The Ares Square (Russian: _) is a large park in the centre of St. Petersburg, named after Mars, the Roman God of war, covering an area of about 9 he To the north of Zhanshen Square is the Marble Palace, and to the south is the Moica River. The Ares Square dates back to the first year of St. Petersburg's founding, when it was called the Great Meadow. Later, to celebrate the victory in the Great Northern War, it was renamed Happy Square. In the 1740s, it was briefly designated as a park path and a flower lawn. The next name, Queen's Meadow, shows that the royal family commissioned Rastrelli to build the Summer Palace for Queen Catherine I. At the end of the 18th century, the Queen's Meadow erected a monument to the victory of the Russian army. In 1799, an obelisk was erected in the center of the square, and in 1801, in the south, a monument to Alexander Vasilievich, the Roman God of war, Mars, was erected. In 1805, Queen's Meadow was officially renamed Zhanshen Square. In the summer of 1942, Zhanshen Square was converted into a vegetable garden to supply the besieged Leningrad.