Attractions of Kyiv

One of the most beautiful and romantic buildings of pre-revolutionary Kyiv - Pidhorsky's house - is sometimes called the "Baron's Castle" by Kyivans.

The house on the corner of Yaroslaviv Val and Lysenko Street, near the Golden Gate, was built at the end of the 19th century by order of the Polish landowner Mykhaylo Pidhorskyi (architect Mykola Dobachevskyi) in the modernized Gothic style popular at the time. The house is crowned with a high spire, the facade is decorated with sculptures of fantastic animals. It was nicknamed the "Baron's Castle" not only because of its characteristic "knightly" appearance, but also because the house next to it really belonged to Baron Rudolf Steinhel, and many believed that the baron owned both houses.

Pidhorsky's house was profitable. On the first floor there was a confectionery cafe "By the Golden Gate" (then a cinema hall), and on the remaining floors there were residential apartments that were rented out.

The extravagant building has survived to this day in an almost unchanged form. Stucco molding, beautiful fireplaces and other decorative elements have been preserved in many rooms of the house. Throughout the Soviet period, it housed communal apartments.

Pidhorsky's house is currently in private ownership and is being restored. On the first floor, there is a gallery of differences "Miracle Icons of Athos" with copies (lists) of the most famous Athos icons: "Abbess of the Holy Mount of Athos", "Sweet Kiss", "All-Empress", "Rejoice and Consolation", "It is Worthy", "The Quick Obedient" ”, “Iverska” (or “Vorotarnytsia”), “Triruchnytsia” and others.

"Pinchuk Art Center" (PinchukArtCentre) is an international center of contemporary art in Kyiv, an open platform for artists, art and society.

Created by one of the largest Ukrainian businessmen and philanthropists, Viktor Pinchuk, in 2006.

The Pinchuk Gallery is located in the ancient architectural ensemble of Kyiv's Bessarabian quarter, which was restored at the beginning of the 21st century. The architectural project and interior design of the art center was developed by the French architect Philippe Ciambaretta.

The center is located on 6 floors and combines exhibition halls on the 4th floor, a video lounge and a cafe on the 6th floor, as well as an administrative part. Main areas of activity: collecting, exhibitions, projects, communication, education, publication, research.

In addition to large-scale projects, the art center holds short-term exhibitions as part of the PAC-UA art space, which is designed to showcase exclusively new works by Ukrainian artists.

On the sixth floor of the "Pinchuk Art Center" is SkyArtCafe, decorated in exclusively white tones, which offers creative vegetarian dishes.

The Post Museum of the "Ukrposhta" Kyiv City Directorate opened after a complete renovation in 2019, and is located in the premises of the Livoberezhny post office.

The museum presents unique exhibits from all regions of Ukraine: from dioramas and stained glass windows to the uniform of a postman of the early 20th century. Among the exhibits are a sorting center, a mail car and a miniature mail coach, a telegraph machine, stamping machines, a wax box, camisoles, typewriters, and more.

Also presented is a map of Ukraine, laid out from almost 10,000 stamps for 30 years of Independence, mailboxes of the Good Mail art project, mailboxes of the world's post office and many other interesting things.

The post office in Podil is the oldest surviving post office in Kyiv.

The one-story building in the classicist style was built in 1853-1865 as the main building of the Podil post station complex, which was of particular importance due to its location in the busiest shopping district of the city with the largest bazaars, handicraft and industrial enterprises, the Kontraktovy Fair and the pier.

Since 1999, the exhibition "To the history of self-government in Kyiv" - the Museum of Magdeburg Law has been housed in the Post Office building. The museum's collection includes various rare photographs of Kyiv, archival documents, icons, paintings, postcards of the old city.

The museum also displays archaeological finds, including coins and Kyiv faience.

The complex of buildings of the Presence places was erected in the middle of the 19th century on the site of city fortifications.

The project was developed by architects Ivan Shtrom, Mykhaylo Ikonnikov and Ksaversh Skarzhynskyi. In 1900, the building was reconstructed by adding a third floor.

The bureaucratic apparatus of pre-revolutionary Kyiv, including the judicial and police departments, was located here. In Soviet times, the premises retained their purpose, and the address "Korolenko, 15" (the former name of Volodymyrska Street) became a common name.

Currently, the building houses the regional office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Court of Appeal and other authorities.

