Attractions of Kyiv

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.

The German Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Catherine in Kyiv is the main church of the Kyiv Lutheran community.

The Lutheran community has existed in Kyiv since the 18th century. The first religious services were held in the house of the apothecary Hayter in Podil (now it is a museum pharmacy). The wooden church built in 1799 in Podil burned down during the great fire of 1811. A new Lutheran church was built on "German Hill", in the Pechersky Lypky, where many Germans later built their houses. A parsonage and farm buildings were also built, a cemetery was laid out, and later a school and a House for the poor were also built.

The stone Lutheran church in the pseudo-Romanesque style was rebuilt in the middle of the 19th century by the architect Ivan Strom. During the Soviet rule, the building survived - there was an atheism club, an exhibition hall. Today it is an active Lutheran church of Saint Catherine.

The slender bell tower of the Greek church of Saint Catherine is the main dominant feature of Kontraktova Square.

In the 13th century, there was the first Catholic church in Kyiv at this place, then the Orthodox monastery of Peter and Paul. In 1787, the monks of the Greek monastery of Saint Catherine, founded in 1738, were transferred to the building. During the great fire of 1811, the Greek monastery survived only because it did not open the door to the arsonists who fled with their possessions.

During the rebuilding of Podil, the monastery took its place. In 1915, a new belfry in the style of classicism (architect Volodymyr Eisner) and a building (architect Fedir Lidval) were built.

In the early 1920s, the church was closed. For some time, the building was used as an exhibition pavilion, then most of the buildings were dismantled. Nowadays, the premises belong to the National Bank. Divine services are held three times a week.

The Church of the Holy Great Martyr George the Victorious has the status of the Cathedral of Railway Workers of Ukraine.

Located on Privokzalna Square of Kyiv Railway Station (South Terminal). The temple was built during the construction of the South Station in a record short time (in 72 days), for which it was entered into the Guinness Book of Records. Another 40 days were needed to make the interior decoration of the temple.

The temple with a height of 42 meters is made in the Byzantine style. The author of the project was the prominent Ukrainian architect Roman Syvenky. An addition to the temple was a belfry in the Art Nouveau style, in the form of two intersecting arches. The wall paintings, made by the masters of the Art Academy of Ukraine under the guidance of the famous Ukrainian academician Mykola Tytov, successfully combine picturesque biblical scenes and bright patterned ornaments. The interior is decorated with a wooden iconostasis with a carved dome above the altar and gilded figures of angels.

A part of the relics of Saint George the Victorious is kept here.

The Saint Illya Church in Podil is called the oldest Orthodox church in Kyiv.

A beautiful baroque church near the Dnipro embankment was built on the site of the first Christian temple of the ancient city. According to legend, the wooden church of Saint Ilya was founded by representatives of the Varangian family of the Rurikovichs. In 945, the soldiers of Prince Ihor of Kyiv took an oath here during the signing of peace with the Greeks.

In its present form, the church was rebuilt in 1692 by the burgher Pavlo Hudyma. In plan, it repeats its predecessor. A small belfry was added in the 18th century.

Currently, the Illya Church belongs to the UOC MP.

A commemorative cross in honor of the baptism of the people of Kyiv was installed near the temple gate.

Saint Michael Vydubytsky Monastery is one of the first Kyiv monasteries, founded by Prince Vsevolod Yaroslavych in the Vydubychy tract.

According to legend, a wooden idol of the supreme pagan god Perun, thrown by Prince Volodymyr into the Dnipro from the temple on Starokyivska hill, floated ("dug out") to the shore at this place. And immediately he was drowned by supporters of Christianity.

Initially, the main church was the temple of the patron saint of Kyiv, the Archangel Michael. In the 18th century, a new Saint George's Cathedral was built, as well as a refectory and a bell tower.

A wonderful view of the domes of the monastery against the background of the Dnipro River opens from the Central Botanical Garden.

The Church of Saint Nicholas in Kyiv was built by the architect Vladyslav Horodetsky at the beginning of the 20th century on the order of the Catholic community of the city.

