Attractions of Kyiv

The Astronomical Observatory of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University is one of the oldest university observatories in Ukraine, which has existed since 1845.

At different times, outstanding scientists worked in the observatory, who made a number of astronomical discoveries. In particular, in 1969, the Churyumov-Herasymenko comet was discovered, which in 2014 became the first in history to be landed on by a spacecraft.

The observatory's main building is built in a simplified style of late classicism, has the shape of an octagonal tower. The observatory complex also includes a meridian circle pavilion, a horizontal solar telescope pavilion, three brick pavilions, laboratories and living quarters.

The Astronomical Museum has been operating since 1990, and its collection includes 20,000 objects. The exposition presents devices and instruments, photographs and personal belongings of employees, manuscripts, documents, drawings, star charts, observation journals and old publications. In particular, you can see a portable telescope from 1838, an astograph from 1895, a meridian circle from 1870 and other astronomical instruments of the past.

During the excursions, you can participate in astronomical observations on the operating telescopes of the observatory. Excursions are conducted by appointment.

A spectacular equestrian monument to the Soviet military leader Mykola Shchors stood from 1954 to 2023 on Tarasa Shevchenko Boulevard in the city of Kyiv, where Shchors was appointed commandant in 1919. Dismantled as part of decommunization after long discussions and public pressure.

The monument was located at the intersection of Shevchenka Boulevard and Symona Petlyury Street, which leads to the Central Railway Station. Until 1926, a monument to Count Oleksiy Bobrynskyi, the organizer of the construction of the railway in Kyiv, stood on this place.

The heroization of the personality of division commander Mykola Shchors, who was of little significance in the history of the Soviet-Ukrainian war, began in 1935 at the initiative of Yosyp Stalin, who wanted to create a propaganda image of the "Ukrainian Chapayev". Shchors commanded the 1st Ukrainian Soviet Division, which captured Kyiv in February 1919 and fought with the troops of Symon Petlyura's Ukrainian People's Army, Denikinians and units of the Ukrainian Galician Army. Shchors died near Korosten under unexplained circumstances (he was probably shot by his associates).

The monument to the red commander was erected 18 years after the relevant government decree was issued, and was erected for the 300th anniversary of the Pereyaslav Council. According to legend, 20-year-old student Leonid Kravchuk - the future president of Ukraine - posed for the sculptors Mykhaylo Lysenko, Vasyl Boroday and Mykola Sukhodolov.

In 2015, the Shchors monument came under the influence of the law "On the condemnation of the communist and national socialist (Nazi) totalitarian regimes in Ukraine and the prohibition of propaganda of their symbols", but a few years before that it was entered into the State Register of immovable monuments of cultural heritage of national importance, which prevented its immediate dismantling. After long public discussions and under the pressure of public activists, in 2023 the monument was removed from the state register and dismantled.

The sculpture was sent for storage to the State Aviation Museum named after Oleh Antonov.

The Seiklar adventure rope park is located on the Left Bank, in the Darnytsky district of Kyiv, on the territory of the Partisan Glory Park.

Visitors have the opportunity to overcome five routes of varying difficulty, moving between trees with the help of rope equipment at a height of up to 12 meters and making high-speed descents (up to 30 kilometers per hour!).

While on the trail, the visitor is strapped to a super-strong "lifeline" cable, which is laid along the entire route. The rope park is designed for both trained lovers of extreme entertainment and beginners in the world of active recreation.

The opening of two children's paths is planned.

The Pechersk Landscape Park in Kyiv is spread over an area of ​​30 hectares on the slopes of the Dnipro.

It is located between the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the complex of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War. The basis of the composition is regular planning, formed according to the principle of symmetry.

The central part of the park is occupied by the Singing Field (Spivoche Pole) and a cascade of stairs to the Dnipro embankment, which offers a wonderful view of the city.

Flower exhibitions are regularly held in the Pechersk Landscape Park, and music festivals are held on the Singing Field.

The Museum of Retro Machinery "Wheels of History" opened in 2024 in the Novobilychi district on the western outskirts of Kyiv. It was founded by the famous Kyiv collector, organizer of the Old Car Land festival of retro vehicles, Pavlo Lozovenko.

More than 100 restored cars and motorcycles of the past are presented on the exhibition area of about 3,000 square meters. Among them, both samples of Soviet machinery and vehicles manufactured in Europe and the USA. The oldest exhibit is a 1934 GAZ A car.

