Maidan
Independence Square, Maidan Nezalezhnosti
Ukraine, Kyiv
Independence Square (in Ukrainian Maidan Nezalezhnosti, colloquial version - Maidan) is the main square of Kyiv. The square gained international fame during the so-called Orange Revolution in the fall of 2004. For several weeks, this square was the center of public protests.
Until the 10th century, the area in the area of u200bu200bthe current Maidan Nezalezhnosti was called Perevesishche, and was a forest jungle. During the time of Yaroslav the Wise there were fortifications with city gates. At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century, on the site of the future Maidan, there was a wasteland called "Goat Swamp", with the remains of defensive ramparts overlooking it.
The area as such was formed in the 1830s, when the remains of the defensive ramparts were demolished. At the same time, it received the name Khreshchatitskaya - from the name of the street to which it directly adjoined. In 1876, the building of the City Duma was built on the square, and it received the name Duma. In 1919, the square was renamed into Sovetskaya, and in 1935 - into Kalinin Square. In 1941, the building of the Duma (after the revolution it housed the Regional Committee of the Communist Party (b) of Ukraine) burned down, and the territory of the square greatly increased due to the destroyed odd side of Khreshchatyk. In 1944, a competition was announced for the best project for the restoration of Khreshchatyk, adjacent streets and squares, in these projects of Kalinin Square, now located on both sides of Khreshchatyk, the role of the main square of the city was assigned. The modern building of the square is formed by buildings of the 1950s - 70s. In 1961, the building of the hotel "Moscow" (now - "Ukraine") was erected. In subsequent years, the area was repeatedly rebuilt and reconstructed. In 1977 it was renamed the October Revolution Square. It acquired its current name after the declaration of independence of Ukraine in 1991. The metro station Independence Square (opened in 1976) changed its name at the same time as the square.
In 2001, a major restructuring of the Maidan was undertaken: many new monuments, sculptures and fountains appeared. In the center of the square, a tall white column was erected, crowned with the figure of a girl with a viburnum branch in her hands, symbolizing the independence of Ukraine. The Pechersky (Lyadsky) gates, which led to the city of Yaroslav, were restored, and the figure of the patron saint of the city, Archangel Michael, was installed on them. A large shopping center was built under the square.
