Looped square


The looped square is a symbol consisting of a square with outward pointing loops at its corners. It is referred to by this name, for example, in works regarding the Mississippian culture. It is also known as the place of interest sign when used on information signs, a practice which started in Finland in the 1950s, spreading to the other Nordic countries in the 1960s. Also, the symbol is known as Saint John's Arms or Saint Hannes cross, as Gorgon loop, and as the command key symbol due to its use on the command key on Apple computer keyboards.
It is an ancient symbol used by several cultures, and remains in common use today. It belongs to a class of symbols which are called valknute in Norway.

Ancient use

The symbol appears on a number of old objects in Northern Europe. It features prominently on a picture stone from Hablingbo, Gotland, Sweden, that was created between 400 and 600 AD.
It is also similar to a traditional heraldic emblem called a Bowen knot.
In Finland, the symbol was painted or carved on houses and barns, and domestic utensils such as tableware, to protect them and their owners from evil spirits and bad luck. The oldest surviving example is a pair of 1000-year-old wooden skis decorated with the symbol.
The looped square also appears on artifacts of the Mississippian culture of the southeastern United States.

Modern use

In modern times, the symbol is commonly found in Ukraine, Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden as an indicator of locations of cultural interest, beginning in Finland in the 1950s and spreading to the other Nordic countries in the 1960s. There has been modern speculation that it was chosen for its resemblance to an aerial view of Borgholm Castle; however, as stated its use for attractions began in Finland, not Sweden, and the symbol is well-represented in Scandinavian artifacts that predate the current castle by centuries.
The symbol later gained international recognition via computing. It is used on Apple keyboards as the symbol for the command key as well as in elementary OS as the symbol for the Super key.

Encoding

In Unicode, it is encoded at, in the block Miscellaneous Technical.

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