Mälartorget
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....
, named after its location on the western waterfront of the old town facing Lake Mälaren
Mälaren
Lake Mälaren is the third-largest lake in Sweden, after Lakes Vänern and Vättern. Its area is 1,140 km² and its greatest depth is 64 m. Mälaren spans 120 kilometers from east to west...
. Connected to the square are the streets and alleys Munkbrogatan
Munkbrogatan
Munkbrogatan is a street in the western part of Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching south between Munkbron and Mälartorget squares, it forms a parallel street to Munkbroleden and Lilla Nygatan, crossed by Yxsmedsgränd, Kåkbrinken, and Schönfeldts Gränd.Named after...
, Schönfeldts Gränd
Schönfeldts Gränd
Schönfeldts Gränd is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Stretching south-west from Stora Nygatan to Mälartorget it is crossed by Lilla Nygatan and Munkbrogatan, and forms a parallel street to Kåkbrinken and Lejonstedts Gränd.Before the street names of the old town...
, Tyska Brinken
Tyska Brinken
Tyska Brinken is a street in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Extending Kindstugatan passed the German Church down to the square Mälartorget, it is crossed by Skomakargatan, Prästgatan, Västerlånggatan, Stora Nygatan, Lilla Nygatan, and Munkbrogatan, while forming a parallel...
, and Lejonstedts Gränd
Lejonstedts Gränd
Lejonstedts Gränd is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central stockholm, Sweden. Stretching from Stora Nygatan to Mälartorget and crossed by Lilla Nygatan, it forms a parallel street to Tyska Brinken and Kornhamnstorg....
, while the traffic route Munkbroleden
Munkbroleden
Munkbroleden is a densely trafficked street passing along the western waterfront of Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden...
separates its from the quay. The main exit of the Gamla stan metro station is located on Mälartorget.
The square appears in historical records in 1866 and came into being in the mid 19th century as a by-product when a new harbour was created by land filling. Subsequently, it was originally used to unload agricultural products delivered to the city from around the Lake Mälaren region.
The location was historically known as Flugmötet ("Flies' Meeting") because all latrines produced in the city were emptied behind a wooden paling here before being rowed away by worn-out old women, often former inmates seeking solace in the bottle, during nights. The waste products were brought to a plant on Kungsholmen
Kungsholmen
Kungsholmen is an island in Lake Mälaren in Sweden, part of Stockholm City. It is situated north of Riddarfjärden and considered part of the historical province Uppland....
were it was transformed into a gunpowder component. Though the latrine heap was discontinued during the 1840s, and this latter name never was made explicitly official, it appears in a guidebook in 1844, and was proposed as an official name in 1921.
On the square is the bronze sculpture on a granite base: Familjen ("The Family") by Pye Engström from 1972-1973. The individual figures - a mother, a father, and a child - can be moved and rotated along tracks in the base. The sculpture is an enlarged copy of a piece first exhibited in the 1960s.