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Street sign, Gustaf Adolfs Torg in Göteborg. Photo by Historiker.

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Gustaf Adolfs Torg

Gustaf Adolf Square, built in 1629 and known for two centuries as Stortorget (Big Square), takes its name from the plaza’s statue of Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden from 1611 to 1632. Take note of the statue’s finger pointing to the ground. According to legend, the king rode up Otterhällan Mountain and said, “The city shall be placed here,” pointing to the fields surrounding the canal below.
Take a selfie in the same pose as Gustaf, and you won’t be the only one. The king is said to be one of the greatest military leaders in European history, having led Sweden to greatness during the Thirty Years War, so his statue seems appropriate in Gothenburg’s main square.

1. A large Christmas tree is lit up and placed in Times Square during the holidays

Christmas tree. Photo by Felicia Buitenwerf.

During the holidays, a massive Christmas tree illuminates the plaza, and Gothenburg’s most famous winter market fills the plaza, harkening back to the 17th century, when farmers’ carts filled the square and boats filled with food for sale jammed the canal.

2. The statue in the square today is a copy

Gustav II Adolf. Photo by Axt.

B.E Fogelberg was commissioned by Gothenburg in 1845 to create a statue of Gustav Adolf. The first statue (cast) was created in Rome, but unfortunately, this mission failed due to poor bronze quality. Following this failure, a wax model was sent to Munich, where a new statue was completed in 1851. The ship carrying the statue to Sweden sank in the North Sea. The statue was rescued, however the people who rescued it wanted a large sum of money, so it ended up being much cheaper to order a new one instead.

3. The Gustav Adolf Torg Statue is based on the legend of Gustav II Adolf

Gustaf Adolfs; Stockholm. Photo by Holger.Ellgaard.

According to legend, the king rode up Otterhällan Mountain and said, “The City shall be placed here,” pointing to the fields surrounding the canal below. As a result, the pointed finger on the statue is modeled after his motion. One peculiarity of the statue is that the King appears to be very old in the face; the King was only 24 years old when he declared that the city would be built here.

4. Gustav Adolf’s Torg has a central square

It is named after Gustav II Adolf of Sweden (1594-1632). Gustav Adolfs Torg is a square in the Norrmalm district of Stockholm, directly on Norrbo. The Royal Opera House and the Hereditary Palace, which houses the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are both located on the Square.

5. Initially, the square hosted a variety of trade activities involving a wide range of goods

Gothenburg, Sweden. Moose North-Migrating Festival. Photo by Tony Webster.

Several trades with a variety of merchandise were held in the square. Farmer carts were parked near each other in the square, and boats were tied up and loaded with merchandise along the canal.

6. Gustav Adolf pastry was created to commemorate the erection of the statue in Gustav Adolf’s Torg square

A Gustaf Adolf pastry. Photo by Yvwv.

Around 1900, the pastry was invented. Since the 1850s, a konditorei in Gothenburg has sold candy with the image of the king. The first mention of a pastry is from the Western parts of Sweden in the 1890s, when the pastry was most likely created in conjunction with the festivities when a statue of the king was erected in Gothenburg on a square that is now known as Gustaf Adolfs torg (“Gustavus Adolphus Square”). Bräutigams, a bakery in Gothenburg, claims to have invented it in the early twentieth century, citing the years 1905 or 1909.

The pastry’s recipes vary by region, but most versions feature a portrait of the king on top, usually made of chocolate or marzipan. A competition organized by Livrustkammaren and Gastronomiska akademien (“Gastronomic Academy of Sweden”) in 2003 chose a winner who did not have the king’s portrait. The Swedish bakeries and konditoreis, on the other hand, preferred their old versions, so the attempt to create a standard Gustavus Adolphus pastry was a failure. It is unknown how many Gustav Adolphus pastries are sold each November. In 2009, the newspaper Göteborgs-Tidningen estimated total Swedish sales and consumption at over 10,000.

7. The Bourse can be found on the north side of Gustav Adolph’s Torg

Gothenburg, City Hall (the Bourse) at Gustav Adolfs Torg. Photo by W. Bulach.

The Bourse is a municipal building in the Swedish city of Gothenburg. It is situated to the north of Gustaf Adolf Square. Architect Pehr Johan Ekman designed it in the Neoclassical style as a mercantile exchange with a ballroom. It first opened on December 1, 1849. Since January 5, 1863, the Gothenburg City Council has held its meetings here.

Börsen, the Swedish term for this structure, is frequently mistranslated into English as “The Stock Exchange.” The building, however, was never primarily a stock exchange, but rather a commercial or mercantile exchange in the same spirit as a modern commodities exchange. Although there was no royal patronage for the Gothenburg exchange, it served a similar function to contemporaneous royal exchanges in Dublin, Edinburgh, and London.

8. The Gustav Adolph’s Torg is surrounded by the Gothenburg City Hall

The Gothenburg City Hall is in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built in the Beaux-Arts style and served as a law court until 2010. The older structure was constructed around 1670. Nicodemus Tessin the Elder was the architect. The newer section was completed in 1936, thanks to the design and supervision of architect Gunnar Asplund.

9. Artists and bands use Gustav Adolph as a concert venue

Gothenburg, Sweden. Moose North-Migrating Festival. Photo by Tony Webster.

On August 21, 2022, the Gustav Adolf Square hosted a concert with the Royal Swedish Opera. The concert featured the Royal Swedish Orchestra, the Royal Swedish Opera Chorus, soloists, and conductor Eugene Tzigane, and was a highlight of autumn. In addition, fire artists perform at the Big Square fire shows.

10. At the Gustav Adolf Torg, food trucks sell food and refreshments

Food trucks arrive in the square in the evening to serve welcome refreshments to visitors. The food trucks serve street food, which is popular at the time. Burgers, chicken, and Mexican tacos, for example.