skeppsbron ( Swedish: "The Ship's Bridge") is both a street and a quay in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, capital of Sweden, stretching from the bridge Strömbron in front of the Royal Palace southward to Slussen. The quay Skeppsbrok ...

, and between the present alleys Nygränd () and Brunnsgränd (). As Stockholm grew rapidly during the 14th century, the city within the

city wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or Earthworks (military), earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as ...

s became cramped for space, and the surrounding shores started to be built upon and subsequently by land fillings between the bridges extended into the water. Thus, elongated blocks appeared between narrow alleys along the eastern shore of the city, with the exception of the area outside the only eastern

city gate A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway. Uses City gates were traditionally built to provide a point of controlled access to and departure from a walled city for people, vehicles, goods ...

— the so-called () which extended Köpmangatan () from the city's central square,

Stortorget Stortorget (, "the Grand Square") is a public square in Gamla Stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is the oldest square in Stockholm, the historical centre on which the medieval urban conglomeration gradually came into being. To ...

(), beyond the city wall over

Köpmanbrinken Köpmanbrinken ( Swedish: "Merchant's Slope") is a street composed of two slopes, in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Both slopes connect the street Österlånggatan west up to the small Köpmantorget and the street Köpman ...

. Originally, the marketplace was called () and also encompassed a section of the shoreline stretching north up to the present alley

Skeppar Karls Gränd Skeppar Karls Gränd ( Swedish: "Skipper Karl's Alley") is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching from Skeppsbron to Österlånggatan, it forms a parallel street to Telegrafgränd and Bredgränd. History The alley ...

. From 1413, the square was probably flanked by two defensive towers, some major building featuring

stepped gable A stepped gable, crow-stepped gable, or corbie step is a stairstep type of design at the top of the triangular gable-end of a building. The top of the parapet wall projects above the roofline and the top of the brick or stone wall is stacked in ...

s, and several one-storey buildings. In 1461, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

named Henrik is mentioned as having forged on a

water well A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

on the square, at the time the biggest in Stockholm. The well eventually gave the southern alley its name and was still found in the alley until the 19th century. However, the square started to be built upon during the early 1520s, which eventually led to the present block on the location, Diana, which still contains the well.

References

See also