Attractions of Kyiv

The Geological Museum of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv is located in the premises of the Institute of Geology of KNU.

The museum was founded in 1834 as the Mineralogical Office of the Department of Mineralogy and Geognosy of the University of Saint Volodymyr. The materials of the liquidated Volyn Lyceum, Lutsk Gymnasium and Vilnius University became the initial foundation for it. After the paleontological collection was added in 1997, the current Geological Museum was created.

The exposition is located on an area of 880 meters. The Geological Museum has departments of general geology and geological processes, history of the Earth and paleontology, mineralogy and petrography, geology and minerals of Ukraine.

The exposition of the museum demonstrates the position of the Earth in outer space, the peculiarities of its structure and development, the evolution of the organic world. About 10,000 samples of minerals, rocks, precious and decorative stones, fossilized remains of fauna and flora, among which many are unique, are exhibited.

The National Academic Drama Theater named after Ivan Franko is the most popular in Kyiv.

The theater building was built in 1898 on Mykolayivska Square, which appeared on the site of a filled-in pond, which was located in the estate of the Kyiv professor Mering.

The theater premises were built by architects Eduard-Ferdynand Bradtman and Heorhiy Shleifer for Mykola Solovtsov's Society of Dramatic Artists theater, which later became the basis of the troupe of another Kyiv theater named after Lesya Ukrainka. The audience hall is decorated in Rococo style.

In 1919, the Solovtsov Theater was nationalized and transformed into the Second Lenin Theater of the Ukrainian SSR. In 1926, the theater building became a permanent stage for the theater group named after Ivan Franko. The theatrical season of 1926 in the renamed theater opened with the production "Eyelashes" based on the work of Mykola Hohol and adapted by Ostap Vyshnya.

People's Artist of the USSR and Ukraine Bohdan Stupka was the artistic director of the Ivan Franko Theater for a long time.

"Natalka Poltavka", "Shelmenko-Denshchik", "Pygmalion", "Shveik" are considered the most successful productions from the modern repertoire.

The National Museum of Natural History at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine is located in the center of Kyiv, in an old building with original neoclassical architecture.

Founded in 1966. Now it is a large museum complex that unites 5 museums: archaeological, geological, paleontological, zoological, botanical.

In 24 halls on an area of 8,000 square meters, more than 30,000 exhibits are collected, which tell about the origin of the Earth, its structure and evolution, plant and animal life, as well as the history of the material culture of the tribes and peoples who inhabited the territory of Ukraine in ancient times.

A prominent place is occupied by a complex of dioramas - about 30 landscape expositions and biogroups. In particular, in the paleontological exhibition you can see the dioramas "Paleozoic Sea", "Northern Black Sea Coast at the end of the Miocene" and "The site of primitive man in the Kyik-Koba cave", skeletons of a Deinatherium, a mammoth, a hairy rhinoceros and a giant deer, reconstructions of settlements from Paleolithic sites in Mezyn and Mezhyrich.

The Archaeological Museum of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences is located on the basement floor. In particular, a set of painted Upper Paleolithic mammoth bones from the Mezyn Paleolithic site, interpreted as the world's oldest musical instruments, is presented here.

The constructivist building of the National Center "Ukrainian House" appeared at the foot of Volodymyrska Hill in the center of Kyiv in 1982.

The building was intended to house the Kyiv branch of the Central Lenin Museum, which occupied these premises from 1982 to 1993. In 1993, the exposition of the former museum was dismantled, and the building was handed over to the newly created center "Ukrainian House".

From 2004 to 2012, the exhibition of the Kyiv History Museum was temporarily housed here, which was "evicted" from the Klovsky Palace, and now occupies a new building on Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street.

Currently, the National Center "Ukrainian House" provides services for the organization of summits, symposia, congresses, congresses, conferences, presentations, scientific-technical and trade-industrial specialized and international exhibitions, business forums, literary and artistic promotions, concerts, screenings films, corporate parties, balls, art exhibitions, openings. He is a permanent partner of the Kyiv ethnic music festival "Folk Virtuosi" and in December 2019 started his own holiday festival "DoDomu for Christmas", which the organizers plan to make an annual event.

The Taras Shevchenko National Museum in Kyiv is the leading center of Shevchenko studies and the richest treasury of works by the most famous artist of Ukraine.

Here is the largest collection in Ukraine of his paintings and graphics, as well as manuscripts of his poetry, rare photographs of the poet and his friends, the first editions of Shevchenko's works with his autographs, personal belongings of Kobzar. In total - 4 thousand exhibits in 24 halls.

