The equestrian statue of Alexander Nevsky on Sovetskaya Square commemorates the 13th-century Novgorodian prince who won his most famous victory against the Teutonic Knights at the Battle of the Ice in 1242, on the frozen surface of Lake Peipus just 40 kilometres from Pskov. Nevsky is one of Russia's most important national heroes, and the monument — unveiled in 1993 — is large and theatrical, showing the prince in armour with his sword raised.
The square around it is a central gathering point and a reasonable orientation marker for exploring the old town on foot. The battle at Lake Peipus, dramatised in Eisenstein's 1938 film Alexander Nevsky (with Prokofiev's famous score), is commemorated at the lake itself with a memorial complex at Cape Sokolikh, about 40 kilometres northwest of the city.