<p><br />

A retouched photo of the Tsarska<br />

square in the early twentieth century. On the right one can see the<br />

three-storied building of the Yevropeiska<br />

hotel, built in 1851 in place of the burnt city theatre. This hotel<br />

was one of the three most fashionable ones during the second half of<br />

the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. The square<br />

was named Yevropeiska after the hotel; in 1869, however, it was<br />

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

one can see cabs waiting for passengers. The hotel administration<br />

ensured the transportation of guests from the hotel to the train<br />

station and the other way around; however, some cabs waiting for<br />

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

passenger cabs with a folded hood and a cargo one (in the foreground)<br />

there. In the 1890s the Tsarska square became one of the most<br />

important traffic interchanges of the city as it linked Podil with<br />

Pechersk and Khreshchatyk street. It was through it that the first<br />

Kyiv tram line was laid in 1892. The St. Alexander Catholic church<br />

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