Kiev Travel Guide

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City Introduction

The Ukrainian capital of Kiev is one of Eastern Europe’s great and beautiful metropolitan cities, where there are distinguished sights from the last many centuries. Kiev’s more than 1,500-year history is reflected in the city’s many historic buildings, architecturally ranging from the Kiev-Russian style to the elegant Ukrainian Baroque to the Soviet style.

Of the buildings of Kiev, the many churches and monasteries stand as the main reason for visiting the city of the Dnieper, and with gilded domes also provide several unforgettable experiences, where the beautiful Christian facilities seem almost endless in Kiev’s beautiful skyline.

The overall impression of the architecture of the church complexes is the Ukrainian Baroque, which, among other things, Bartolomeo Rastrelli contributed to St. Andrew’s Church, which is one of the city’s landmarks. From later times the great Soviet Soviet architects of the mid-1900s also distinguished themselves. Buildings from this era stand as monuments of the ability of communism in the Soviet Union.

Kiev, with its three million inhabitants, is also one of Europe’s major cities. At the same time, the city is very green and almost rural in its places. The wide river Dnieper cuts through the city, and in its course there are several islands with fine sandy beaches a short stroll from the city center.

Top Attractions

Golden Gate, Kiev

  • The Golden Gate/Золотые Ворота: The Golden Gate is a building erected in the years 1017-1024 as an impresive main gateway to Kiev. It was named after the Golden Gate in Constantinople, dismantled in the Middle Ages and rebuilt in the Soviet Union in 1982.
  • Mariinsky Palace/Мариинский дворец: The Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli designed the elegant Baroque Mariinsky Palace which was built in the center of Kiev. Today it is neighboring the neoclassical Ukrainian parliament building.

St Andrew's Church, Kiev

  • St. Andrew’s Church/Андреевская церковь: The beautiful St. Andrew’s Church is one of Kiev’s architectural highlights and stands as one of the city’s most famous landmarks. It was built 1747-1754 by Italian Bartolomeo Rastrelli.
  • St Sophia’s Cathedral/Софийский Собор: St Sophia’s Cathedral is one of Kiev’s top attractions with its history and beauty in architecture. The cathedral is also included with Kiev’s Pechersk Monastery on UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites.

Kiev Pechersk Cave Monastery

  • Kiev Pechersk Monastery (Monastery of the Cave)/Киево-Печерская Лавра: Kiev Petjersk Monastery is perhaps the most well-known and impressive of Kiev’s many religious buildings. It is also known as the Monastery of the Cave.
  • Saint Michael’s Gold-domed Monastery/Михайловский Златоверхий монастырь: Saint Michael’s Monastery is one of the most beautiful and well-known of Kiev’s many distinguished church and monastic buildings. It is close to St Sophia’s Cathedral and St. Andrew’s Church, which are other of these fine buildings.

Motherland Monument, Kiev

  • The Motherland Monument/Родина-мать: In the memory of the fighting against the Germans during World War II you can see the impressive monument of the motherland; the statue of called Rodina-Mat.

Other Attractions

Kreschatik, Kiev

  • Kreschatik/Крещатик: Kreschatik is Kiev’s fashionable magnificent street, with its chestnut ancestors, built just before the year 1800. The name of the street is based on the Slavic word for cross.
  • Kiev Metro/Киевский метрополитен: Kiev Metro is a transport system, but for some parts of the facility also an attraction that shows the construction of Soviet subways as a kind of people’s palaces.

Vladimir Park, Kiev

  • Vladimir Park and Kreschatik Park/Владимирский и Крещатый Парки: This park area along the Dnieper River was created in the late 1800s as the starting point for the annual religious celebration on St. Vladimir’s Day, and since then many great Ukrainian artists have found inspiration in the park.
  • Bessarabic Market/Бессарабский рынок: The Bessarabic Market is a market building named after the Bessarabic (Moldovan) merchants who originally brought their goods to Kiev.
  • Museum of Art of the West and the East/Музей западного и восточного искусства: This museum was founded in 1919 on the basis of the Khanenkos family’s private collection. It has today Ukraine’s finest collection of foreign art.

