The central square of Podil and the historic heart of merchant Kyiv. Until the 19th century it hosted the annual Contract Fair — the city's biggest commercial event — and the surrounding streets are still lined with the merchants' houses, the Mohyla Academy, and the early 19th-century arcaded Contract House.
The square itself is a wide open space rebuilt many times after fires and Soviet renovations. The fountain of Samson at one corner, a replica of a 1748 original, is one of the city's smaller public sculptures. Several of the best Podil cafes and bookshops are within two minutes' walk.