2020-05-09 19:06
The two settlements (Mali Ston meaning Little Ston) form an interesting system, for they are linked by some of the longest fortifications in Europe, originally over 7km long, with almost &he&hell…Read More
Blog Directory > Design Blogs > Photography Blogs > Into The Square photography Blog >
Into The Square Blog
intothesquare.org
Great cities from Europe (Italy, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Greece, Portugal etc.) - exclusive bird-eye photos, their central places and their history.
2020-05-09 08:03
From its highly regulated structure, it appears that this town was founded at the end of the 13th century, most likely from nothing, on the grounds of a barren field. Its … Conti… Read More
2020-05-09 07:55
Óbidos is the stereotypical portrait of a medieval city: a closed world; a world onto itself; hierarchical; assembled around a centre; and marked by its square and its Cathedral; a &h&hell…Read More
2020-05-09 07:44
Peñafiel is by no means famous for its square, but rather for its wines and the massive medieval castle that dominates this settlement. Plaza del Coso is nonetheless very interesting… Read More
2020-05-09 07:28
Terreiro da Sé is a paradox. Although Terreiro, the square of the Porto Cathedral, is surrounded by old buildings and seems to have existed forever – or at least since …… Read More
2020-05-09 07:17
The incredibly small church square in Buzet is positioned at the highest point of this settlement. However, it affords no sense of perspective, giving one the sensation of being an …… Read More
2020-05-08 20:39
Palmanova was built in 1593 as a military town, a star fort intended for the defence of Venice. The town knew fighting only once in its history, when Venice fought … Continue reading… Read More
2020-05-08 20:21
Although its official name is Praça de D. Pedro IV, this square is known by locals as Rossio. A site where important historical events have taken place, since medieval times …… Read More
2020-05-08 20:05
Alba Iulia has the largest Vauban-style fortress in southeastern Europe. It was built between 1716 and 1735 on the site where a medieval citadel and a Roman castrum once stood. … Cont… Read More
2020-05-08 19:55
Piazza della Libertà is the oldest square in Udine, and is considered the most beautiful square on the terraferma, as the Venetian continental possessions were called. It was ori… Read More
2020-05-08 19:44
Called Großer Ring in German, Piața Mare was first mentioned in the 14th century. It served as a stage for main events but also as a site for public executions. The… Read More
2020-05-08 19:22
Trg Marafor, the largest square in the town of Poreč (or Parenzo in Italian), lies at the sea-end of a peninsula, with its name stemming from the words Mars and forum. Po… Read More
2020-05-08 15:49
Trg Marafor, the largest square in the town of Poreč (or Parenzo in Italian), lies at the sea-end of a peninsula, with its name stemming from the words Mars and forum. Po… Read More
2020-05-08 15:44
The urban structure of present-day Zadar has its origins in the time of Julius Caesar. A Roman municipium, called Iader, was built here soon after the province of Illyricum was … Cont… Read More
2020-05-08 15:34
The Andrea Antico square in Motovun is the only flat place in this tiny hill town. The Etruscans were not the only ones to build hill towns, for they are … Continue reading Trg Andrea… Read More
2020-05-08 15:22
One of the largest in Spain, the Plaza Mayor in Valladolid has a perfectly rectangular shape, with a length of 122 meters and a width of 82 meters, establishing a … Continue reading P… Read More
2020-05-08 15:08
Immediately after 1878, when Bulgaria gained its independence, plans began for an imposing cathedral to be built in Sofia. The foundation stone was placed in 1882, but the cathedral was &hel&hell…Read More
2020-02-03 21:38
Wismar, a Baltic Sea port, flourishes during the 18th and 19th centuries as part of the Hanseatic League. With a size of 10,000 square meters, Am Markt, the city’s main … Contin… Read More
2020-02-03 21:33
In 1716, the troops of Eugene of Savoy conquer Timișoara from the Turks. The Austrians decide to build here one of the greatest bastion-fortresses in Europe. Its fortifications would be… Read More
2020-02-03 21:27
