Kiev Things to Do Tips by hunterV

Don't forget to visit Shevchenko Park adjoining Volodymyrska Street.
Shevchenko monument in Shevchenko Park (area – 5.4 ha) was dedicated on March 6, 1939 on the eve of the 125th anniversary of the great poet’s birth.
The architect is E.A.Levinson and the sculptor is M.G.Manizer.
The poet’s bronze figure is 6.45 meters high.
It stands on the red granite pedestal that is 7.3 meters high.
So the monument’s total height is about 14 meters.
You can see the inscription,

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T.G.Shevchenko
1814-1861

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Below you can see the words from Taras Shevchenko’s famous poem “My Testament”:
”And in the great new family,
The family of the free,
With softly spoken, kindly word,
Remember also me.”

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Shevchenko Park was dedicated in 1939 when the 125th anniversary of the poet’s birth was celebrated throughout the country.
Much is connected in Kiev with the name and activities of Taras Shevchenko, outstanding Ukrainian national poet and great patriot of independent Ukraine, the National Bard. Several institutions, squares, streets and the central park are named after him.

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We have Shevchenko National University,
Shevchenko Boulevard
and Shevchenko Museum in downtown Kiev.

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Taras Shevchenko Boulevard runs from Khreshchatyk to Victory Square
It appeared in the thirties of the 19th century as Boulevard Street. It was renamed several times:
Highway Boulevard, University Boulevard and then in 1869 – Bibikov Boulevard in honor of G.B.Bibikov, Governor General of Kiev in 1837-1852.
I remember walking and driving along Shevchenko Boulevard and found it very interesting.
The boulevard connects Khreshchatyk and Victory Square and looks like a real boulevard as I imagine.
There is "University" metro station on it, Botanical Gardens and St.Volodymyr's Cathedral that belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

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Address: Volodymyrska Street
Directions: Opposite the State University, 'University' metro station.

Visiting European Square at the end of Khreshchatyk you will see "Dnipro" hotel and this splendid building of the Ukrainian House where different shows and exhibitions are held.
There is the flag of the European Union in European Square.
That flag was solemnly hoisted several years ago as a great symbol.
You can also pay a visit to the Philharmonic Society located in this area.
You can listen to top operam singers, chamber and symphonic orchestras who perform in a big hall with excellent acoustics inside the newly renovated building of the National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine.

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Phone: 229 53 19
Address: 2 Volodymyrsky Uzviz ( St.Volodymyr’s Descent)
Directions: European Square at the end of Khreshchatyk.

St.Andrew's Descent
(it sounds as “Andriyivsky Uzviz” in Ukrainian) is one of the most ancient and steep street in Kiev.
St.Andrew’s Descent is called after Apostle St.Andrew who, according to ancient chronicles, sailed up the River Dnipro from the Black Sea and predicted there would be a huge city on the hills that he saw sailing along the Dnipro.
St.Andrew’s Descent runs along St.Andrew’s Hill from St.Vladimir Street to Contract Square and has always been the shortest way from Upper Kiev to Lower Kiev.
Fairs, festivals and concerts are often held there, especially on the last weekend in May when the Kievites observe their City Days.
It’s the best place for shopping for Ukrainian and Russian souvenirs.
There are splendid art galleries, museums, cafes and restaurants in that street.

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Address: St.Andrew Descent
Directions: Down from the Foreign Ministry

This church located in St.Andrew's Descent attracts lots of visitors who come to that old street.
St.Andrew’s Church was designed by the outstanding Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli and built in 1749-1754 in baroque. Its total height is 60 meters and its sizes are: width 23 meters and length 32 meters. It is a one-domed temple surrounding by four other smaller domes and built in the form of a cross.
Since 1968 there is a museum inside the church building.
You can also attend liturgy there sometimes, on special occasions.
The church is devoted to St.Andrew who is often referred to as St.Andrew the First Called for he was the first disciple of Jesus.
St.Andrew preached Christianity to the Scythians who roamed the plains and forests of what is now southern Ukraine. Records show that he even reached the plain of the Dnipro River as far as the present location of the city of Kiev. Looking at the hills to his left he said there would be a great city on those hills.
St.Andrew became the Patron Saint of Ukraine.
St.Andrew’s Church is often called the Gem of Kiev and Stone Flower of Kiev for its beauty.