On the second floor of the museum, motorcycles, scooters, ATVs, mopeds, bicycles and various household appliances of the middle and late 20th century are presented. The atmosphere of antiquity is complemented by vintage advertising signs from old gas stations, recognizable household items, popular children's toys in the past.

The "Wheels of History" museum provides its premises and exhibits for filming and photo sessions. There is a coffee shop and a souvenir shop in the premises.

A monument to the AN-26 military transport plane is installed in Kyiv between the 1st and 8th buildings of the National Aviation University.

The aircraft was developed at the Oleh Antonov Design Bureau.

The AN-26 was nicknamed "Ugly Duckling" for the characteristic sound of the working engines.

A monument to the famous Ukrainian singer Anatoliy Solovyanenko was erected in 2001 on Pechersk in Kyiv, near the house where he lived for the last 20 years of his life.

The world-famous opera singer Anatoly Solovyanenko was a soloist of the Kyiv Opera. He was considered one of the best tenors in the world. In 1997, he became a laureate of the Taras Shevchenko National Award of Ukraine.

The monument to the work of sculptor Mykola Rapay and architect Vyacheslav Dormidontov was opened for the singer's birthday.

The first museum of Apple products in Ukraine opened in 2023 in the center of Kyiv. Located in the basement of the Yabluka chain store, specializing in the sale of Apple products.

The exhibition demonstrates the company's innovation in consumer electronics technology and design at various stages of market development. More than a hundred devices of the brand are presented, starting with the personal computer Apple II Plus of 1979. Among the exhibits are computers of the Apple III, Lisa, Macintosh, Power Macintosh, iMac, MacBook, PowerBook, etc. lines, the very first iPods and iPads, the full line of iPhone smartphones, Marshall speaker systems, keyboards, mouses, other peripherals and accessories.

The most valuable exhibits of the Apple Museum are gadgets with autographs of the company founders.

The museum-workshop of famous Ukrainian sculptors Ada Rybachuk and Volodymyr Melnichenko is located in the very center of Kyiv, in the blocks between Volodymyrska Street and Nezavisimosti Square. It works with the support of the ARVM fund, which takes care of the preservation of the cultural heritage of artists.

The creative tandem of Ada Rybachuk and Volodymyr Melnichenko is known for the design of the Palace of Children's Creativity in Pechersk, the Central Bus Station in Demiivka, and the Wall of Memory at Baikove Cemetery, which was barbarically destroyed by the Soviet authorities. The workshop on Malopodvalnaya was founded by them back in 1972. According to the artists' plan, it should always be open to visitors and at the same time serve as a museum of their work.

The museum presents numerous works by Ada Rybachuk and Volodymyr Melnichenko, created from 1957 to 2000, during almost the entire period of their creativity, including unfinished works. Some of the sculptures are exhibited in the open air yard. The building is decorated with mosaics.

The Astronomical Museum in Kyiv operates at one of the oldest university astronomical observatories of Ukraine, founded in 1845, shortly after the university was founded in Kyiv.

The first director of the astronomical observatory was the outstanding astronomer Vasyl Fedorov.

Over a century and a half, many scientific discoveries have been made here in the field of astrometry, solar physics and forecasting of solar activity, meteor astronomy, and observations of artificial Earth satellites. The observatory has several ancient instruments in its arsenal: a meridian circle, 8" and 10" Repsold refractors, a Zeiss astrograph, and a library with rare editions of the 16th-18th centuries.

The building of the astronomical observatory, designed by the architect Vikentiy Beretti, is an architectural monument of the 19th century.

Baikove cemetery is one of the oldest and most beautiful in Kyiv.

It was opened in 1834 on Baikova Hill, named after General Serhiy Baikov, a participant in the Franco-Russian War of 1812 and the Russian-Turkish War of 1828-1829, who lived here after his retirement.

On the territory of the cemetery there are about 20 old crypts of various architecture, some of them designed by famous architects Vladyslav Horodetsky, Volodymyr Nikolaev and others.

The Baikovo cemetery is actually a Ukrainian pantheon, many prominent people are buried there: Mykhaylo Hrushevsky, Lesya Ukrayinka, Vyacheslav Chornovil, Mariya Zankovetska, Amvrosiy Buchma, Mykhaylo Stelmakh, Pavlo Zahrebelny, Vasyl Stus, Yevhen Paton, Mykola Amosov, Oleksandr Shalimov, Valeriy Lobanovsky, Roman Ratushny and many others.

