Sofiiska Square
Sofiiska Square
Софійська площа | |
|---|---|
| Public square | |
 | |
| Features | |
| Location |  Old Kyiv, Shevchenkivskyi District, Kyiv, Ukraine |
 Interactive map of Sofiiska Square | |
| Coordinates: 50°27′12″N 30°30′58″E / 50.4534°N 30.5161°E | |
Sofiiska Square, also translated as Sophia Square, (Ukrainian: Софійська площа, romanized: Sofiiska ploshcha) is a square in central Old Kyiv, Ukraine. Located in the Shevchenkivskyi District of Kyiv, the square lies in front of Saint Sophia Cathedral. It is bordered by Volodymyrska Street, and features a monument of Bohdan Khmelnytsky.
The city's Christmas and New Year's festivities were held in Sofiiska Square from 2014 onwards, after they were moved from Maidan Nezalezhnosti due to the events of Euromaidan. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many of the festivities have been indefinitely suspended.
Description and location
[edit]Sofiiska Square is a square in central Old Kyiv, Ukraine, located in the Shevchenkivskyi District of Kyiv, the square is in front of Saint Sophia Cathedral. It is surrounded by Volodymyrska Street, Volodymyrska Proezd, Alla Tarasova Street, Sofia Street, and Rylsky Lane.[citation needed]
Bohdan Khmelnytsky Monument
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In the centre of Sofiiska Square is the monument of Bohdan Khmelnytsky,[1] dedicated to Bohdan Khmelnytsky, the first Hetman of the Zaporizhian Host. Consecrated in 1888 as part of the celebration of the 900th anniversary of the Christianization of Kievan Rus', the monument is one of the oldest sculptural monuments in Kyiv. It is a dominating feature of Sofiiska Square and one of the city's symbols.[2]
History
[edit]In 1036, Yaroslav the Wise defeated the Pechenegs on the site of Sofiiska Square. The square was formed on the "field outside the city" after the construction of St Sophia Cathedral (1036), when it was known as Starokyivska Square.[3]
Over time the area in the vicinity of the square was built up, and at the beginning of the 19th century a monastery stable yard existed on the site. In around 1840, a square was established on the site of the former yard.[4] After the construction of the Provincial Presence Building (1854–1857), the square was separated from the neighbouring Saint Michael's Square and given its current boundaries In 1869, the new official name of the square, Sofiyevskaya, was announced in the pro-Russification newspaper Kievlyanin.[5]
In 1921, Sofiiska Square was renamed The Square of the Red Heroes of Perekop, in honour of the victory of the Red Army over the Army of Wrangel near Perekop in 1920.[6] In 1926, the name was amended to Heroes of Perekop Square. During the German occupation (1941–1943), the official name was Sophia Square.[citation needed] In 1944, it was named Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Square.[7] The name of the square was reverted to its current form in 1993.[8]
Post-independence
[edit]
In 2014, Kyiv's annual Christmas and New Year's festivities were moved from Maidan Nezalezhnosti to Sofiiska Square, following the events of the Euromaidan. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many of these festivities have been indefinitely suspended.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- ^ Udovik 2004, p. 33.
- ^ Tsalyk, Stanislav (12 December 2007). "Бронзова альтернатива Мазепі" [Bronze alternative to Mazepa]. Kyiv Weekly (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 28 September 2009. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
- ^ Gall, A. (1939). "Maidan of the Heroes of Perekop". Soviet Kiev (in Russian). No. 9-10 (28-29). pp. 43–44.
- ^ Lebedintsev, Petro Gavrylovych (1909). "Къ матеріаламъ для исторической топографіи Кіева" [To materials for the historical topography of Kyiv]. Proceedings of the Kyiv Spiritual Academy. 2: 311–336.
- ^ "О наименованіи нѣкоторыхъ улицъ и площадей въ Кіевѣ" [On the naming of some streets and squares in Kiev]. Kievlyanin (in Russian). No. 95. 14 August 1869. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
- ^ "Улицы Киева–1921" [Streets of Kyiv–1921]. archive.is (in Russian). Retrieved 21 November 2025.
- ^ "Улицы Киева — 1944" [Streets of Kyiv - 1944]. Kyivska Pravda (in Ukrainian). No. 249 (6223). 22 December 1944. p. 2. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
- ^ "Order of the Kyiv City Council of People's Deputies and the Kyiv City State Administration dated February 2, 1993 No. 16/116 "On the return of historical names to streets, renaming of parks of culture and recreation, metro stations"" (in Ukrainian). State Archives of Kyiv. pp. 207–212. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
Sources
[edit]- Udovik, Sergeĭ Leonidovich (2004). Kyiv. Kyiv, Ukraine: Vakler. ISBN 9789665430896.
Further reading
[edit]- Beissinger, Mark R. (2022). The Revolutionary City: Urbanization and the Global Transformation of Rebellion. Princeton, New Jersey; Oxford, UK: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691224763.
External links
[edit]
- Sophiyska Square from Positivus
- Sophia Square in Kyiv from Kievtown.net (in Ukrainian)