Not far from the Griboedov Canal in St. Petersburg is one of the most beautiful squares in the city. At the very beginning, it was given the name Mikhailovskaya, but in the middle of the 20th century it was renamed the Arts Square, most likely because of the large number of architectural monuments concentrated in this place.

For a long time, the square in the very center of St. Petersburg was a wasteland. In 1819, construction began on the Mikhailovsky Palace between the Third Summer Garden and Nevsky Prospect. Architect Karl Rossi created a harmonious architectural ensemble, and according to the project, a square should be built on the site of the vacant lot, from which you can see the facade of the palace. Later, the architect proposed his designs for all the facades of the buildings facing it, although they were built by other people. Eight years later, a decree was signed on the allocation of funds for landscaping Mikhailovskaya Square, a project for which was also created by Russia. Later, the layout of the square was slightly changed so that the trees in the central part did not obscure the Mikhailovsky Palace, visible from Nevsky Prospect. There were also ideas to install an illuminated fountain in the park, but, unfortunately, they were not implemented.

At the end of the 60-ies of the XIX century, a horse railway line was drawn through the square. In 1876, work began on the restoration of Mikhailovsky Square, which meant changing the layout of lawns, paths, installing a watchman's booth, benches and building a new gazebo. Due to the insufficient amount of allocated funds, not everything was possible to implement, and as a result, only a watchhouse and irrigation system were installed. The first, in turn, was later moved to Nikolsky Square.

At the end of the 19th century, the Mikhailovsky Palace became the Russian Museum, and, according to the project of architect Svinyin, its eastern building was rebuilt into the Ethnographic Museum. The same thing should have happened to the western building, but the reconstruction work did not continue. These changes distorted the idea of the architect Rossi, along with them, the facade of the Evropeyskaya Hotel underwent a radical alteration, which as a result lost its original beauty.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Mikhailovsky Square became a favorite place for babysitters with children, schoolchildren, students and urban intelligentsia. The square was the terminus of several horse-drawn routes, which made the place quite crowded.

Arts Square, in addition to a large number of architectural masterpieces, is also known for the apartment museum of the Soviet artist Isaak Brodsky, where you can see the painter's working studio and living rooms.