Historical Background
Freedom Square, formerly Torgovaya (Market) Square, is the historic center of the town. In the 18th century only the wealthy who could afford a stone house settled here. Several architectural landmarks survive on the square: the 18th-century Gostiny Dvor (merchants' arcade), the 19th-century house of the Vlozhbensky industrialists, and the former Assembly of the Nobility building, decorated with bas-reliefs of lions. In the center of the square stands the “Glory to the Heroes” monument, dedicated to the memory of those who died in the Great Patriotic War.

