Stortorget
Malmö’s main square, known as Stortorget, is a fine widening space precisely at the heart of the city. A meeting site for centuries, Stortorget continues to be a significant public space, bordered by shops, hotels, and bars.
The old square was conceived way back in the mid 1500s and laid out in that time period, causing a big change in the city’s overall appearance. Medieval structures were removed to pave the way for the few landmarks which adorn the square today.
The most beautiful of these buildings happens to be Rådhuset, Malmö’s town hall, standing on the square’s eastern side. Despite being constructed in 1546, its present façade, sporting a colorful Dutch Renaissance style, came about in the 1860s.
The 2nd most-photographed structure on Stortorget is perhaps Apoteket Lejonet, sitting in the square’s southeast corner. Going back from the 1890s, it’s one of Sweden's best-preserved 19th-Century pharmacies.
It’s worth approaching the pharmacy's central entrance, where a gilded lion-fashioned sculpture watches. Enter and observe the elaborate gothic interiors: they’re adorned with wrought iron, oak and walnut cabinets, and stained glass. The store still operates as a pharmacy now and, although the ground floor is filled with modern potions and lotions, the top level is in sharp contrast with the rest of the shop, having been left to appear as it would have about the era of the store's construction.
Near the heart of Stortorget you'll find a bronze statue of King Karl X Gustav on horseback. This Swedish ruler, who reigned in the mid-17th Century, took on a crucial role in shaping Malmö’s history.
The king coerced the Danes, who have long been controlling Malmö, to eventually return the city to the Swedes.
Visiting
Stortorget is approximately 250 meters south of the Central Station. Cross Mälarbron, go south along Hamngatan and you’ll come across the square before you.
Stortorget
Malmö
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