Attractions of Kyiv region

The magnificent 19-domed Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv is the oldest architectural monument of Rus, one of the largest Christian churches of its time, a UNESCO world cultural heritage site.

The temple complex of the Sophia Monastery is located in the historical center of Kyiv, on Starokyivska Hill, within the City of Prince Yaroslav.

According to the latest research, Saint Sophia Cathedral was founded by the Kyiv prince Volodymyr the Great in 1011, and it was built no later than 1018. Earlier it was believed that the cathedral was erected in 1037 in honor of the victory of Yaroslav the Wise over the Pechenegs, as indicated in the Tale of Bygone Years. A grandiose building for those times with a very complex structure was built by Byzantine craftsmen on the model of the Cathedral of Saint Sophia in Constantinople.

The temple acquired the current Ukrainian Baroque style during the reign of Hetman Ivan Mazepa as a result of the reconstruction initiated by Metropolitan Petro Mohyla, carried out in the 17th century by the Italian architect Oktaviano Manchini. The interiors have preserved priceless ancient Rus mosaics and frescoes, including the iconic mosaic image of the Mother of God of Oranta.

Saint Sophia Cathedral was the main temple of the Kyiv state, under its arches ceremonial entrances to the grand prince's throne, church cathedrals and receptions took place. Buried in the church are Prince Yaroslav the Wise, his wife Iryna (Ingigerda) and son Vsevolod with his family, Prince Volodymyr Monomakh, and many Kyiv metropolitans. A valuable source of historical information is numerous ancient graffiti, which can be considered an unofficial chronicle of the Saint Sophia Cathedral and the entire Rus-Ukraine of the 11th-18th centuries.

Today the National Reserve "Sophia of Kyiv" unites 77 architectural monuments. Around the cathedral there are monastic buildings of the 17th-18th centuries: the house of the metropolitan, the fraternal building, a bursa, a refectory, a bakery, cells and a hotel. The complex is surrounded by a wall with Zaborovskiy gates and a southern entrance tower. The bell tower, which serves as the main gate, is open to the public.

On the square in front of the bell tower, there is the grave of Volodymyr, Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate, who was buried at the entrance to Sophia on Black Tuesday, July 18, 1995 after a violent clash between believers and police.

There is also a tactile model of the cathedral with relief plaques in front of the entrance. The reserve is made more accessible thanks to an inclusive information center.

Separate objects of the reserve are the Golden Gate, Saint Andrew's Church and Saint Cyril's Church in Kyiv, the Genoese Fortress in Crimea.

The "Oleksandria" State Dendrological Park of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine was established in 1793 by the crown hetman Frantsishek Ksaveriy Branytskyi and named after his wife Oleksandra.

Bila Tserkva Park was considered one of the best in Europe. The plan was developed by the French park developer Muffot. The park covers more than 200 hectares, has 25 reservoirs, and has 2,500 species of plants, including those from South America, China, and Japan: red oak, tulip tree, Kobus magnolia, Japanese rhododendron, and others.

The basis of the planning is the Great Lawn, from which a network of alleys, decorated with park architecture and sculptures, runs for 20 kilometers: "Romantic Ruins", "Chinese Bridge", "Lion" spring and others. The "Echo" colonnade has unique acoustics: a word spoken in a whisper at one end of the colonnade is heard at the opposite end. According to legend, Prince Potemkin-Tavriyskyi is buried under the Rotunda.

The summer palace of the Branytskys was destroyed during the Soviet period, but the "Ball Pavilion" has already been restored in its original form.

In the garden "Moor" (year 1816) with an area of 4 hectares, surrounded by a stone wall 3 meters high, more than 300 fruit and berry crops from all continents of the world are grown (excursions with tastings are held).

The highest point of the park is Paliy Mountain, on which a monument to Semen Paliy is erected.

The building of the "Economic Yard" now houses the directorate and Living Nature, Flora and Fauna Museum of the Park "Oleksandriya", which features marble park sculptures. You can buy seedlings here.

Petra Sahaydachnoho Street is the main thoroughfare of the old part of Podil, one of the most colorful streets in Kyiv.

Connects Kontraktova Square with Poshtova Square. It was part of the Podil-Pechersk highway. It is named in honor of hetman Petro Sahaydachnyi, whose monument is erected in the park on Kontraktova Square.

On weekends and holidays, Sahaydachnoho Street becomes a pedestrian zone, with many shops and cafes.

