The Freedom Square ("Vabaduse väljak") is the main square of Tallinn and also the site of the War of Independence Victory Column. The square has had several names during history. The five-meter monument to Peter the Great was erected there by the Russian empire in 1910 and the square was named after him. After the Estonian independence in 1922 the statue was melted and recycled and the square named as the Freedom Square.
About 20 years later, in 1944, the Soviet Union occupied Estonia and in a few years after the area was named as Victory Square. After the Estonia's new independence, the name was restored once again to Freedom Square.
The square is bounded on the east by St. John's Church (built 1862-67), on the south by Kaarli Boulevard and an underground shopping center (2008–09), and on the west by aVictory Column (2009) commemorating the Estonian War of Independence 1918–1920.
The Square has quickly become a meeting place due to its location right next to the Old Town and Toompea (the Cathedral Hill). The majority of the underground pedestrian zone is under the AHHAA Science Centre, Youth Information Point, an exhibition of the history of the Square and archaeological finds.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.