Victoria Square, Birmingham

Victoria Square is a pedestrianised public square in Birmingham, England. It is home to both the Town Hall and the Council House, and directly adjacent to Chamberlain Square. It is named in honour of Queen Victoria.

The square is often considered to be the centre of Birmingham, and is the point from where local road sign distances are measured. It is a short walk from St. Philip's Cathedral on Colmore Row and is on the main pedestrian route between the Bull Ring and Brindleyplace areas. Three major roads, Colmore Row, New Street and Paradise Street, and others, meet there.

The square was formerly known as Council House Square, and had a tramway running through it. It was renamed on 10 January 1901, to honour Queen Victoria. She died just 12 days later. A marble statue, donated by Henry Barber and sculpted by Thomas Brock, was erected and unveiled; it was later recast in bronze.

Part of the square was once occupied by Christ Church (built 1805–13), but the church was demolished in 1899. The font, bell and foundation stone were moved to the new St Agatha's, Sparkbrook, which was built with the proceeds when the site was sold to developers. The 600 bodies, which included John Baskerville, housed in the catacombs beneath the church were moved to Warstone Lane Cemetery. The site was then used for an office and retail block, Christ Church Buildings, which were themselves demolished in 1970 and replaced with a grassed slope.

During the 1950s, plans were made to widen Colmore Row for it to become part of the Birmingham Inner Ring Road, with a major road junction to be constructed at Victoria Square. These plans were dropped, however a lot of the Inner Ring Road plan was carried through to construction.

During the late 20th century the square was a busy traffic junction. Plans were made to pedestrianise the area and to create a public focal point. An international design competition was held for a central water feature in the square, which was won by Dhruva Mistry. Construction commenced in 1992 and was completed in 1994, when it was officially opened by Diana, Princess of Wales. During the redevelopment of the square, Iron: Man, a sculpture by Antony Gormley was installed and unveiled in 1993. A plaque is located on the southwestern side of the square to commemorate the opening.

In June 2018, during work to extend the West Midlands Metro through the square, a cobbled street was uncovered, below the surface of the square.

Mistry's fountain The River is the largest sculptural piece in the square Due to the recurring irreparable leaks the fountain was turned off in 2013 in order to save money. From July 2015 to 2022 the fountain was filled with plants and flowers and no longer functioned as a fountain. In 2022 it was repaired and restored ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.