Constitution Square (, Ploshcha Konstytutsii) is a square restricted to pedestrians only and located in the very center of

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

city, Pechersk neighborhood of the

Pechersk Raion Pecherskyi District () is an urban district of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It lies within the eponymous historical neighborhood, while also including some other historical areas. The Pechersk (, ) neighborhood is located on the hills adjoinin ...

Constitution Square

The square is elongated, stretching from vulytsia Mykhaila Hrushevskoho (Hrushevsky Street) towards the

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

's sloping banks. On the northern side of the square is an ensemble of two government buildings consisting of the

Verkhovna Rada building The Verkhovna Rada building () is located in the center of Kyiv, in the Pecherskyi District. The building is located at the Constitution Square. It is the place where the Ukrainian parliament (Verkhovna Rada) meets for all regular and ceremonial ...

and the

Mariinskyi Palace The Mariinskyi Palace () is the official residence of the president of Ukraine. The Elizabethan baroque palace is sited on the right bank of the Dnipro River in Kyiv, Ukraine, adjoining the Neoclassical architecture, neo-classical Verkhovna Rada ...

, while on its southern side is Mariinskyi Park. Just past the Palace, Constitution Square ends. Constitution Square was known since the building of the Mariinskiy Palace in 1750. Until 1854, administrative buildings were located here, in addition to the square being used for military parades and training. In 1847, Mariinskyi Park was established next to it. The first recorded name for the square, Dvortsovskaya ploshchad (Palace Square), appeared in 1869. Sometime in 1930s, the square's name was changed to TsVK USSR Square (after the

Central Executive Committee of Ukraine Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

), and in 1940 it was renamed to October Square. After the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

it was known as the Verkhovna Rada Square. In 1977, the square was renamed Soviet Square. After the

fall of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of Nationalities, Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. :s: ...

, the Ukrainian government did not prioritise renaming the square. It was not until 2012 when the square was officially and legally renamed to its current name, the Constitution Square.On amendments to the decision of Kyiv city council on June 20, 2002
. Decision of city council. April 26, 2012.

Constitution Square

References

Further reading