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Tyska Brunnsplan (Swedish: "German Well Square") is a small, triangular public square in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located in the junction between the streets Svartmangatan and Själagårdsgatan, the former leading to Stortorget and the latter to Brända Tomten. As several local names knows to tell (e.g. Tyska Stallplan and Tyska Skolgränd) the square is named after the vicinity to the German Church and the German community which once occupied the neighbourhood.
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Map of Tyska Brunnsplan, Stockholm, Sweden
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 Palmstedt (1741-1803) to design the new square, its well and façades. The Neoclassical 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 cast iron columns. The first synagogue 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 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.