Until recently, the square had no name at all — although it has been in existence for a long time. Local residents used to call it the ‘main’ or ‘central’ square. Meanwhile, a monument to the first book printer was erected there back in 2001, to mark the Day of Belarusian Written Language.
The Chief Architect of the Mstislavl District — Igor Savitsky — commented, “Upon the recommendation of the Mogilev Regional Executive Committee, we have renamed several sections of streets in our ancient city — returning their historical names to them.
At the same time, we were thinking of a name for the square especially as it has recently been restored. It is now even more beautiful than before.”
Piotr Mstislavets was highly educated for his time. He was a true master of his craft. Piotr began working as a book printer as an assistant to legendary Ivan Fedorov. In 1569, he moved to Vilno — founding a publishing house there (using Orthodox merchants’ money) and beginning to work independently.
By Irina Mendeleeva
