The Old Cathedral Square as the planning core of the old city dates back to the time when Peter I ordered the Novo-Pavlovsk fortress to be founded at the confluence of the Vorona and Khopra rivers. In 1703, the Church of the Holy Princes Boris and Gleb was built in the fortress, after which the city received a new name – Borisoglebsk. The open space adjacent to the temple became the center of the administrative and military life of the city. The first noisy celebration on the square with shots from a signal cannon was the New Year on January 1, 1700.