In the central part is the Balabukh Manor (27 Petra Sahaydachnoho Street).

Poshtova Square is a connecting link between the Upper Town, Pechersk and Podol. The quays of ancient Kyiv were located at this place, the place of which was later taken by the River Station.

The square owes its name to the Post Office (1850-1860s), from which the main building has survived. The decoration of Poshtova Square is the Church of the Nativity of Christ (1809-1814), restored in the years of independence. Across the street from it is the lower station of the Funicular (1905), which connects Podil with the Upper Town.

In recent years, the appearance of the square has changed a lot due to high-rise buildings.

The Roman Catholic Church of Saint Anthony of Padua was built in Ruda in the second half of the 19th century at the expense of the Pidhorsky landowners, who owned these lands.

The small stone building is made in the Neo-Gothic style.

During Soviet times, the church was closed.

Currently, the church has been returned to the Catholic community, but the restoration has not yet been carried out.

The Roman Catholic Church of Saint Isidore of Seville was built in Bezpechna in the 19th century.

The stone building is made in the Neo-Gothic style.

The church is located in the cemetery. Nearby is a grave with a stone cross and the inscription "Boleslaw Kuklinski".

Saint Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral was built in the 12th century by Prince Svyatopolk (Mykhaylo) Izyaslavych on the site of the Dmytrivsky Monastery. Dedicated to Archangel Michael, who is considered the protector and patron of Kyiv.

In 1240, the cathedral was destroyed by the Tatar-Mongols, but soon it again became the cathedral of the monastery of the same name. It was rebuilt several times (a major reconstruction was carried out in 1710). It was almost completely destroyed during the Soviet regime in 1934-1937 to clear the place for the government quarter.

In 1999, the Saint Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery was rebuilt, and in 2001-2004, frescoes stored in the Hermitage were returned to the cathedral.

The Saint Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery History Museum functions in the premises of the bell tower and Barbarian cells. Unique antiquities of the 11th-19th centuries that were found on the territory of the monastery are presented, in particular, a copper gilded high-relief of Archangel Michael from the leading pediment of the cathedral. Employees conduct tours of the museum and the territory of the monastery.

A monument to Princess Olha surrounded by figures of the Apostle Andriy and Saints Cyril and Methodius (1911-1996) was erected on Mykhaylivska Square in front of the cathedral.

Behind the cathedral is the Volodymyrska Hill Park with the upper station of the funicular and the famous monument to Saint Volodymyr the Baptist.

In August 2015, a Wall of Memory of the Fallen Defenders of Ukraine appeared on the walls of the Saint Michael`s Monastery.

On December 15, 2018, after the Unification Council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Churches, the Saint Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery came under the control of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and became Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery came under the control of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and became the Cathedral of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The National Technical University of Ukraine "Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" (NTUU KPI) is one of the oldest and largest technical universities in the world.

At the time of creation, it consisted of 4 departments. The first buildings were built according to the project of the architect Hieronim Kitner. Dmytro Mendeleev was the first chairman of the examination commission. Currently, the university has more than 30 faculties and institutes, and more than 40,000 students study at the same time.

Building No. 6 houses the State Polytechnic Museum named after Borys Paton - the only institution in Ukraine that presents the history of the formation of the main branches of domestic technology and Ukraine's contribution to the history of the development of technology in the world. 13 sections are located in 9 halls, the collection includes more than 10,000 exhibits, of which 3,000 are on permanent display.

In 2008, the History of Aviation and Cosmonautics named after Ihor Sikorskyi department of the museum opened in the restored premises of the former aviation and automobile workshops. In the "Aviation" section, the main emphasis is on the history of the birth of this industry in Ukraine. The basis of the section "Cosmonautics" is the collection of the museum of veterans of the Baikonur cosmodrome. A monument to Ihor Sikorskyi was erected.

In 2012, in the university park in front of Building No. 1 of KPI, the sculpture "Steps of Knowledge" was installed - a seven-meter stack of books topped with an academic cap.

Volodymyr's Cathedral is a classic example of the Rus-neoByzantine style in church architecture. The height of the cross of the main dome is 49 meters.

The idea of building a majestic temple in Kyiv in honor of Prince Volodymyr the Great arose on the eve of the celebration of the 900th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus. The initial project was developed by the architect Ivan Shtrom, but due to the high cost it had to be revised. The construction was entrusted to the architect Oleksandr Beretta, but the building designed by him showed cracks, and the construction was frozen in 1864. The works were completed in 1882 by the architect Volodymyr Nikolaev based on the recommendations of the world-renowned vault specialist Rudolf Berhand.

