Majdan Nezalezhnosti
Coordinates: 50 ° 27 ′ 0 ″ N , 30 ° 31 ′ 27 ″ E
| Majdan Nezalezhnosti Majdan |
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 The Majdan with the Independence Monument (2013) |
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| Basic data | |
| place | Kiev |
| District | Shevchenko Raion |
| Created | in the middle of the 19th century |
| Newly designed | 2001 |
| Hist. Names | “Chreschatyki”, from 1871 “Dums`ka”, from 1919 “Sowjetska”, from 1935 “Kalinin Square”, from 1941 to 1943 “Platz des 19. September” (during the German occupation), from 1977 to 1991 “Platz the October Revolution " |
| Confluent streets | Khreshchatyk , Instytutska Street |
| Buildings | Hotel Ukrajina , Independence Monument , National Music Academy , House of Unions , Kiev main post office , house Khreshchatyk 13 , Lach Gates , Fountain of the city's founder , Cossack Mamaj Memorial , underground station Maidan Nezalezhnosti |
| use | |
| User groups | Pedestrian traffic , motor traffic , public transport , events , demonstrations |
The Maidan Nezalezhnosti ( Ukrainian Майдан Незалежності [ maɪ̯dan nezalɛʒnosci ]; Russian Площадь Независимости Ploshchad Nesawissimosti ; German "Independence Square" and "Independence Square") is the central square of the Ukrainian capital Kiev . He is usually called Majdan for short .
The square is divided into a northern and a southern part by the Khreshchatyk (a multi-lane main road). Both parts of the square are connected by the underground shopping center “Globus” and the underpass of the metro station “ Majdan Nesaleschnosti ”.
The Maidan became world famous in 2004 through the Orange Revolution when it was the center of political protest against electoral fraud in the Ukrainian presidential election. He was also the focus of the Euromaidan protests named after him between November 2013 and the end of February 2014 .
history
The history of today's Majdan began in the middle of the 19th century when the first stone buildings of Kiev were erected here. At first it was called "Chreschatyki", from 1871 onwards, due to the building of the city council (Duma) built in its center, "Dums'ka". After the October Revolution the square was renamed “Sowjetska” and from 1935 it was called “ Kalinin Square”.
The German occupiers named the square during the occupation from 1941 to November 6, 1943 after the day of the conquest of Kiev by the Wehrmacht as "September 19th Square". Like the entire city center of Kiev, today's Majdan was badly destroyed during the Second World War. The Duma building was also badly damaged and was never rebuilt. The square has now been completely redesigned in the style of Soviet architecture.
On the sixtieth anniversary of the October Revolution , a monumental monument to the Great October Socialist Revolution was erected on the south side of the square in 1977 , which was dismantled after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. From 1977 to 1991, today's Majdan was called "October Revolution Square". On the 10th anniversary of Ukraine's independence, on August 24, 2001, the Majdan was again fundamentally redesigned.
During the Euromaidan fighting in February 2014, the square was partially devastated and the trade union house burned down.
On August 7, 2014, the authorities began to evacuate the square, which was still occupied by demonstrators, with opposition from the occupiers.
Development of the square
Northern Majdan
The semi-oval north side is framed by seven buildings in the Stalin style of Soviet realism (also known as socialist classicism ). Five streets lead from this side of the square, including St. Sophia Cathedral and Michael Monastery . The house of the trade unions and the Kiev main post office are located directly on the Khreshchatyk . There are also several fountains on the north side of the square, as well as the Ljadski Gate, newly built in 2001, with the bronze sculpture of Archangel Michael , the city's patron saint.
Southern Majdan
The south side of the square has a diameter of 70 meters and is paved with granite slabs in the form of a Ukrainian embroidery pattern. In its center is the 63-meter-high Ukraine Independence Monument . Behind it is a three-story glass palace in the shape of a semicircle, which houses a shopping center. The 16-story “Ukrajina” hotel (until 2001 the “Moskwa” hotel) is enthroned on the slope above . The square is decorated with flower beds and three fountains, of which the fountain of the city founders is adorned with the statues of the four legendary founders of Kiev, Kyj, Shchek, Khoriv and Lybid. The Ukrainian national flag flies over the square. On the west side of the square is flanked by the building of the National Music Academy of Ukraine , in front of it the Cossack Mamaj monument , the east side on which there is a large TV screen gives a view of the October Palace .
literature
- Günther Schäfer: Discover Kiev, tours through the metropolis on the Dnepr. 2nd Edition. Trescher, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-89794-026-0 . 3rd updated edition: Kiev, tours through the metropolis on the Dnepr. Trescher, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-89794-181-6 .
Web links
- Н. Зенькович: Главная площадь города. In: Janus Magazine September 17 , 1996 (Russian, published on janus.ua on February 27, 2012).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Реконструкция майдана Незалежности в Киеве. Architectural firm S. Babyschkin (Архитектурное бюро “С. Бабушкин”), archived from the original on February 5, 2011 ; Retrieved November 22, 2019 (Russian).
- ↑ Oliver Kühn: Eviction in Kiev: Black smoke over the Maidan. In: faz.net . August 7, 2014, accessed November 22, 2019 .