Two of the city’s oldest palaces are located in this square, flanked by two bronze horses. The palace at no. 8 was built in the mid-seventeenth century by Field Marshal Gustaf Horn. It was rebuilt 100 years later, when it acquired the character of an eighteenth century French palace.

Foreign ambassadors and ministers lodged here when they visited the capital, so it became known as the Ministers’ Palace. Later it became a base of overseas administration and soon earned its present name of Foreign Ministry Hotel. Parts of the building are now used as offices by the Musical Academy and the Swedish Institute.

Baatska Palatset stands nearby at no. 6. Its exterior dates from 1669 and was designed by Tessin the Elder. In 1876-1877 it was partly rebuilt by F. W. Scholander for the Freemasons, who still have their lodge here.

Another interesting complex of buildings can be found on the square at no. 10. The façade which faces on to Nybrokajen, along the water’s edge, is an attractive example of the Neo-Renaissance style of the 1870s and 1880s.