Toulovec Square, named after Vavřinec Toulavec, a medieval, Litomyšl townsman cloaked in legend, is considered the oldest likely inhabited place in Litomyšl below the former castle. The historical name “Špitálek” or “Špitálek Square” has its roots in the hospice and sanctuary for poor and aged townspeople, which stood here from the 14th century. The square's present-day appearance dates back to the 19th century, when the Mission of the Holy Apostles Church was returned to its Gothic appearance (1838-1841) and the area was surrounded by the grand buildings of the Town Grammar School (01-152) and townhouse No. 156 – the “Palace” – of the builder Josef Šilhán (Šilhám is also the designer of the house opposite – No. 512 – 01-512). The square gained its present-day appearance during the 20th century with the demolition of the so called “Meat Market” on its western boundary (1948) and after the construction of the Potravinoprojekt headquarters in its south-east tip towards the end of the 1970s.
From the beginning of the 1990s, the town council had been negotiating to refresh and culturally revive the town centre, and subsequently engaged in a challenging, complex restoration of the heritage reservation. The first stage centred on the grounds at the foot of the chateau, including Toulovcovo and Šantovo squares (01-VP4) and adjoining streets, where the engineering infrastructure was rebuilt and where, more importantly, modifications to the public spaces were carried out according to a design project by Aleš Burian and Gustav Křivinka. As the designers themselves remarked, “From the very beginning, the work was accompanied by considerations concerning its scale, the amount and legitimacy of the interventions into a familiar view of the respective places and the dangers of changing their character”. In spite of initially considering much more dramatic changes to the organization of the public spaces, they eventually chose a less conspicuous, more modest approach which does not set the historical and contemporary in opposition. They decided to respect all traces of history and apply traditional materials and techniques so that a passing layperson would not be aware of any new interventions.
Similarly to Šantovo Square, the changes are more noticeable “merely” in the new interpretation of the composition of the original paving stones and the positioning of the centre of the square before the church. The square's boundaries form a regular quadrilateral shape with a granite drinking fountain in its centre, which is “pierced” by two diagonals, and “clasped” by four long, narrow rays. The atypical street furniture is restrained in form. The designers were unsuccessful in acquiring approval for street-lighting of modern design and therefore, 19th century-style Prague street-lights with Litomyšl emblems were eventually installed.