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Address: St.Andrew's Descent
Directions: Approach the Foreign Office and then turn left

St.Sophia Cathedral is one of the ancient churches in Ukraine.
The cathedral is a state reserve now.
The St.Sophia Cathedral built in 1037 was the principal temple symbolizing the unity and might of the Old Rus State and one of the largest and most important cathedrals in Europe of that time.
St.Sophia Cathedral, a thirteen-domed church, was built in the 11th century in the reign of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, one of the outstanding princes of the feudal state of Kiev Rus.
The cathedral is the one of the oldest Ukrainian churches now. It is famous for its murals and mosaics dating back to the 11th century.
The entrance fee to the cathedral is UAH 15 ($3)
Till now visitors can observe the well-preserved mosaics and frescoes inside the cathedral and admire its color richness and expressiveness.
St.Sophia’s Cathedral has been a state reserve since 1934.
It occupies the era of five hectares.
The state reserve includes the 11th-century cathedral and a number of former monastery buildings – architectural monuments of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Sophia Cathedral is famous for its mosaics and murals. Splendid is its main dome mural depicting Christ the Savior. The main dome is 4.1 meter in diameter.
The cathedral’s dimensions are: width – 35 meters and length – 37 meters.
The cathedral was called after the Greek word “sophia” meaning “wisdom”.
It was erected when the feudal state of Kiev Rus flourished in the 11th century during the reign of Prince Yaroslav the Wise.
The complex of buildings at the state reserve includes the following buildings:

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St.Sophia Cathedral
The belfry
The Metropolitan’s House
Refectory
Brethren’s Building
School
Consistory
Southern Tower
Zaborovky’ Gate.

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Address: Volodymyrska Street
Directions: St.Sophia Square opposite St.Michael Square next to Bohdan Khmelnitsky monument

The monument to Bohdan Khmelnitsky was dedicated on June 23, 1888 in Sophia Square.
Its total height is 10.85 meters.
The monument is dedicated to the Cossacks’ leader Bohdan Zinovy Khmelnitsky (1595-1657) who headed the Ukrainian’s people liberation struggle against the Polish yoke in the middle of the 17th century.
The struggle was crowned by the glorious victory of the Cossacks’ Army over the Polish-Lithuanian Army in 1648.
The monument stands at the place where Kiev residents greeted the Cossacks’ leader in December 1648 after the Cossacks defeated the Polish army.
That defeat was a terrible blow to the Polish-Lithuanian Kingdom after which it could never recover and ended in complete disintegration in about a hundred years.

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Address: St.Sophia Square downtown
Directions: Opposite the entrance to Sophia Cathedral

This is the famous destination in Kiev included into most of the city tours.
You will be taken to the monastery through this main entrance called Trinity Church Gate.
The monastery is called "Cave Monastery" for it was founded in the caves by the monks in early Middle Ages.
Kiev Laura is one of the oldest in Ukraine and Russia. It was founded in 1051 by monks Antonius and Theodosius in caves. They built caves in the high cliffs of Upper Kiev and the monastery became a good refuge for lots of monks and the parish. Gradually it became the center of Christianity in ancient Ukraine and Russia, the feudal state called Kiev Rus.
The monastery was honored with the status of laura in the 12th century.
In 1744 the Big Belfry was erected. Its height is 96.5 meters.

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It was the highest structure in the city until the huge Motherland monument was erected on the neighboring hill and the monument’s height reached 102 meters, which is a bad sign for according to the old church chronicles, no building in the city can be higher than its belfry, otherwise the city will suffer.

