Odenplan, Plaza in Vasastaden, Stockholm, Sweden
Odenplan is a triangular square in Vasastaden, central Stockholm, with no street addresses of its own; surrounding buildings are numbered on Odengatan, Karlbergsvägen and Upplandsgatan. A glass-and-metal entrance with a blue "Odenplan" sign leads down to the metro and, since 2017, the commuter rail station. A broad white stairway with slim metal handrails rises beside it, and Gustaf Vasa Church stands on the square.
The name Odenplan comes from Odin, the chief god in Norse mythology, following a pattern used for several streets and squares in this part of Stockholm. A station opened here in the 1950s as the city expanded its rail network to serve the growing northern neighborhoods.
The square takes its name from the Norse god Odin, and the surrounding streets follow the same theme. Gustaf Vasa Church, designed by Agi Lindegren and consecrated in 1906, holds 1,500 seats and was Stockholm's largest church at the time. The square has no street addresses; buildings are assigned to the surrounding Odengatan, Karlbergsvägen and Upplandsgatan.
The square is easy to reach on foot from several directions, and the wide walkways are accessible for wheelchairs and strollers. The station entrances are spread around the square, so it helps to check which exit is closest to your destination before heading underground.
In Bo Widerberg's 1976 film The Man on the Roof, a helicopter crashes into the entrance of the underground public toilet on Odenplan. The square also appears in the opening credits of the 1999 film Vuxna människor, and rapper Mange Schmidt named his 2009 album Odenplan, Stockholm 1988.
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