Brunnsgränd


Brunnsgränd is an alley in Gamla stan, the old town in central Stockholm, Sweden. Connecting Skeppsbron to Österlånggatan, it forms a parallel street to Nygränd and Skottgränd. It is the widest alley in the old town.
The alley, mentioned as brundzgrenden in 1526, is named after a water well mentioned in 1461, when a blacksmith named Henrik was paid for having "forged on the well on 'Fisherman's Square'". Historically, wells in cities were located in open spaces, and, oddly enough, neither a well or a square can be found near the present alley. During the Middle Ages and until the 1520s, however, a square called Fisketorget was found between Brunnsgränd and the alley north of it, Nygränd, at the time the biggest in Stockholm connected to the central square Stortorget through Köpmangatan. In the early 19th century, the well could still be found in the western end of the alley, but it has since been surrounded by buildings. Occasionally, the alley's name is erroneously associated with a fountain from 1912, located on Österlånggatan, under the statue of Saint George and the Dragon.