Saint Nicholas church became one of the first objects, during the construction of which reinforced concrete was used - a new building material at that time. Two 60-meter towers in the medieval Gothic style are richly decorated with artificial stone sculptures. On the left is a three-story house for the sanctuary.

Since the Soviet times, the Saint Nicholas Church has been used as the National House of Organ and Chamber Music of Ukraine, since 1992 the service has been resumed.

A monument to the great Polish poet Yuliush Slovatskyi was erected near the church in 2012.

The Church of Ssint Nicholas on Tatarka "Memorial to the victims of Chornobyl" (also known as Chornobyl Church) was built at the beginning of the 21st century.

The church is the architectural dominant of the Memorial Complex in memory of the victims of Chornobyl, created according to the project of Mykola Zharykov. The shape of the facades of the church resembles the outlines of the first sarcophagus above the fourth power unit of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, which makes its architecture unique. In plan, it looks like an octagonal star, which makes it look like the Star of Bethlehem and the Star Wormwood at the same time. Every year on the anniversary of the Chornobyl tragedy, solemn events take place here.

Adjacent to the church is the regional landscape park "Smorodynskyi", created in 2016 (total area 22 hectares).

The parish of Saint Nicholas "Memorial of Chornobyl victims" on Tatarka belongs to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

On March 21, 2024, during a massive missile attack by the Russians on Kyiv, the Saint Nicholas Church was hit by fragments of a Russian ballistic missile - the crucifix was cut, the icons were broken by glass, the windows and doors were broken, the chapel nearby was destroyed, there was a hole near the church.

The Cathedral of Saint Oleksandr is the oldest surviving Catholic shrine in Kyiv.

It was built in the style of classicism according to the project of the architect Lyudvik Stanzani at the expense of the Polish community of the city, headed by Count Potocki in 1842.

It is located on the south side of Volodymyrska Hill, at the corner of Kostelna and Tryochsvyatitelska streets.

In Soviet times, the building of the Oleksandr Church was used as a planetarium, then as a museum of atheism. In 1990, the Church of Saint Oleksandr was returned to the Roman Catholic community.

In 2001, Pope John Paul II visited the Oleksandr Church during his visit to Kyiv. On June 6, 2021, the church was elevated to the status of a Cathedral.

Sholom Aleichem Museum in Kyiv is the first state museum of Jewish themes in modern Ukraine.

Opened in 2009 to the 150th anniversary of the writer's birth on the site of the house where he lived in 1896-1903.

The exposition tells in detail about the life and work of Sholom Aleichem, as well as introduces Jewish culture. Some ceremonial Jewish objects, objects of traditional Jewish life are presented.

On the monitors installed in the hall, you can see fragments of films and performances based on the works of Sholom Aleichem, Jewish architecture, Jewish tombstones (matzevot), ancient Jewish books, ancient manuscripts, copies of Jewish calligraphy.

The museum program includes many lectures and presentations.

The Soviet Occupation of Ukraine Museum was created in 2001 by the efforts of the Kyiv branch of the All-Ukrainian Society "Memorial" named after Vasyl Stus.

The exposition reflects the crimes of the communist regime in the period 1917–1991 and is divided into 10 sections: "Not to be forgotten. The Chronicle of the Communist Inquisition in Ukraine", "People's War", "Ukrainian Solovki", "Kyiv Martyrologist", "Lost Memory" , "Language exposition", "Broken destinies", "Destruction of spirituality".

Copies of documents, in particular from the declassified archives of the Security Service of Ukraine, photographs of private individuals, memories and testimonies of eyewitnesses and their relatives, video and audio materials are presented.

The gloomy Neo-Renaissance building of the Zemska Administration, built on the order of the provincial authorities, in Soviet times was transferred to the NKVD department, then the KGB. During the German occupation, it served as the premises of the CD.

The entire block around the building is equipped for the needs of the secret police, including temporary detention cells.

The building still retains its profile - the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) is located here.

