Hretska Square

Hretska Square, or Hretska Ploshcha (lit. 'Greek Square') is one of the main squares of Odesa. It is on the crossing of Hretska Street and Ukrainskykh Heroiv Avenue. At different times it has been called Aleksandrovskaya or Martynovskogo. This is one of the biggest squares of Odesa. It is rectangular, with the oval building of Mayurov House in the center, also with semi-round houses on the sides. This is the oldest square in Odesa. It survived from the market square of the town of Khadzhibey. Down by Hretska Street, between Hretska Ploshcha and Yevropeiska Street, was a Muslim cemetery. After the capture of the Khadzhibey Fortress the square was free of buildings. The building construction started from the part close to Hretska Street, later from Derybasivska Street. The buildings were built mainly by Greeks in Ukraine of the families Ioannopulos, Serafinos, Papakhadzhis, Rallis, and Maraslis. The Greek secret society Filiki Eteria (is the Society of Friends) (whose aim was the struggle for independence of Greece) was in one of the buildings on the square since 1814. The main market of the city was in the square for a long time. The garden square was in the centre of the square until the Greek Orthodox church was built. But the church building was not finished,

Square data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).