Museum-archive of the press in Kyiv is a project of the "Historical Truth" (Istorychna pravda) online publication. This is the first museum of this profile in Ukraine.

Located in Podil in Kyiv.

The basis of the collection is the private collection of periodicals and the self-publishing of journalist Vakhtanh Kipiani.

The museum opened in 2014 with the exhibition "For Ukraine, for her will! Periodicals of the OUN, UPA, UGVR and other liberation formations."

The monument to Prince Volodymyr the Great is the oldest sculptural monument in Kyiv, one of the symbols of the city.

In the 1840s, the so-called decoration of the Volodymyr hill was made. Before that, its irregular slope constantly threatened to slide onto the Volodymyrsky (at that time Oleksandrivskyi) mountain. The mountain was strengthened and an intermediate terrace was arranged on it.

In 1843, the famous sculptor Vasyl Demut-Malynovsky prepared a "Project for the construction in the city of Kyiv on the highest steepness of the corner of Oleksandrivska Hill, above the place where the baptism of the Rus people took place - a monument to the Holy Rivnoapostolic Prince Volodymyr." The solemn opening of the monument took place only after 10 years of public discussions and agreements.

The 16-meter-high octagonal pedestal is made of brick and lined with cast iron, the sculptural design with the scene of the baptism of Rus, the image of the Archangel Michael, was made by the sculptor Petro Klodt. Illumination of the cross turned out to be a good idea, thanks to which the monument was visible from the opposite bank of the Dnipro even at night. At first, gas horns were used for this, but in 1895, at the expense of patron Semen Mohylevtsev, electric lighting was made from several dozen light bulbs. The lighting, lost during the Soviet era, was restored at the end of the 20th century.

The monument to Princess Olha, Apostle Andriy, Kyryl and Mefodiy is erected on Mykhaylivska Square in Kyiv, opposite the Saint Michael Golden-Top Cathedral.

The monument was first opened in 1911. The concrete sculptures of the princess and two enlighteners were sculpted by the sculptor Ivan Kavaleridze, and the apostle by Petro Sniikin. During the Soviet era, the monument was destroyed - the sculptures were broken and buried.

In 1996, after excavations in the square, it was possible to find parts of the broken figure of Princess Olha. The monument was restored according to photographs by sculptors Vitaliy Sivko, Mykola Bilyk and Vitaliy Shyshov. This time the figures were carved from white marble and placed on a pink granite plinth.

The monumental ensemble of Princess Olha was solemnly opened on May 25, 1996, on Kyiv Day. And the found pieces of the old monument were fastened together and placed in the sculpture park of Ivan Kavaleridze on Andriyivskyi Uzviz.

A monument to the heroes of the film comedy "Behind Two Hares" Pronya Prokopivna and Svyryd Holokhvastov is erected in Kyiv at the beginning of the Andriyivsky Uzviz, where the final episode of the film was filmed - the exposure of Svyryd Petrovych before the wedding in the Saint Andrew Church.

The film was shot at the Oleksandr Dovzhenko Film Studio in 1961 based on the satirical play of the same name, which sharply satirizes the bourgeois lifestyle of Kiev. The funny movie comedy with Oleh Borisov and Marharyta Krynitsyna in the main roles won the love of the whole nation. The actors perfectly embodied the images of Kyiv burghers of the 19th century, and the colorful surzhik of the Russian version of the film organically complemented the already comical language of the heroes, full of "noble" words. "In my chest - Vesuvius is still clattering! Decide my unfortunate fate: I ask you for your hand and heart", - the barber of Holokhwast, who was standing on his knees, addresses Pronya Prokopivna, a graduate of the "boarding house", with such a loud "hvason".

This episode of the film is depicted by sculptors Volodymyr Shchur, Vitaliy Sivko, and Ruslan Kuharenko.

There is also a themed restaurant on Andriiivskyi Uzvoz, which plays with the eccentric style of "Behind two hares".

The Museum of Public Transport of Kyiv was created in 2015 on the basis of the historical exhibition and restoration center of KP "Kyivpastrans".

It is located on the territory of the former bus park No. 3 near the "Beresteyska" metro station (entrance from Yuriy Matuschak lane).

The exposition presents rare buses, trolleybuses, trams and cars that worked on Kyiv's passenger routes in different years. Among them: ZIS-155, LAZ-695M, Skoda 8Tr, LiAZ 677 and others.