The Bessarabian covered market, which Kyivans call simply "Bessarabka", is the central and most expensive market in Kyiv.

It owes its name to merchants from Bessarabia (a region on the border of the present Odesa region and Moldova). According to another version, this area was called Bessarabka even before the appearance of the bazaar (allegedly, "Bessarab" was called street children in Kyiv).

The idea of tidying up the unattractive Bessarabian market by building the first covered market in Kyiv arose as early as 1873, but the construction began only in 1910 with the funds allocated by the will of the sugar factory, philanthropist and philanthropist Lev Brodsky. The project was developed by the architect Henryk Gai, who had experience designing an indoor market in Warsaw. The walls were built of brick, and the floor with a glazed roof rested on a metal vault frame. The facade of the market is decorated with sculptural compositions "Peasant with oxen", "Milkhouse", as well as heads of bulls, fish and fishing nets, flying geese. The first underground refrigeration unit in the city was installed in the basement.

The Bessarabian market embodied new European trends, which emphasized not the decorative decoration of buildings, but economy and functionality. It still serves its purpose properly.

The monument to defenders of the borders of the Motherland of all generations is one of the most original equestrian monuments in Kyiv.

It decorates the square in front of the building of the State Border Service of Ukraine and was installed in 2004 at the initiative of its management.

The bronze figure of a Cossack with a bare saber, who has risen on the stirrups of a horse and looks into the distance in search of enemies, is installed on a narrow pedestal.

The monument immediately earned the sharp criticism of art critics, and invariably causes smiles and laughter from passers-by. The highly simplified figure of the rider looks disproportionate due to the horse's short stature. A slender horse, standing in an unnatural position with an elongated neck, pointed ears and raised tail, looks more like a thin-legged dog. Since the sculptor did not depict the stirrups, one gets the impression that the Cossack is hanging above the horse in the air.

The People's Museum of Bread has been operating since 1981 in the premises of the National Ecological and Naturalist Center for School Youth on Priorka in Kyiv, next to the Shevchenko museum "House at Priorka".

The museum has collected more than 2,000 exhibits that tell about the history of bread, its importance for humans, the origin of the main grain crops (rye, wheat, corn, barley, and others). More than 100 samples of various agricultural crops are presented.

The decoration of the exposition is the section "Bread is the head of everything", where 150 breads from different parts of Ukraine and other countries are presented. Agricultural tools of different times are exhibited - from a wooden plow to a modern tractor, from a bucket for manual sowing to a combine harvester.

An honorable place in the museum is given to the works of the poet Taras Shevchenko, who wrote a lot in his works about bread and the hard work of farmers.

A separate exposition is dedicated to the terrible events of collectivization and the Holodomor-genocide organized in Ukraine by the Russian occupiers in 1932-1933.

Considerable attention is paid to the works of Ukrainian scientific breeders. You can even see "cosmic" white and brown bread, donated to the museum by cosmonaut Pavlo Popovych.

Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi is the main passenger railway station of Kyiv. It belongs to the Central Railway, which has been operating since the 1860s. It consists of the old Central, new Southern and Suburban railway stations. The "Vokzalna" metro station is located in the immediate vicinity of the Suburban Station.

The laying of the central building took place in 1927 on the site of the old station, built in the form of English Gothic in 1868-1870. The first line started working in 1932.

During the Second World War, the station was partially destroyed, and after the war - it was restored. In 1954-1955, pedestrian tunnels were laid from Station Square to the platforms, in 1967-1969 a canopy was built over the first platform, and the two original passages at the second floor level were replaced by a large waiting hall with exits to the platforms.

The station was designed for 72 pairs of trains and 40 thousand passengers per day. The main volume has an overall symmetrical composition, in the center of which is a departure lobby with an area of more than 1,200 square meters and a height of 32 meters.

In 2001, a general reconstruction of the station was carried out, during which the facade of the central building was renewed, and the lobby became much more spacious. Its walls were decorated with granite and marble of different colors, and panels with views of the historical monuments of the capital were placed under the vaults. A large escalator was installed near the central entrance, which takes passengers to the second floor. At the same time, the spacious seven-story building of the South Railway Station was built, which is considered one of the most beautiful railway terminals in Eastern Europe.