Attractions of Kyiv

Kostyantyn Yefremov's country house (Dacha) is one of the most interesting surviving examples of pre-revolutionary country buildings in Puscha-Vodytsia.

A wooden house with a dome stands in the park at the intersection of Kvitky Tsisyk and 10th line streets. Made in the forms of historicism with elements of the Renaissance, neo-baroque and classicism. The compositional center is the veranda of the main facade, crowned by a massive dome resting on carved double wooden pillars. The veranda is distinguished by the successful use of wooden carved arches, panels, and small gables, elegant in design and proportions. The roof is surrounded by a carved wooden eaves.

In the interiors of Yefremov's dacha, stoves and fragments of stucco have been preserved.

In Soviet times, it was building No. 15 of the Pershe Travnia (1 May) sanatorium. Currently a dormitory for eight apartments.

Nearby is a more modest country house built in 1910 (building #13), currently abandoned.

The Museum-Exhibition Center "Kyiv History Museum" is a multifunctional complex representing various historical, artistic and cognitive projects.

Founded in 1978, until the end of the Soviet era it was located in the building of the Klovsky Palace in Pechersk, then huddled for a long time on two floors of the Ukrainian House. Today the museum is housed in a modern building on the corner of Khmelnytskoho and Pushkinska streets.

The museum's collection includes about 300,000 exhibits that are part of the archaeological, numismatic, ethnographic collection, as well as thematic complexes of the modern period. These are Kyiv monuments of the late Paleolithic period (Kyrylivska camp), and archeological finds of the Stone Age, Bronze Age (Trypillya culture), found by Ukrainian scientists during archeological excavations in Kyiv; rare Byzantine stone icons and unique frescoes from the excavations of the Prince’s Palace of Ancient Kyiv; relics of Kyiv self-government, in particular, seals of Kyiv craft shops and a symbol of city self-government – a bas-relief of Archangel Michael from the city hall.

The decoration of the collection is a collection of old prints of the XVI-XVII centuries, collections of faience and porcelain of the Kyiv-Mezhyhirya factory and Miklashevsky factory, paintings by Mykola Prakhov and Oleksandr Murashko. Typical interiors of a noble living room of the beginning of the XIX century, a musical living room with a collection of musical instruments of the XVIII-XIX centuries, a craft room, a Swedish workshop, a photo studio of the beginning of the XX century are presented.

In the inclusive museum space with ramps and elevators, specialized tours "Kyiv to the touch" are conducted.

Babyn Yar in Kyiv is known throughout the world as a symbol of the genocide of the Jewish people. During the Nazi occupation of Ukraine, more than 100,000 civilians, prisoners of war, underground fighters, partisans, hostages, members of the OUN, mentally ill and other people were shot here. Now it is one of the most famous memorial sites associated with the Holocaust.

Deep between Syrets and Kurenivka in Kyiv, along the current Olena Teliha Street, has been known since the 15th century as the "Shalena Baba" tract. According to one version, this nickname was given to a local butcher who later sold these lands to a Dominican monastery.

A ramified 3.5-kilometer-long ravine stretches from the present Dorohozhytska metro station to the Kyrilivska Church. In the upper part of the ravine, since the end of the 19th century, the construction of the Lukyaniv Jewish cemetery began (the office building has been preserved).

During the Second World War, the natural topography of the ravine was supplemented with anti-tank ditches. They became the place of mass shootings and burials of Kyiv residents during 1941-1943. Only on September 29-30, 1941, the Nazis executed 33 thousand Jews here.

In 1976, a monument to shot citizens and prisoners of war was erected near Babyn Yar, which for a long time remained the only monumental embodiment of the tragedy. In 1991, a memorial sign "Menorah" in the form of a Jewish ritual seven-century candlestick was installed directly at the burial site. In 2001, a monument to the dead children was opened.

In 2007, the complex of monuments in the Babyn Yar tract was declared a national historical and memorial reserve.

Since 2016, the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center has been building a large museum-memorial complex on the territory of the reserve. In particular, in 2020, the installation "Mirror field" was opened, in 2020 - the symbolic synagogue "A place for reflection", as well as the installation "Looking into the past" dedicated to the Kurenivka tragedy.

Every year on September 29, mourning events take place in Babyn Yar.

The estate with a park in Kmitiv Yar on Tatarka in Kyiv served for some time as the residence of the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, Mykyta Khrushchev, and since then it has been called "Khrushchev's dacha".

The construction of the first manor house, according to the project of the architect Mykola Kazansky, for the apothecary assistant Octavian Bilsky, began here in 1893. This house has remained unchanged.