Independence Square, Kiev

  • Independence Square/Площадь Независимости: Independence Square is, so to speak, the center of Kiev, and thus also probably the most well-known and significant square in Ukraine. Several well know buildings can be seen around it.
  • National Opera of Ukraine/Национальная опера Украины: Founded in 1867, this theater is Ukraine’s oldest musical theater. The current theater building was erected by Victor Shreter.

Postovaya Square, Kiev

  • The Post Square/Поштовая площадь: The Post Square is a site on the Dnieper River and it is one of the oldest sites in the Ukrainian capital; Effects dating back to the 300s have been found at excavations.
  • Park of Eternal Glory/Парк Вечной Славы: This is a memorial park set on the green slopes between Kiev’s centurm and the Dnieper River. It is a large landscaped park from the Soviet era of Ukraine.
  • Vydubychkij Monastery/Выдубицкий монастырь: This is one of Kiev’s old monasteries; the site was founded in the 1070s by Vsevolod I of Kiev. Vsevolod’s son, Vladimir II, came to be the cause of the monastery’s name, which is due to an old tradition.

Day Trips

Chernobyl, Ukraine

  • Chernobyl/Чернобыль: North of Kiev lies the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, where a colossal accident occurred on April 26, 1986. Subsequently, the exploded reactor core 4 was enclosed in a large concrete sarcophagus, and the city of Pripyat was abandoned. A visit today takes place around the plant and Pripyat, which is a ghost town where nature has taken over.
  • Pirogovo Open Air Museum/Музей народной архитектуры и быта Украины: South of Kiev in the idyllic village of Pirogovo is the open-air museum of the Pirogovo. The museum was founded in the late 1960s and opened in 1976.

Chernigov, Ukraine

  • Chernigov/Чернигов: On the right bank of the Desna River lies the regional center of Chernigov with its 300,000 inhabitants. Chernigov is one of Ukraine’s oldest cities, and as early as the 9th century it was part of Kiev-Russia.
  • Kanev/Канев: Kanev is one of Ukraine’s old cities, and on the mountain of Kanev’s Tarasova lies the great Ukrainian lyricist and artist Tara Shevchenko. The area today is a large memorial area; it was brought as such in 1923.

Shopping

  • City Center , Kreschatik / Крещатик
  • Globus , Independence Square / Майдан Независимости
  • Mandarin Plaza , ul. Bassejnaja / ул. Бассейная
  • Metrograd , pl. Bessarabskaja / пл. Бессарабска
  • Ukraine , Pl. Peremogi / Пл. Перемоги
  • Shopping streets : Kreschatik / Крещатик, Independence Square / Майдан Независимости

With Kids

  • Circus : Circus / Цирк, pl. Peremogi / пл. Перемоги
  • Air Museum : Gosudarstvennyj Muzej Aviatsii / Державний музей авіації / Государственный музей авиации, Medovaja 1 / ул. Медовая 1, www.avia-museum.org.ua
  • Swimming Park : Hidropark / Гидропарк, Trukhanov Ostrov / Труханов остров
  • Puppet Theater : Kievskij Gorodskoi Theater Kukol / Киевский Городской театр кукол, ul. Miropolskaya 1 / ул. Миропольская 1 & ul. Lunacharskogo 1b / ул. Луначарского 1b
  • Zoo : Kievskij Zoopark / Киевский зоопарк, prospectus Pobedy 32 / пр. Победы 32, www.zoo.kiev.ua
  • Planetarium : Kievskij Planetarij / Київський планетарій / Киевский планетарий, Bolshaya Vasilkovskaya 57-3 / ул. Большая Васильковская 57-3, www.planet.org.ua
  • Trams : Muzej Tramvaev / Музей трамваев, ul. Filatova / ул. Овилатова, www.mashke.org/kievtram/en/museum
  • Wax Museum : Muzej Voskovykh Figure / Музей восковых фигур, ul. Khmelnitskogo / ул. Хмельницкого
  • Beaches : Trukhanov Ostrov / Труханов остров

Practical Links

  • City Center , Kreschatik / Крещатик
  • Globus , Independence Square / Майдан Независимости
  • Mandarin Plaza , ul. Bassejnaja / ул. Бассейная
  • Metrograd , pl. Bessarabskaja / пл. Бессарабска
  • Ukraine , Pl. Peremogi / Пл. Перемоги
  • Shopping streets : Kreschatik / Крещатик, Independence Square / Майдан Независимости

City History

The founding of the City
Kiev’s history started with the first settlements in the area in the 300-600s, and the city itself is believed to be founded in 482. Various peoples dominated the area on the Dnieper River until Scandinavians came sailing along the rivers and gathered the area under a regime.