The main exhibits are the originals of Shevchenko's most famous paintings: "Odaliska", "Kateryna", "Mariya", "Gypsy fortune teller", a portrait of Anna Zakrevska, several self-portraits. Also of great interest to visitors is the portrait of the poet Vasily Zhukovskyi by Karl Bryullov, which was drawn in a lottery to buy Taras from the serfs.

The exposition of the National Museum of Shevchenko is located in a mansion of the XIX century, which once belonged to the patron and businessman Mykola Tereshchenko. After the reconstruction in 2014, the interior of the museum turned into a modern cultural and artistic center, where interactive exhibitions, children's and educational programs are practiced.

The Shevchenko National Museum also includes the Shevchenko Literary Memorial House-Museum and the Memorial Museum "House at Priorka", which were opened in burgher houses where the poet lived in 1859 during a visit to Kyiv.

The building of the Karaite Kenasa was built in Kyiv in 1900 by the architect Vladyslav Horodetskyi at the expense of the "tobacco kings" Kohens.

The construction was ordered by the Kyiv community of Karaites, who are considered to be descendants of the ancient Khazars (Turks by origin, Jews by religion). The Kohens were the most influential representatives of the city's Karaite community.

The building is made in an unusual Moorish style. It was considered one of the most beautiful in the city, impressive with the luxury of decoration and the skill of execution. The exterior finish is made of the most progressive material at that time - cement. The walls are 1.5 meters thick at the base. The building was crowned by a dome with a spire.

In Soviet times, a puppet theater and a cinema were located here, and since 1981 - the Actor's House. Performances, concerts, exhibitions and literary events take place.

The historic Andriyivsky Uzviz Street has long been connecting the Upper Town with Podil.

The rough stone-paved road winds steeply between old one- and two-story houses. This is a colorful place that preserves the spirit of old Kyiv, favored by artists and souvenir sellers, and there are always many tourists here.

In the upper part of Andriyivsky Uzviz there is Saint Andrew's Church, below are museums, theaters, art galleries, antique shops, restaurants and cafes.

The Bulhakov Museum is open in the Turbiny House (Andriyivsky descent, 13), where the writer created the White Guard. A monument to Bulhakov has been erected near the museum.

"Castle of Richard the Lionheart" (Andriyivsky descent, 15) is a profitable house of the merchant Orlov in the English Neo-Gothic style. Opposite - the stairs to the top of the Castle Hill (the wooden castle stood during the Polish-Lithuanian rule in the XV-XVII centuries).

The Museum of One Street is located in building No. 2B.

A small one-story house on Oleksandrivska Street (now Petra Sahaydachnoho Street) belonged to the Balabukh merchant family from a long time ago.

Balabukh became famous thanks to the production of candies from the signature "Kyiv dry jam" (candy), which were called "balabukhs" or "balabushkas". These delicacies were supplied even to the imperial court.

Judging by the location in relation to the streets, the Balabukh house was built before the fire of 1811. In 1839, a new two-story building in the style of late classicism with features of the Ukrainian Baroque, built according to the project of the architect Lyudvik Stanzani, appeared nearby, in which a pastry shop worked.

In Soviet times, the restaurant "Zaporizhzhia" (now - restaurant "Khachapuri and Wine") was opened there. In a beautiful square between the houses, there are sculptures of a Cossack and a kobzar.

The monument to the Baptism of Rus on the Dnipro embankment is the first monument in Kyiv.

It was installed in 1802 over a spring that once existed in Khreshchaty Yar at the foot of Volodymyr Hill, where, according to legend, Prince Volodymyr baptized his children. Since the reason for its construction was the confirmation by Tsar Alexander I of the Magdeburg Law of Kyiv-Podil, the monument is also called the "Column of the Magdeburg Law".

According to the plan of the architect Andrit Melenskyi, the monument was originally a two-story chapel with a golden dome. An octagonal pool with a fountain was located in the arched pedestal. During Soviet times, the dome was demolished, leaving only arched passages, but by the millennium of the Baptism of Rus, which was celebrated in 1988, the column with the dome and the cross was restored.

The monument is connected to the upper part of the Volodymyrsky Descent by steep stairs.

The beautiful building with many spiers belonged to the Baltic baron Volodymyr Ikskull-Hildenband (his coat of arms is preserved above the double arch of the front entrance and entrance).

It was built in 1901 according to the project of civil engineer Mykola Vyshnevsky as a profit house, designed in the Gothic style. During the Second World War, the wooden parts burned down, and the Gothic spiers were lost. After the war, the building was renovated, changing the layout. The main details of the facade and a beautiful stylish lobby (it can be seen in one of the episodes of the film "His Excellency's Adjutant") have survived.

In recent years, the building was reconstructed again, according to the author's drawings that have survived, the spiers were restored, and an extension was added to the yard.