After the revolution and nationalization, the manor was set up as a government residence. In 1934-1937, People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, Vsevolod Balytskyi, one of the organizers of the Holodomor in Ukraine, lived here. It was the heyday of the park - a complex of park bridges, gazebos, park sculptures, and artificial lakes were built.

After the liberation of Kyiv in 1943, Mykyta Khrushchev settled here. With him, the park continued to sparkle with its luxury - bears lived in a small castle above the precipice, peacocks walked around the park.

After Khrushchev's departure to Moscow, the estate remained the residence of the first secretaries of the party's central committee. In 1978, the Institute of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology moved to the building near the park, and its administration was located in the country houses.

Today, the park has preserved only the remnants of its former luxury and is in a rather neglected state. Entrance through the passage from Platon Mayboroda Street. Free entrance.

The chapel in honor of Saint Andrew the First-Called Apostle, who, according to legend, foretold the foundation of Kyiv, was built on the slopes of the Dnipro near Askold's grave.

The construction was carried out at the expense of the Public Fund of Saint Andrew the First-Called, the project was developed by the architect Mykola Zharikov. The temple facing upwards is made in the style of a modern interpretation of the Ukrainian Baroque. According to the peculiarities of style and territorial affiliation, the chapel was included in the Lavra complex.

A commemorative sign in honor of the 2000th anniversary of the birth of Christ has been installed nearby. Across the road from the church, a monument to Andrew the First-Called (architect Mykola Zharikov) was opened in 2000. The monument is made of a solid block of granite. The pedestal in the upper part is stylized as clouds, which emphasizes the holiness of the apostle.

The cultural and entertainment complex "Mamayeva Sloboda" in Kyiv is a reconstruction of a Cossack village of the 18th century.

There are 98 different objects on the territory of 9.2 hectares, the wooden church of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos occupies a prominent place among them. There is also a Cossack chieftain's tenement house, a regimental treasury in the Ukrainian Baroque style, a palanka (Cossack outpost), a blacksmith's and a potter's manor, a tavern, and many other ethnographic objects that reproduce the life of Cossacks.

The complex is named after the legendary Cossack Mamay, one of the most popular characters in Ukrainian folk tales. On major holidays, folk festivities take place here. It is possible to organize wedding ceremonies in the national style, as well as various corporate events.

Eternal Glory Park in Kyiv was opened in 1957 on the site of the ancient Commandant's Garden on the slopes of the Dnipro.

The central place of the complex is occupied by the Memorial of Eternal Glory to the soldiers of the Second World War, which is a 27-meter obelisk made of dark marble. At its foot is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, over which an eternal fire burns. The Alley of Fallen Heroes leads to the obelisk with 34 graves of soldiers who distinguished themselves with special valor during the war.

The monument was created according to the project of architects Avraam Miletskyi, Volodymyr Baklanov and Volodymyr Novikov.

In 2008, a memorial complex commemorating the victims of the Holodomor of 1932-1933 in Ukraine was opened next to the park.

Holosiyivskyi Park named after Maksym Rylskyi with the adjacent Holosiyivskyi Forest is the largest protected area in Kyiv.

A beautiful park with lakes, which smoothly transitions into a forest thicket, occupies about 140 hectares. Holosiyivskyi Park was opened in 1957 and named after the outstanding Ukrainian poet Maksym Rylskyi, who lived in a house next to this area. Now a literary memorial museum of the poet has been opened in his house. The main entrance of the park is decorated with a monument to Maksym Rylskyi, a stele to the participants in the defense of Kyiv in 1941 and a memorial to soldiers, teachers and students who died during the Second World War.

Holosiyivskyi Park is popular as a place for family recreation, picnics and walks. There is an amusement park, sports fields, cafes and many other entertainments on its territory.

The park has a cascade of 4 ponds with boat stations and observation decks. However, the virgin forest area, where you can enjoy the beauty of nature, feed squirrels and birds, is of particular value to vacationers.

Holosiyivska desert is located here, which gave the park its name (it was founded on a desert place where a forest park was "sown" on "bare land".

Maksym Rylskyi Park is part of the "Holosiyivskyi" National Nature Park created in 2007.

The Art Nouveau mansion was built in 1907 by architect Eduard-Ferdinand Bradtman by order of Serhiy Arshavsky, a Poltava merchant of the 2nd guild.

In 1918, the building was nationalized, and to this day it houses government structures.

The facade is decorated with a sad female face, which drips water during the rain, and it seems that the mask is crying. Hence the popular name of the mansion.

The former building of the Institute of Noble Girls is located on the hill dominating Khreshchatyk in Kyiv, which offers the best view of Maydan Nezalezhnosti.