The Scandinavians, who were called intoxicated, entered the Kiev area in 882 under Oleg from Novgorod. They made the place the city that over the next 200 years made Kiev the dominant political power of early Kiev-Russia, stretching between Volga, the Danube and the Baltic region.

Christian Kiev
Kiev-Russia’s great prince Vladimir I Christianized the country in 988. It came under the influence of Constantinople, and in fact, Christianity took place during a mass ceremony at the Dnieper, where the city was said to have converged to Christianity.

Christianity became the beginning of the political and cultural development that characterized the city in the following centuries, when part of the city’s churches and monasteries were established.

New Principality 
Kiev-Russia was divided at the beginning of the 12th century, and several states emerged. This included, among other things, Kiev as new principalities that existed in the period 1132-1471.

However, as early as the latter half of the 12th century, several cities were separated from Kiev, and the principality suffered a great defeat with the Mongols’ ravages and invasion in 1240. Great devastation meant that Kiev formally came under Vladimir-Suzdal. In 1362, Kiev was subjugated to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, so the city was not independent through these centuries.

Kiev and the Ukrainian territory were hit by famine and military devastation, and by the 15th century a large part of the population perished. The void especially attracted some Cossacks who established a state around Kiev, though subject to Poland first and then Russia.

Poles, Cossacks and Russians
In 1569, Poland-Lithuania was formed, and on that occasion Kiev became subject to the Kingdom of Poland. It was a time when the Poles’ Catholic faith became the dominant one, thereby increasing Kiev’s religious status as the center of Orthodox faith during Poland. In the 1600s, this was strengthened with the metropolitan Peter Mogila, who renovated Kiev’s Orthodox churches and monasteries.

In 1648, Bogdan Khmelnytsky’s Cossacks entered Kiev and established the Cossack hetmanate. The Poles answered again, and the Cossacks sought support from the Russian czar against Poland. Russia was a rising power factor and came to dominate Kiev and the region for centuries to come.

In 1667, Kiev became Russian for a period of the Andrusovo Treaty. The treaty between Russia and Poland-Lithuania caused great territorial losses to the Polish-Lithuanian Empire. With a final peace in 1686, Kiev became Russian.

For the next centuries, Kiev and the Ukrainian territory were an integral part of the ever-expanding tsarist empire under the leadership of the Tsar in first Moscow and since 1703 Saint Petersburg. Russia’s expansion led, among other things, to the establishment of the present Ukrainian territory, where the Ottomans from Istanbul had been ruling along the Black Sea since the beginning of the 16th century.

The influence of the Baroque Kiev on the part of the Tsar and Russia on Kiev as part of the Russian Empire became clear both politically and culturally. Physically, this era came, among other things, to put architectural markings through the buildings of the Tsar and the Ukrainian Baroque, which is still seen in many places in the street scene.

Among the best-known works were the court architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli’s works in the city. Zarina Elisabeth wanted to build a residence in Kiev in the 18th century, and she built the Mariinsky Palace together with St. Andrew’s Church, which stands in magnificent baroque. This style is seen in great style in the then capital of St. Petersburg.

19th Century to the Revolution
In the 19th century, increased Ukrainian nationalism occurred under the influence of cultural flourishing and the beginning of industrialization. This was especially expressed in cultural life, but Kiev’s general development also fueled the desire for increased self-government.

As in the rest of Russia, political tensions were on the rise in the early 1900s. The Russian Revolution of 1917 brought down the czarist rule of the centuries, and the communist Bolsheviks took power.

During the period of the Russian Revolution various political factions were formed, agitating for the formation of an independent Ukraine. However, none of the groupings achieved the support that could make the case national.

