Mariatorget (the Maria Square) is a

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90-degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length adj ...

and a city

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

in the district of

Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is a district and island in central Stockholm. Overview The district covers the large island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''). Although Södermalm usually is considered an island, wat ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden.

History

It was constructed at the end of the 1760s. Its original name was Adolf Fredriks torg (after King Adolphus Frederick, who reigned 1751–1771), but it was renamed "Mariatorget" in 1959 to avoid confusion with the church and

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Adolf Fredrikskyrkan in

Norrmalm Norrmalm is a city district in Stockholm, Sweden. History Norrmalm is part of the larger borough of Norrmalm (''Norrmalms stadsdelsområde''). The southern part of the district, Lower Norrmalm (''Nedre Norrmalm''), also known as City, const ...

. The modern name alludes to the nearby Maria Magdalena kyrka (Church of

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...

) and the surrounding parish. The square faces the street of Hornsgatan to the north, and the street of S:t Paulsgatan to the south. The street Swedenborgsgatan, named after

Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg (, ; born Emanuel Swedberg; 29 March 1772) was a Swedish pluralistic-Christian theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic. He became best known for his book on the afterlife, ''Heaven and Hell'' (1758). Swedenborg had ...

, starts there and continues southwards. In the northeast part is a bust in bronze from 1973 depicting Emanuel Swedenborg by Gustav Nordahl (1903-1992). The central fountain is crowned by a sculpture by Anders Henrik Wissler (1869- 1941). ''Tors fiske (Thor's fishing)'', depicting the Norse god

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred groves ...

slaying the

sea serpent A sea serpent or sea dragon is a type of dragon sea monster described in various mythologies, most notably Mesopotamian (Tiamat), Judaeo-Christian (Leviathan), Greek (Cetus, Echidna, Hydra, Scylla), and Norse (Jörmungandr). Mythology and folk ...

Jörmungandr In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr ( non, Jǫrmungandr, lit=the Vast gand, see Etymology), also known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent ( non, Miðgarðsormr), is an unfathomably large sea serpent or worm who dwells in the world sea, encir ...

. A small

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

church, S:t Paulskyrkan, faces the southwest corner of the square. It houses the oldest Methodist congregation in Sweden. The building was inaugurated in 1876. The

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

painting by Wilhelm Gernandt was added when the altar section was rebuilt in 1894. The area surrounding the park offers quite a number of cafés and bars and is known as the area where Stockholm's LGBT+ nightlife concentrates. The Rival hotel and bar, which until recently was a cinema theatre, is partly owned by former ABBA star

Benny Andersson Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, singer, composer and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', '' Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma M ...

References

Other sources

Article
in

Dagens Nyheter ''Dagens Nyheter'' (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record. History and profile ''Da ...

, published March 14, 2005 (in Swedish). *Alfredsson, B., Berndt, R., Harlén, H.: ''Stockholm Under. 50 år - 100 stationer''. – Stockholm: Brombergs, 2000.
S:t Pauls Metodistförsamling
- Official page (in Swedish). {{coord, 59, 19, 05, N, 18, 03, 45, E, region:SE_type:landmark, display=title Parks in Stockholm Squares in Stockholm

History

See also

References

Other sources