Baščaršija dates back to the 15th century, when İshakoğlu İsa Bey, the Turkish governor of Bosnia, builds Sarajevo. In keeping with the Oriental urban tradi… Read More
2020-02-03 21:19
The Grote Markt was originally a square on the outside of the medieval city, a place where northern and southern traders would exchange wares. In 1220, duke Hendrik I van … Continue r… Read More
2020-02-03 21:14
Called Zlabings in German, and first mentioned in 1260, Slavonice lies one kilometre from the Austrian border. Its geographic position might be the reason its architecture has survived to th… Read More
2020-02-03 21:07
Kruševo, or Crușova in Aromanian, is the tallest town in the entire Balkan Peninsula, located on Bushova mountain. The architecture is interesting and atypical, midway between Eu… Read More
2020-02-03 21:02
The urban structure dates from the time of the town’s greatest economic growth, under Venetian rule. As in many coastal towns, the square is also a port. Here one finds … Contin… Read More
2020-02-03 20:54
The Old Square and the New Square lie on different margins of the town, almost symmetrically positioned in relation to the geographical centre, which is completely atypical for the Middle &h&hell…Read More
2020-02-03 09:32
Schwerin’s Am Markt is the very definition of a square. A quadrangle with almost equal sides in the geographical centre of the city, it has held this central spot since … Contin… Read More
2020-02-03 09:27
Piazza Grande or Piazza dell’Unità d’Italia is the largest square with a view to the sea in the whole of Europe, measuring almost 17000 m2. Although separat… Read More
2020-02-03 09:23
Piazza Paolo VI is Brescia’s main square, as well as the largest, is part of a greater square system. It dates from the medieval period. Here one finds the Duomo … Continue read… Read More
2020-02-03 09:18
First a Celtic, then a Roman, then a Slavic settlement, and then administered by the Turks, Vidin is dominated by the Danube. The square is new and perfectly typical for … Continue re… Read More
2020-02-03 09:15
Città di Castello is found in an ancient Umbrian settlement, on the fertile banks of the Tiber. The town, maintaining a large part of the buildings raised during its period … C… Read More
2020-02-03 09:06
It seems the Roman forum once stood on the site of Plaza del Mercado, which became the centre of the community at the end of the 11th century when the region … Continue reading P… Read More
2020-02-03 08:58
Levoča, called Leutschau in German and Lőcse in Hungarian, was the capital of the historical region of Spiš and features one of the largest squares in Central Euro… Read More
2020-02-03 08:49
This historic town has Plaza Mayor as its nucleus, for all the streets begin here, leading to the gates out of the citadel, whose walls are still reasonably well-kept even … Continue… Read More
2020-02-03 08:14
This is one of the most important squares in Bucharest, with a shape influenced by Haussmann’s model of grand intersections. At the end of the 15th century, this was located at &h&hell…Read More
2020-02-02 14:23
Segovia’s Plaza Mayor has a special meaning for the history of Spain. In 1474, when it was still called San Miguel Plaza, the Catholic Queen Isabella of Castile was crowned … Co… Read More
2020-02-02 14:18
Kroměříž is first mentioned in 1110. It has a large square, whose focal point is a baroque-style column raised in the middle in order to mark the end of the … Co… Read More
2020-02-02 14:10
There is nothing spectacular about the Naarden square. It is an irregular, not particularly large space, unfolding around Grote Kerk, a red brick church built in the northern Gothic style &h&hell…Read More
2020-02-02 14:03
This city maintains the traces of successive borders. The walls surrounding the centre were torn down in the 15th century, but their original positions can still be seen, marked by …… Read More
2020-02-02 13:51
Šibenik is no exception among the towns on the Dalmatian coast. It did not originate as a Greek colony, nor was it founded by Illyrians or Romans, but by the … Continue reading… Read More
2020-02-02 13:39
Trg Luža, the large square in Dubrovnik, lies at the end of the largest artery crossing the citadel from west to east, called Stradun or Placa. Each extremity represents a … Cont… Read More
2020-02-02 13:39