The building of the institute was built according to the project of the architect Vikentiy Beretti, and was the property of the Kyiv noble assembly. The institute provided general education, aesthetic and ethical education, graduates were given the right to work as tutors in noble and merchant families. Mykola Kostomarov, Oleksiy Stavrovsky, Vitaliy Shulhyn, Mykola Bunhe, Mykola Lysenko, Yosyp Vytvytsky and others taught here. Natalya Zabila, Olena Pchilka, Natalena Koroleva, Thalberр sisters (singer and pianist) studied at the institute at different times.

During the Soviet rule, the building was occupied by various institutions, including the NKVD of the Ukrainian SSR. A memorial cross was erected in honor of repressed Ukrainians, the creation of a museum is being discussed.

Currently, the building has the status of the International Center of Culture and Arts (the former "Zhovtnevy Palace"), the audience hall is used for public and cultural events, the annex houses the first high-tech cinema "Kinopalats" in Kyiv.

In front of the entrance is the "Alley of Stars", on which the names of prominent Ukrainians are placed.

This house was designed and built in Kyiv by the architect Pavlo Alyoshin by order of the official on special orders of Kovalevsky.

Made in the style of a medieval castle, with a huge predominance of Romanesque style elements in the decoration of the facades. When designing the mansion, the architect faced a difficult planning task: to place a manor house with a stable, a cowshed, a garage and a garden on a small plot measuring 46 by 35 meters. The architect even had to use the underground space - under the paving of the yard there was a cellar with a glacier and a shed for firewood and coal.

Interesting features - a faceted tower with a helmet-shaped dome hides the fact that the building is built at an angle of 78 degrees, at which the streets adjoin each other; drain pipes are hidden in the wall so that their shadow does not visually break the facade; and on the bas-relief from the side of Shovkovychna Street, the architect is depicted in his own person in the form of a cat.

Contemporary art gallery "ArtPrichal" in Kyiv opened under the new Havansky bridge, in the area of pier #1-2.

The curator of the gallery is the famous photo artist Oleksandr Ktytorchuk.

The gallery is located under the arches of the bridge, the structures of which are painted with bright graffiti.

ArtPrichal hosts exhibitions of paintings and photographs, presents art installations by modern artists and sculptors, organizes dance parties, hosts film festivals and conducts master classes.

Kyiv Children's Railway (Mala Pivdenno-Zakhidna) was opened in 1953 on the territory of the current Syretsky Park, near Babyn Yar.

The 2.8-kilometer-long road is laid along a ring road, in one place it crosses a ravine on a 20-meter-high viaduct. At the time of its opening, it had a Gr-336 steam locomotive (made in Germany) and 5 wooden wagons, later it was reequipped several times. The last reconstruction was carried out in 2001.

Trains run between two stations: "Vyshenka" and "Yablunka". The Children's Railway operates two TU-7 diesel locomotives and the same Gr-336 steam locomotive that started the history of the Children's Railway.

Open from May to August on weekends.

The Kyiv Television Tower is the tallest building in Ukraine (382 meters), at the time of its construction it was the tallest free-standing lattice structure in the world. It is still among the ten tallest TV towers on the planet. It is located on Syrets in Kyiv, next to Babyn Yar.

The Kyiv TV tower on Syrets was built in 1968–1973 to replace the old TV tower, which was located on the hill above Khreshchatyk, next to the TV and radio building. The new TV tower provided television signal coverage for almost 100 kilometers around Kyiv.

The tower is all-metal, latticed, entirely composed of steel pipes of various diameters. The construction was carried out by a unique method of superstructure "from the mountain to the bottom" without the use of lifting cranes of tag-helicopters. The central pipe with a diameter of 4 meters serves as an elevator shaft. Technical premises are located on two levels.

The TV tower is a strategic object with limited access, no tours are conducted to it.

In 1990, a new high-rise television center was opened nearby, nicknamed the "pencil" for its characteristic shape (Yuriya Illyenka Street, 42). It earned a bad reputation because it was built on the site of an old Jewish cemetery. Since 2006, the television center has been home to a Television Museum.

On March 1, 2022, Russian forces launched two targeted missile strikes at the construction of the Kyiv television tower. The tower's unique structure survived, but the hardware and transformer substation that powers the TV tower were damaged.

Lysa Hora is a historical area in the Vydubichi district, which is traditionally associated with evil spirits.

The name "Lysa Hora" (Bald Mountain) and the bad reputation of the place of the witches' coven are attributed to several hills in Kyiv, but the "official" name is fixed on the hill in the southern part of the city, between Saperna slobidka and Stolychne Shose.

In 1872-1876, the Lysohirskyi Fort of the New Pechersk Fortress was built here (earthen ramparts with brick ramparts have been preserved). In Soviet times, a military radio engineering complex was based here.

Now this place is popular with Tolkienists and representatives of other informal youth trends.