There is a workshop for the restoration and restoration of old equipment.

It is planned to create excursion routes on retro transport, conduct excursions in operating parks and depots.

Pushcha-Vodytsia is a suburban resort village on the northwestern outskirts of Kyiv, the most famous country area near the capital. Even in the 11th century, the princes of Kyiv loved to hunt in the forests of Pushcha-Vodytsia ("Pushcha" means a dense forest, Vodytsia is the name of a small river).

In 1724, state forestry was created, and in the 1890s, the city council, on the initiative of entrepreneur and public figure Mykola Chokolov, founded the country village of Pushcha-Vodytsia.

In 1904, anti-tuberculosis sanatoriums were built, and later general health sanatoriums, a tram line and a telephone connection were laid. In the pre-revolutionary years, maivkas were held here. The sanatorium-resort profile was preserved in the village even in Soviet times. More than 60,000 people were treated here during the year. He received elite status thanks to the departmental "Tsekiv" sanatorium "Pushcha-Ozerna". By the mid-1990s, most of the sanatoriums had closed, many areas with forest areas fell into private ownership, but some examples of summer cottages from the beginning of the 20th century were preserved.

A monument to hetman Pylyp Orlyk was erected on Pechersk in Kyiv to the 15th anniversary of the Constitution of Ukraine.

Pylyp Orlyk is the author of the document "Pacts and Constitution of Rights and Freedoms of the Zaporizhzhia Army" from 1710, which is considered the first Ukrainian Constitution of Cossack times.

The sculpture depicts the hetman signing a document. The spatial composition of the elements of weapons, art and statehood is placed on both sides of the alley, which allows you to pass through it and get acquainted with each element separately.

The monument was created by the author's collective of sculptor, People's Artist of Ukraine, full member of the Academy of Arts of Ukraine, Anatoliy Kushch, and honored architect of Ukraine, member of the Academy of Architecture, Oleh Stulakov.

The National Memorial to the Heavenly Hundred Heroes and Revolution of Dignity Museum is being created in Kyiv in memory of the participants of the protest actions of 2013-2014, who died during the attempts of the then government to stifle popular protest in Ukraine.

To date, we know of 107 deaths at the hands of security forces and their mercenaries.

The memorial complex unites the places where the revolutionary events of that time took place, in particular on Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Yevropeyska and Mykhaylivska squares, Instytutska, Hrushevskoho and Khreshchatyk streets (information stands have been installed at the relevant locations).

The main element of the complex should be the Revolution of Dignity National Museum on the Heavenly Hundred Heroes Alley (preparation for construction is ongoing). The temporary exhibition is available in the Information and Exhibition Center of the Maidan Museum, located on two floors of the Trade Union Building. Here you can see the original things of Maidan citizens from the time of the Revolution of Dignity, photos and videos of those events. The museum collection also includes handmade barricades, self-defense items, protest art, and more.

Thematic exhibitions are held in the Gallery of Protest Art on Lypska Street. The administration of the museum is located on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.

The neo-Gothic building under the mountain Uzdyhalnytsia on the Andriyivsky descent bears the romantic name "Castle of Richard the Lionheart", built on the order of the merchant Dmytro Orlov as a profitable house.

According to legend, the builders, dissatisfied with the payment, specially planned the ventilation in such a way that the wind would howl in the pipes, which led to rumors of ghosts in the house.

During Soviet times, bohemians lived here. In 1992, the building was bought by an American investor for a hotel, but due to problems with the local authorities, the reconstruction was suspended.

Baroque pearl - Saint Andrew's Church - welcomes visitors to Andriyivskyi Descent in Kyiv.

The church was founded on the site of Saint Andrew's Bastion of the Old Kyiv Fortress in 1744 before the arrival of Elizabeth I in Kyiv. According to legend, Saint Andrew the First-Called erected a cross on this site and foretold the emergence of the "eternal city". Probably, this is the only work of architect V. Rastrelli that has survived in Ukraine. Rich interior decoration is close to the Rococo style. The balustrade of the church offers a picturesque panorama of Podil.

The Saint Andrew's Church holds services of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - daily morning liturgies, evening services, water consecration, baptisms, weddings, other rites and spiritual rites. A night service is held on the night from Saturday to Sunday.

Andrew's Church Museum is a sector of the Sophia Kyivska National Reserve.