Congress Square (Kongresni trg), Ljubljana

Congress Square is one of the central squares in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia.
The square was built in 1821 at the site of the ruins of a medieval Capuchin monastery, which had been abolished during the reign of Habsburg Emperor Joseph II. The square was used for ceremonial purposes during the Congress of Ljubljana, after which it was named. After the congress, a park was laid out in the center of the square, which soon acquired the name Star Park (Park Zvezda, Sternallee) due to its layout. During the communist period it was renamed Revolution Square (Trg revolucije) and a few years later Liberation Square (Trg osvoboditve), but the local population continued to use the old name. In 1990, it regained its original name.
The square has had a highly symbolic role in modern Slovenian history. On October 29, 1918, independence from Austrian-Hungarian rule and the establishment of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs was proclaimed during a mass demonstration on the square. In May 1945, the Yugoslav Communist leader Josip Broz Tito first visited Slovenia after World War II and held a speech on the balcony of the University of Ljubljana, which faces the square.