Instead, civil war erupted here too, with many different military units fighting each other and alternately occupying the city’s power bases.

After fierce fighting, which also involved Soviet forces, Polish and various ethnic Ukrainian population groups, the western regions of Ukraine joined Poland. The rest, including Kiev, became part of the Soviet Union in 1922.

World War II and the Soviet Union
During the Soviet Union, Kharkov was designated as the Ukrainian capital. Kharkov was a major industrial city whose materiality was increased at the expense of Kiev’s in those years. However, Kiev was also an industrial city in development, and in 1934 the city became a new capital instead of Kharkov.

With its status as the capital, Kiev’s was to be expanded with many new administration buildings, and large-scale Soviet buildings were either planned or realized in many places in the city. At the same time, the authorities demolished many churches and monasteries; partly to give way to government buildings.

In the 1930s, Kiev and Ukraine were also hit by great famines that cost millions of lives. It was also a time when Bolsheviks cracked down on nationalism that did not have to precede the Union’s best.

During the Great Patriotic War, called World War II in Russia, much of Kiev was destroyed during Germany’s 72-day attack and siege, with the city’s population and the Soviet army defending themselves in fierce fighting.

In November 1943, the Red Army overcame the Germans. A total of about 200,000 people were killed in Kiev and a total of 6 million Ukrainians during the fighting against the German armies.

After World War II, Kiev was rebuilt. The central Kreschatik boulevard was totally destroyed, and today’s postwar great Soviet architecture is seen here. Many old buildings were lost, but it gave way to new buildings and many new inhabitants.

Large new residential and industrial areas were erected and the city grew. Construction of a large public transport system was initiated. The first metro line was started in 1949 and opened in 1960.

Over the last few years during the Soviet Union, Ukraine was affected by the major accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. It cost human lives as well as an evacuation of the areas north of Chernobyl, including the city of Pripjat close to the Belarusian border.

Independent Ukraine
At the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine declared independence and elections were held for the new presidential office in the capital of the new state. Thus, Kiev became the capital of an independent Ukraine, and today it is Ukraine’s largest city, political center of power and at the same time the country’s cultural and economic center.

In 2012, Kiev was the world’s focus as the venue for the finals of the European Football Championships, held that year in Poland and Ukraine. The following years, it was quite different events that brought Kiev into the world’s media; from November 2013 to early 2014, there were demonstrations at Kiev Independence Square. In the wake of the demonstrations, Ukraine gained a new president and the Crimea Peninsula was reunited with Russia.

Today, the demonstrations are no longer like 2013-2014, and Kiev’s many stunning buildings stand in the beautiful areas of the river Dnieper and take visitors.

Geolocation

In short

Overview of Kiev

The Ukrainian capital of Kiev is one of Eastern Europe’s great and beautiful metropolitan cities, where there are distinguished sights from the last many centuries. The city’s more than 1,500-year history is reflected in the city’s many historic buildings, ranging architecturally from the Kiev-Russian style to the elegant Ukrainian Baroque to the Soviet style.

Of the city’s buildings, the many churches and monasteries stand as the main reason for visiting the city at Dnieper, and with gilded domes also provide several unforgettable experiences, where the beautiful Christian facilities seem almost endless in the city’s beautiful skyline.

 

About the travel guide to Kiev
Number of trips: 5 tours in the city + tours in the surrounding
Pages: 45
Published: 2019
Author: Stig Albeck
Publisher: Vamados.dk
Languages: Danish
ISBN: 978-87-93329-85-0

 

About the travel guide The
Kiev travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and experiences of the Ukrainian city. Read about top sights and other sights, and buy a travel guide with tour suggestions and descriptions of all the city’s major churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.

Kiev is waiting for you, and at vamados.com you can also find cheap flights and great deals on hotels for your trip. You just select your travel dates and then you get flight and accommodation suggestions in and around the city.

 

Read more about Kiev and Ukraine

 

Buy the travel guide
Click the “Put in cart” button to buy the travel guide. You will then be taken to the payment, where you enter the purchase and payment information. After completing the wizard payment, you will immediately receive a receipt with a link to download your purchase. You can download the wizard immediately or use the download link in the email later.

