Praça Cívica, Central square in Goiânia, Brazil.

Praça Cívica is a large central square in Goiânia featuring government buildings, fountains, a bandstand, and seating areas arranged within a carefully planned layout. The space is surrounded by various institutions housed in buildings that date from the city's founding, including museums and cultural centers.

The square emerged in the 1930s when Goiânia was built as a planned modernist city designed according to specific architectural principles. Many of its buildings and structures date from this founding period and continue to shape how the place looks and functions today.

The square's official name honours Pedro Ludovico Teixeira, the governor who laid Goiânia's foundation stone in 1933 and was the Palácio das Esmeraldas' first resident. Each 24 October the square hosts the city's anniversary with national singers of every musical style; Christmas cantatas, New Year festivities and Corpus Christi celebrations in early June also take place here.

The square is open to visitors during the day and works well for walking, exploring the buildings, or sitting in the various seating areas. Keep in mind that the museums and cultural centers housed in the surrounding buildings have their own opening hours.

The square's centrepiece, the Monumento às Três Raças, was made by sculptor Neusa Moraes and inaugurated in July 1967. Standing seven metres tall in bronze and granite, it honours the three groups named as the city's origins: the bandeirantes, enslaved Africans and Indigenous peoples.