Sophia Square, one of the oldest and most central squares in Kyiv, is a historically significant location. On it you can see the bell tower of St. Sophia Cathedral and the monument to Bogdan Khmelnitsky. The square itself is limited by Vladimirskaya street, Vladimirsky passage, Alla Tarasova street, Sofievskaya street and Rylsky lane.
According to legend, this is the place where a field was once opened near the walls of the city. In 1036, Yaroslav the Wise fought a victorious battle with the Pechenegs here and then erected St. Sophia’s Cathedral, calling the square in front of it Sofia.
In the period from 1854 to 1857, the Offices were separated from Mikhailovskaya Square, where the restored St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral is located.
In the history of the change of the name of this square, the period from 1921 to 1944 is noted, when it was called the Square of the Red Heroes of Perekop, dedicated to the victory of the Red Army over the Wrangelites near Perekop in 1920. Then from 1944 to 1993 the square was named after Bogdan Khmelnytsky, in whose honor a monument was erected in its center in 1888.