The interior design was supervised by professor Adrian Prakhov, who involved 96 famous artists, including Viktor Vasnetsov, Mykhaylo Nesterov, Pavlo and Oleksandr Svedomskyi, Mykhaylo Vrubel, Mykola Pymonenko, who turned the Volodymyr`s Cathedral into a real artistic gem. The compositional system is built around the monumental image of the Mother of God with the Child by Vasnetsov, who worked on the most significant plots of biblical history and the main events from the life of Prince Volodymyr. The solemn consecration took place in 1896 in the presence of Emperor Nicholas II.

During Soviet times, the property of the temple was nationalized, the bells were melted down "for the needs of industrialization", an anti-religious museum was opened in the premises, then the archive of the Academy of Sciences. Services in the Volodymyr`s Cathedral were resumed only during the Nazi occupation.

From 1992 until the creation of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in 2019, it was the main temple of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate. The relics of Saint Barbara and Saint Macarius are kept here.

A small, elegant country palace surrounded by a park was built at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries by Crown Hetman Frantsysk-Ksaveriy Branytskyi, the founder of the Oleksandriya Park in Bila Tserkva.

A bas-relief above the portal reminds of Branytskyi's romantic relationship with his wife Oleksandra.

In the basement next to the palace, according to legend, the miracle-working icon of the Mother of God from Rudoselska appeared to Stanislav Zalevskyi, the new owner of the estate.

To this day, the building has survived in a deplorable state and continues to crumble.

The complex of stone buildings of two mills (roller and mill) was built on the Rastavitsa River in the middle of the 19th century, when these lands were owned by Mr. Myasniaev.

The gloomy pseudo-Gothic three-story building with spires, located on the right bank of the river, is considered one of the most original examples of industrial architecture in the Kyiv region. A long two-story brick and stone building on the left bank resembles a medieval castle. This is one of the oldest water mills in the Kyiv region.

Territorially, the complex of ancient mills is located in the village of Chubyntsi, near Buky.

Christer's Hill is a park on Kurenivka, the northern outskirts of Kyiv.

In 1850, the Saxon Wilhelm Christer bought about 40 hectares of forest here from Prince Esterhazi. Christer founded the company "Horticulture and Seed Farming. Wilhelm Christer", which became known far beyond Kyiv. He laid out a wonderful garden with nurseries of fruit trees, vegetables and flowers. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, the company annually sold more than 100,000 decorative trees.

After the Soviet-Ukrainian war, the garden was nationalized and transformed into the "Rose" horticultural park.

The 150-year-old "Christer's Spruce", 50-year-old pines, a huge old linden with a diameter of three meters, and old chestnuts have been preserved.

One of the oldest trees in Kyiv - the 700-year-old Christer's Oak - grows in the yard of the building on Baydy-Vyshnevetskoho Street, 3.

Three ponds have been preserved (two of them are regulated) and the wooden house of Christer, built in 1890 by the architect Schille.

In 2008-2009, the park "Christer's Hill" was reconstructed, new plants were planted, gazebos and bridges were built.

In 2021, a scaled-down copy of Christer's house was installed in the park "Christer's Hill". The minimaquette was made of wood by the sculptor Vasyl Markush. On the installed mini-maquette there is a sign with a description in Ukrainian and English, as well as in Braille.

The water tower and the carriage house building adjacent to it in Shpytky were built at the beginning of the 20th century.

The complex was part of the Tereshchenko estate, which has not been preserved. A manor cellar also remained on the territory of the manor park.

The "Berehynya" Museum in the village of Staiky is one of the oldest historical and local history museums of Obukhiv region. It was founded in 1977 on the initiative of a local historian, a veteran of the Second World War Mykhaylo Melakh.

Seven thematic sections introduce visitors to the history and culture of the village of Staiky and its immediate surroundings. In particular, the exposition presents a large collection of antiquities: traditional embroidered shirts and towels of the Kyiv region, household items, work tools.

Historical and archaeological materials, works of art, ancient icons are also exhibited.

A memorial sign in the form of a stele with an eagle at the entrance to the "Yerevansky quarter" was installed in honor of builders from Armenia.

Brigades from many republics of the former USSR took part in the construction of Slavutych in 1989, which is reflected in the architecture and city monuments.

The stele with the eagle was created by the Armenian architect Levon Khachatryan.