Birger Jarls torg, Pedestrian square in Gamla stan, Stockholm, Sweden.
Birger Jarls torg is a public square on Riddarholmen in Stockholm, named after the statue of Birger Jarl by Bengt Erland Fogelberg erected here in 1854. The square is bordered by six palaces, now mostly housing government authorities, and Riddarholmen Church stands on its southern side. The square was formerly the churchyard of Riddarholmen Church; its wall was demolished four years after the Riddarholmen fire of 1802, and the ground was converted into a square.
The square was long known as Riddarholmstorget, on the site of Riddarholmen Church's cemetery, whose wall was demolished four years after the 1802 Riddarholm fire. On 4 November 1854 the city's drätselkommission fixed the name Birger Jarls torg, the year Bengt Erland Fogelberg's statue of Birger Jarl was raised. In 1922 the name committee proposed Ständernas Gata and Tottska Planen, but nothing was done.
The square takes its name from the Birger Jarl statue by Bengt Erland Fogelberg, erected in 1854, the same year the city's drätselkommission fixed the name Birger Jarls torg. Since May 2011 two tactile bronze models of Riddarholmen as it looked around 1620 and 1750 have stood here.
The square is easy to reach on foot and sits near public transportation connections. Clear pathways guide visitors comfortably, with seating options available for rest during exploration.
Since May 2011 the square has held two tactile bronze models of Riddarholmen, showing the island as it looked around 1620 and around 1750. Visitors are allowed to touch them, and they stand on the spot that was once the churchyard of Riddarholmen Church, whose wall was demolished four years after the Riddarholm fire of 1802.
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