Attractions of Kyiv

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 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 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 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 Rosenberg Synagogue on Podil is the main synagogue of Kyiv, the oldest of the city's Jewish temples.

The Moorish-style building was built in 1894-1895 according to the project of architect Mykola Hordenin. At that time, it was forbidden to build synagogues in Kyiv, so the Jewish synagogue was officially built as a private mansion of Habriyel-Yakiv Heselevych Rosenberg. Only after the construction was completed, Rosenberg received permission to open a prayer house.

In 1916, at the expense of Baron Volodymyr Ginzburg and the famous philanthropist Lev Brodsky, the choral synagogue was significantly expanded.

In 1929, the Soviet authorities closed the synagogue, and a club was placed in the building. After the Second World War, the Jewish community of Kyiv managed to return the shrine under the condition of carrying out restoration works, and for a long time it was the only active synagogue in Kyiv.

Currently, the Rosenberg synagogue houses educational institutions, a community center (the capital's Jewish community has 25,000 people), a matzah bakery, a kosher dining room, and a mikvah (reservoir for ablution).

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.