Tyska brunnsplan, square in Gamla stan, Stockholm, Sweden

Tyska brunnsplan is a small triangular square in Stockholm’s old town, with a stone well house at its center and two old chestnut trees nearby. The space is framed by narrow cobblestone streets and low old buildings, and it sits low enough that rainwater once gathered here easily.

The square appeared around the end of the 1700s after a building was removed to give fire wagons more room to turn. City architect Erik Palmstedt gave the space its shape and designed the small well house in a neat classical style that matched the town’s rebuilding after the fires.

The name still points to the old German community in this part of the city, and today locals treat the square as a quiet meeting point rather than a must-stop site. People lean against the stone curb of the well house, wait for friends, or rest under the chestnut trees before continuing down the nearby lanes.

The square is easiest to reach on foot by following the narrow lanes of Gamla stan, and the ground is partly cobbled and slightly uneven in places. It is a small spot, so you can still get a clear view even when other people are passing through, and the well and trees are visible immediately.

The thin jet seen in summer is fed by Stockholm's mains water supply, not drawn from the ground; the well was renovated by Stockholm Vatten in 2002. The structure itself is Erik Palmstedt's design of 1787, a small temple with four Doric columns, and the drawing he made for it in 1785 was titled "Project till Tyska Brunnens förnyande".