 

Use the travel guide
When you buy the travel guide to Kiev, you get the book online so you can have it on your phone, tablet or computer – and of course you can choose to print it. Use the maps and tour suggestions and you will have a good and content-rich journey.

Golden Gate • Beautiful Churches • Monasteries • Dniepr • Mariinsky Palace

Overview of Kiev

The Ukrainian capital of Kiev is one of Eastern Europe’s great and beautiful metropolitan cities, where there are distinguished sights from the last many centuries. The city’s more than 1,500-year history is reflected in the city’s many historic buildings, ranging architecturally from the Kiev-Russian style to the elegant Ukrainian Baroque to the Soviet style.

Of the city’s buildings, the many churches and monasteries stand as the main reason for visiting the city at Dnieper, and with gilded domes also provide several unforgettable experiences, where the beautiful Christian facilities seem almost endless in the city’s beautiful skyline.

 

About the travel guide to Kiev
Number of trips: 5 tours in the city + tours in the surrounding
Pages: 45
Published: 2019
Author: Stig Albeck
Publisher: Vamados.dk
Languages: Danish
ISBN: 978-87-93329-85-0

 

About the travel guide The
Kiev travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and experiences of the Ukrainian city. Read about top sights and other sights, and buy a travel guide with tour suggestions and descriptions of all the city’s major churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.

Kiev is waiting for you, and at vamados.com you can also find cheap flights and great deals on hotels for your trip. You just select your travel dates and then you get flight and accommodation suggestions in and around the city.

 

Read more about Kiev and Ukraine

 

Buy the travel guide
Click the “Put in cart” button to buy the travel guide. You will then be taken to the payment, where you enter the purchase and payment information. After completing the wizard payment, you will immediately receive a receipt with a link to download your purchase. You can download the wizard immediately or use the download link in the email later.

 

Use the travel guide
When you buy the travel guide to Kiev, you get the book online so you can have it on your phone, tablet or computer – and of course you can choose to print it. Use the maps and tour suggestions and you will have a good and content-rich journey.

Other Attractions

Kreschatik, Kiev

  • Kreschatik/Крещатик: Kreschatik is Kiev’s fashionable magnificent street, with its chestnut ancestors, built just before the year 1800. The name of the street is based on the Slavic word for cross.
  • Kiev Metro/Киевский метрополитен: Kiev Metro is a transport system, but for some parts of the facility also an attraction that shows the construction of Soviet subways as a kind of people’s palaces.

Vladimir Park, Kiev

  • Vladimir Park and Kreschatik Park/Владимирский и Крещатый Парки: This park area along the Dnieper River was created in the late 1800s as the starting point for the annual religious celebration on St. Vladimir’s Day, and since then many great Ukrainian artists have found inspiration in the park.
  • Bessarabic Market/Бессарабский рынок: The Bessarabic Market is a market building named after the Bessarabic (Moldovan) merchants who originally brought their goods to Kiev.
  • Museum of Art of the West and the East/Музей западного и восточного искусства: This museum was founded in 1919 on the basis of the Khanenkos family’s private collection. It has today Ukraine’s finest collection of foreign art.

Independence Square, Kiev

  • Independence Square/Площадь Независимости: Independence Square is, so to speak, the center of Kiev, and thus also probably the most well-known and significant square in Ukraine. Several well know buildings can be seen around it.
  • National Opera of Ukraine/Национальная опера Украины: Founded in 1867, this theater is Ukraine’s oldest musical theater. The current theater building was erected by Victor Shreter.

Postovaya Square, Kiev

  • The Post Square/Поштовая площадь: The Post Square is a site on the Dnieper River and it is one of the oldest sites in the Ukrainian capital; Effects dating back to the 300s have been found at excavations.
  • Park of Eternal Glory/Парк Вечной Славы: This is a memorial park set on the green slopes between Kiev’s centurm and the Dnieper River. It is a large landscaped park from the Soviet era of Ukraine.
  • Vydubychkij Monastery/Выдубицкий монастырь: This is one of Kiev’s old monasteries; the site was founded in the 1070s by Vsevolod I of Kiev. Vsevolod’s son, Vladimir II, came to be the cause of the monastery’s name, which is due to an old tradition.

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