Trg Luža, the large square in Dubrovnik, lies at the end of the largest artery crossing the citadel from west to east, called Stradun or Placa. Each extremity represents a … Cont… Read More
2020-02-02 11:19
Assisi,famous due to Saint Francis, is, through its positioning, yet another exception to the rule of Etruscan settlements. It lies not on a hill, but on a steep side of … Continue re… Read More
2020-02-02 11:04
San Marco Square lies at the edge of the largest and lowest island in the Venetian lagoon and is the only square in the city which is called piazza, with all … Continue reading P… Read More
2020-02-02 11:04
San Marco Square lies at the edge of the largest and lowest island in the Venetian lagoon and is the only square in the city which is called piazza, with all … Continue reading P… Read More
2020-02-02 10:55
The history of Aristotelous square began with a fire that destroyed two thirds of the city in 1917. Until that point – due to centuries of Ottoman rule – Thessaloniki … Co… Read More
2020-02-02 10:26
Herceg Novi (Castelnuovo in Italian) is not new as the name claims, but rather quite old, for it was founded in 1382 on the site of a fishing village by … Continue reading Trg Herceg… Read More
2019-07-06 21:07
Náměstí Svornosti is a small, 45 x 60 meter square. Beautiful but unexceptional, grouping a number of houses with Renaissance façades, it has a baroque column… Read More
2019-06-22 05:47
The Elburg square is the result of the intersection of the two main arteries, which reproduces on a much smaller scale the proportions of the quadrangle representing the city map. Elburg has… Read More
2019-06-21 20:36
This square has an important role in the social and economic life of the Leira community, for it is filled with cafes and terraces, where numerous events are organised. The square’s pa… Read More
2019-06-20 12:49
Mogarraz is a small, historic settlement in Sierra de Francia, the mountains near Salamanca. The origins of the settlement stem back to the 11thcentury, when it was founded by the Gascons. T… Read More
2019-06-20 11:08
This is a square filled with life, bars, shops, taverns, terraces, restaurants. Built between 1821 and 1851 in a neoclassical style and surrounded by identical buildings, with three levels a… Read More
2019-06-19 20:45
A true symbol of Georgian independence, this area was named Freedom Square in 1918, during the First Georgian Republic. The name returns after the collapse of the USSR, proudly defining the… Read More
2019-06-18 23:19
The square is among the largest in Europe and bears the name of king Ottokar II of Bohemia, who, in 1256, founds the town, called Budweis in German. The Black Tower, built in the 16thcentury… Read More
2018-08-05 19:21
Legend has it that whenever they wanted to build a village, the wandering shepherds of the Pindus chose a place and planted a tree. If the tree – which they passed by at least twice a… Read More
2018-07-30 19:41
It is one of the largest squares in Spain and lies right at the entrance of the medieval town. Its origins are found in the 11th century, when the space was used for the great traditional ho… Read More
2018-07-30 17:01
The story of European squares is tied through a continuous historical thread to Greek antiquity where the plateia and then the agora appear. The urban square is specific to Europe, for such… Read More
2018-07-30 16:56
2018-07-26 18:05
Today it is a village, with 133 houses and less than 300 inhabitants. Yet Bourtange was built as a military fort in 1593, during the Dutch Revolt, on the orders of William the Silent. It hel… Read More
2018-07-08 16:15
On the Portuguese side of the border there are even more fortifications than in Spain. Almeida is found in the north of Portugal. It is a star fort with 12 corners, Vauban style, built in 16… Read More
2018-05-23 19:57
Coimbra is famous for its university, and the monumental squares are located in the university area. The city also owns a small jewel, modest in size but convincing through its balanced prop… Read More
2018-05-17 19:31
At a small distance from the monumental Praça do Municipio stands the municipal square, which hosts three important buildings: the Municipality, the Court of Appeals and the Naval Ars… Read More
2018-05-06 21:27
