<p>

A retouched photo of the Tsarska

square in the early twentieth century. On the right one can see the

three-storied building of the Yevropeiska

hotel, built in 1851 in place of the burnt city theatre. This hotel

was one of the three most fashionable ones during the second half of

the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. The square

was named Yevropeiska after the hotel; in 1869, however, it was

renamed as Tsarska (Tzar) in honour of Alexander II.</p><p>Near the hotel

one can see cabs waiting for passengers. The hotel administration

ensured the transportation of guests from the hotel to the train

station and the other way around; however, some cabs waiting for

other, non-hotel passengers can also be seen in this photo. There are

passenger cabs with a folded hood and a cargo one (in the foreground)

there. In the 1890s the Tsarska square became one of the most

important traffic interchanges of the city as it linked Podil with

Pechersk and Khreshchatyk street. It was through it that the first

Kyiv tram line was laid in 1892. The St. Alexander Catholic church

can be seen above on the right.</p><p>Olga Martyniuk</p>