The formation of the square began in the late 18th - early 19th centuries. With the demolition of the city walls, the city space was freed up. In 1839-1841, the city authorities carried out the arching of the Poltva on this section of its course. Long before this event, important objects for the city were located on the square: the hotels “Georges”, “European”, “French”), the Yablonsky bookstore, and various shops. In 1863, pavilions of photo studios were already built in the courtyards of several houses on the square. Today, only one building remains “alive” from the buildings of the ancient square - No. 11, located on the corner of Halytska Square. In July 1843, the square was solemnly opened, which was named after the then governor of Galicia, Archduke Ferdinand d’Este. With the construction of a figure of the Virgin Mary in the center of the square (1862), it was called Mariyska, officially This name was fixed in 1871 during the arrangement of the streets and squares of Lviv.