The southern tunnel under the Dnipro is one of the objects of the so-called "Construction No. 1", as mentioned in the secret documents, a project of an underground transport system that duplicates the railway bridges across the Dnipro in the Kyiv region.

Two railway tunnels to the south and north of Kyiv (now within the city limits) were intended to ensure reliable, safe and secret transfer of troops and cargo between the right and left banks of the Dnipro. The decision to start "Construction No. 1" was made in 1938. Since the initiative belonged to Joseph Stalin, and the construction was carried out by metro builders, the object was later nicknamed "Stalin metro".

The total number of involved workers and employees was from 5 to 10 thousand people. Overground tunnels and railway embankments were built. Over 240 meters of the Southern Tunnel (pipe) with a diameter of 6 meters was passed by hikers near the Dnipro south of Kyiv, in the area of Zhukiv Island. Construction of the northern tunnel began later.

With the beginning of the Second World War, in 1941, all work was stopped, and machinery and equipment were flooded in the Dnipro. After the war, the object was considered unprofitable and construction was not resumed.

Currently, the South tube of the "Stalin Metro" on Zhukiv Island is one of the most accessible and spectacular structures of "Construction No. 1". It is a reinforced concrete tunnel with a descent towards the Dnipro. The western end rises above the ground almost completely, the eastern end – with its outer surface only a dozen centimeters above the lake level (it goes under the water). The total length is 600 meters. The tunnel is flooded, in winter it is possible to walk on ice from the western entrance to the intermediate entrance.

Also available are the remains of a tunnel and a headstone at Osokorki. The caisson of the Northern Tunnel (the so-called "Concrete Ship") has been preserved in Obolon.

The caisson of the Stalinist metro is a huge reinforced concrete structure in the Natalka Park in Obolon, which is popularly nicknamed the "Concrete Ship" for its characteristic shape, reminiscent of a submarine with a cockpit.

This is "Title No. 12" - one of the objects of the so-called "Construction No. 1", as mentioned in secret documents, a project of an underground transport system duplicating railway bridges across the Dnipro in the Kyiv region. Currently, the object is known as "Stalin Metro". Two railway tunnels to the south and north of Kyiv (now within the city limits) were intended to ensure reliable, safe and secret transfer of troops and cargo between the right and left banks of the Dnipro.

The construction of the Northern tunnel in the area of present-day Obolon began later than the construction of the Southern tunnel in the area of Zhukiv Island. At the beginning of the Second World War, in 1941, underground work had not yet begun.

A reinforced concrete tunnel and caisson section remained on the surface of the earth near the bank of the Dnipro, designed to sink into the soil and create an underground working chamber for the work of walkers in water-saturated soils.

Since the information about "Construction No. 1" remained secret until recently, the history and purpose of the "Concrete Ship" - a caisson on Obolon was overgrown with many urban legends. The further fate of the building has not yet been determined.

Starokyivska Hill is the historical heart of Kyiv. It is here, according to legend, that Prince Kiy founded his city in the 5th century, which is reminded of by a memorial sign - a stone with the words "From here the Rus land has left..." Now the National Museum of the History of Ukraine is located here.

The ramparts of the prince's baby and the foundation of the first stone Christian church founded by Prince Volodymyr in Rus - the Tithe Church (989-996) in the Byzantine style (the prince took a tenth of the income for maintenance) have been preserved. It was destroyed during the Tatar-Mongol invasion, burying the last defenders of the city under it. Restored in the 19th century in the Byzantine-Moscow style, destroyed by the Bolsheviks in 1929. The Church of the Tithes History Museum operates.

A four-hundred-year-old linden tree planted by Metropolitan Petro Mohyla grows nearby. The foundation of Princess Olha's palace (10th century) was discovered. In 1937-1939, the Museum of the History of Ukraine was built.

On the nearby Saint Andrew's Hill, where, according to legend, the apostle Andrew announced the birth of one of the eternal cities of the world, the baroque Saint Andrew's Church (1749-1754) was built according to the project of Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. Nearby is a monument to the heroes of the movie "After two hares" Holokhvastov and Pronya Prokopivna.