Botanical garden named after academician Oleksandr Fomin at Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University is located behind the Main (Red) building of the university.

The main inhabitants of the garden are introduced plants (moved outside the natural range), which were primarily intended for study by university students. The first plantings in the garden were carried out in 1839 with plants transplanted from the Kremenets botanical garden. The formation of the garden's main collection ended in 1850.

Currently, the garden occupies an area of 22.5 hectares. The territory is divided into zones, which mostly correspond to the origin of the plants. In the middle is a pool surrounded by exotic plants. In the spring, the most beautiful magnolias bloom here, the collection of which, numbering 65 species, is the largest in Ukraine and is considered one of the main dominants of the garden.

One of the most valuable in the collection is the southern Lewiston palm, which gives a unique flavor to the exposition of the subtropical flora of Australia. Its age is more than 200 years, its height is almost 28 m. The central place in the exposition is occupied by a unique specimen of the Encephalartos horridus, which is one of the oldest in the country, its age is more than 200 years.

Access to the open part of the botanical garden is possible free of charge through the central entrance near the "University" metro station. Group tours with greenhouses must be booked in advance. You can also visit the Museum of the History of the Botanical Garden named after academician Oleksandr Fomin, which opened in 2009 in a separate room.

Castle Hill (Khoryvytsya) is a historical area of ​​Kyiv associated with the legend of the founders of the city. Along with Shchekavytsya Hill, Starokyivska Hill and Lybid River, Khoryvytsya is one of the main symbols of Kyiv.

According to legend, when the first Kyiv prince Kyi founded Kyiv Castle on Starokyivska Hill, his brother Khoryv built his city on the nearby Khoryvytsya Hill. Traditionally, Khoryvytsya is identified with the mountain that is now known as Castle Hill (Kyselivka), although according to another version, Khoryvytsya should be called the current mountain Yurkovytsya.

At the end of the 14th century, when Podil became the center of Kyiv, a wooden castle of the Lithuanian voivode was built on Castle Hill. In 1482, it was burned by the Tatars, but it was soon restored, and at the end of the 16th century it became the residence of the Polish voivode. The mountain began to be called Kyselivka in the middle of the 17th century after the Kyiv voivode Adam Kysil. The castle had 15 towers, its area was 16 thousand square meters. In 1651, the Ukrainian Cossacks burned down the castle, and since then it has not been restored.

In the 19th century, Castle Hill was transferred to the Florivsky Monastery, and a cemetery appeared on it. Now this place is popular with representatives of informal youth movements and followers of pagan cults. Reconstruction of the castle and the creation of a museum complex are planned.

The Central Kyiv Synagogue was built in 1897-1898 at the expense of a large sugar factory, Lazar Brodsky, and informally bears his name.

The project in the Moorish style was developed by the architect George Shleifer. The building functioned as a Jewish religious center for three decades. In Soviet times, a puppet theater was located here. Since 1992, the service has been resumed.

A small museum has been created in the hall of the synagogue - here you can see a Hanukkah by the famous Israeli sculptor Frank Meisler, a fragment of a Torah scroll of the II-V centuries, a copy of the key from the opening of the synagogue in 1898, old books, stacks, tefillin, mezuzahs, candlesticks.

The mansion of the timber producer Semen Mohylyovtsev in Pechersk Lypky in Kyiv is nicknamed the "Chocolate House" for the color and texture of the exterior walls.

Academician of architecture Volodymyr Nikolaev is called the author of the project. Unique interiors are made in various artistic styles (modern, renaissance, gothic, baroque).

In the Soviet period, the building was used as a residence, then as the city's Palace of Marriages. Until recently, it was in a state of emergency.

Currently, the "Chocolate House" is a branch of the Kyiv National Art Gallery.

The Church of Mykola Naberezhny (Naberezhno-Mykylska Church) on Podil in Kyiv is one of the best works of the outstanding Ukrainian architect Ivan Hryhorovych-Barsky.

According to legend, the first wooden church of Mykola Naberezhny was founded in the 11th century at the place of a wonderful rescue of a drowned baby in Pochayna. The temple was first mentioned in written sources in 1552.

The stone church was rebuilt in 1772-1775 in the late Baroque style according to the project of Ivan Hryhorovych-Barsky. Nearby in 1863, according to the project of the architect Mykhaylo Ikonnikov, a tented belfry with a warm church in the diocesan style was built. Painting was carried out in the middle of the 19th century. The iconostasis installed in 1852, designed in the forms of late classicism, is of significant artistic interest.

A granite cross with the inscription "To those who laid down their lives on the altar of Ukraine" was installed near the church of Mykola Naberezhny.