The town took its name from count Rodrigo González Girón. It was he who, in the middle of the 12th century, banished the Moors from the region once and for all, and built the t… Read More
2018-04-26 18:31
The construction of the square begins in 1729, by order of Phillip V, with the square being meant primarily for bull fights. Today, it is seen as one of the most beautiful squares in Spain a… Read More
2018-03-27 04:19
Perched on a hill top in Tuscany, Pienza was originally called Corsignano. Pope Pius II loved his hometown greatly and wished to transform it into a concrete example of his theories on the i… Read More
2018-03-20 05:16
Every two years, in the second week of September, Maroustica hosts a chess game. The place of wooden figurines is taken by living people, and the score board is the very square of the tiny m… Read More
2018-02-11 19:03
Already from the 14th century, markets were constantly held in Piața Sfatului in Brașov and produce were exchanged. Back then it was called Marktplatz. The space is dominated by th… Read More
2018-02-11 18:55
In a side of the square lies the statue of Jan Žižka, a leader of the Hussite movement, one of the few military commanders in the history of the world to have never lost a battle… Read More
2018-02-11 18:49
The square owes its existence to the great Lisbon earthquake of the 1st of November 1755 and the fire that followed. On this spot, left empty due to natural disasters, a new regular city is… Read More
2018-02-11 18:43
Soon after the Plaza Mayor is built in Madrid, its model is taken up by other cities, even those most distant from the capital. The Plaza de la Corredera in Córdoba is the only quadri… Read More
2018-02-11 18:37
The urban structure is dictated by a geographical position, one of the most spectacular in a European city. Passau is situated on a spit of land, at the confluence between the Danube, the In… Read More
2018-02-11 18:28
The space of the square has something of the ambiguity of the meeting between the East and Europe. This is not a single square, but rather two squares brought together and identically named… Read More
2018-02-11 18:17
Seen from above, the old town of Split appears like a rectangular box in which someone has placed buildings, streets and markets. Two of the markets in the citadel are large and, starting wi… Read More
2018-02-11 18:08
The history of the city is tied to Venice, but Rovinj was built much earlier, at the start of the 8th century, on an island separated from the land through a narrow canal. Much later, in 176… Read More
2018-02-11 17:49
Giuseppe Tartini, author of the well known Il trillo del diavolo, was born in this city, then called Pirano, part of the Republic of Venice. The Piran square bears his name, and the birthpla… Read More
2018-02-11 17:40
Prešernov trg was a simple crossroads at the entrance of the medieval city, where, in 1646, a Franciscan monastery is built and which stands to this day. In the 19th century, the cros… Read More
2018-02-11 17:29
Hlavné námestie means Great Square in Slovak, but the early history of the city and of its central square is tied to German colonists, who arrive here at the middle of the 13th… Read More
2018-02-11 17:16
Founded in 1354, on the spot where, in a thick forest, two roads crossed next to waterways at the border between Moravia, Bohemia and Austria, Tel, called Teltsch in German, has the misfortu… Read More
2018-02-11 16:28
Třeboň, called Wittingau in German, has one of the best preserved medieval squares in Bohemia. In fact, only the shape dates from medieval times, since the current state, with Rena… Read More
2018-02-11 16:17
Like in many other small, out of the way places, the square is called just Square. Náměstí in Czech. And Štramberk is yet another example of a place where the town… Read More
2018-02-11 16:04
In 1278, count Berthold von Rabenswal receives from Emperor Rudolph I von Habsburg the right of ownership over the Hardegg land. He begins at once the building of a new settlement next to an… Read More
2018-02-10 18:27
Todi has three rows of fortified precincts. Following them towards the interior, one climbs towards the square but descends into history: medieval walls, Roman, Etruscan. The square stands o… Read More
Subscribe to Into The Square
Get updates delivered right to your inbox!