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Palace Square (Russian:Дворцо́вая пло́щадь,romanized:Dvortsovaya Ploshchad,IPA:[dvɐrˈtsovəjəˈploɕːɪtʲ]), connectingNevsky Prospekt withPalace Bridge leading toVasilievsky Island, is the centralcity square ofSt Petersburg and of the formerRussian Empire. Many significant events took place there, including theBloody Sunday massacre and parts of theOctober Revolution of 1917. Between 1918 and 1944, it was known asUritsky Square (Russian:площадь Урицкого), in memory of the assassinated leader of the city'sCheka branch,Moisei Uritsky.
The earliest and most celebrated building on the square, theBaroque white-and-turquoiseWinter Palace (as re-built between 1754 and 1762) of the Russiantsars,[1] gives the square its name. Although the adjacent buildings are designed in theNeoclassical style, they perfectly match the palace in their scale, rhythm, and monumentality.[citation needed]The opposite, southern side of the square was designed in the shape of an arc byGeorge von Velten in the late 18th century. These plans came to fruition half a century later, whenAlexander I of Russia (reigned 1801–1825) envisaged the square as a vast monument to the 1812–1814Russian victories overNapoleon and commissionedCarlo Rossi to design the bow-shapedEmpire-styleBuilding of the General Staff (1819–1829), which centers on a doubletriumphal arch crowned with a Romanquadriga.
In the centre of the square stands theAlexander Column (1830–1834), designed byAuguste de Montferrand. This redgranite column (the tallest of its kind in the world) is 47.5 metres high and weighs some 500 tons. It is set so well that it requires no attachment to the base.
The eastern side of the square comprisesAlexander Brullov's building of the Guards Corps Headquarters (1837–1843). The western side, however, opens towards Admiralty Square, thus making the Palace Square a vital part of the grand suite ofSt Petersburg squares.
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