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There are cave churches there and the coffins of the saints who lived in the 10th through 12th century.
Those places are a place of pilgrimage of many Orthodox Ukrainians and Russians of our country.
The full name of the monastery is:
Holy Assumption Laura of the Caves.
The ancient caves are from five to twenty meters deep under the surface.
There are Far Caves and Near Caves, both of them have three cave churches.
The caves are famous for their holy remains. There are tombs of dozens of saints – over fifty - in those caves. In this respect they are a unique Christian sanctuary.

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Address: January Uprising Street
Directions: on the high bank not far from "Arsenal" factory

You can see and visit lots of churches and cathedrals on the monastery territory and this is one of them.
Annunciation Cathedral is very impressive.
It was restored in the nineties and now looks very modern and at the same time ancient. Pieces of its restored walls were left unpainted to show how they looked like in old times.

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More pictures here:
The monastery belfry with its height of 96.5 metres used to dominate the hills over the Dnipro until the Motherland statue was erected nearby in 1982. The statue proved to be 102 m hight, which infuriated the priests for according to the old tradition no building in the city could be higher that the belfry. It's considered bad luck. Let's hope for the best still!

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Another picture here:
I thought it might be another attraction of the monastery. The Archbishop's house.
It was built in the modern style quite recently.
Looks very attracting.
More:
When you visit the monastery, don't miss the Museum of Historical Treasures where you will see a vast collection of arts objects made of gold, silver and precious stones from the pre-Christian times to the nineteenth century.

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The Cave Monastery is known for its caves built by the monks who lived a life of hermits there living and praying in small cells all their life.
Dozens of them were canonized after their death for their Christian deeds.
You can see the imperishable saints’ bodies who rest in their coffins for hundreds of years imperishable.
Their coffins get changed, but their bodies remain undecayed for hundreds of years.
The saints still heal people who come to pray to them with their strong faith.
Lavra is the title given to the most outstanding monasteries in Russia.
You can also visit several museums located on the territory of the state reserve there, among them miniatures museum and others.

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Phone: 290 13 87
Address: Mazepa Street
Directions: not far from "Arsenal" metro station (turn to the right after you leave the station and go up the street)

You can see both squares and have a look at the monastery that is called St.Michael Monastery.
Archangel St.Michael is the parton saint of the Ukrainian capital.
The complex of buildings was fully rebuilt in the nineties and restored.
There is the monument to Princess Olga, St.Cyril and St.Methodius, the authors of the Cyrillic alphabet, and St.Andrew on the left of the square, in front of the Diplomats' School.
You can also see the monument to the victims of the artificial famine of 1932-1933 at the wall of the monastery.
The monastery itself is next to the Foreign Ministry and the funicular stop.

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Visiting St.Michael's Square don't miss seeing the cathedral itself.
It is located in the territory of the men's monastery, one of the five men's monasteries in Kiev.
The cathedral was blown up in the thirties and restored in 1995-96 by the government.
The modern church murals inside the cathedral are worth seeing!

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When you visit St.Michael's Monastery, don't miss this ancient building, one of the oldest in Kiev.
It dates back to 1740.
It used to be a monks' refectory.
Thanks to its small size and inconspicuous location this building of the monastery became the only one of the monastery premises that survived the Communist- inspired annihilation of churches in the Stalin era.
The monastery itself was razed to the ground in the thirties by the militant godless Bolsheviks.

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cWhen in St.Michael Square, you will see this memorial called Famine Victims Memorial.
It was dedicated to those who fell victims of the 1932-33 man-made famine in the villages of Ukraine.
The disgusting Communist party grain-collection policy cost the lives of seven to ten millions of my countrymen including my great-grandfather Ivan who died in 1933.
Rest in peace, dear fellow countrymen!
The world shudders at the genocide in Ukraine and its horrifying consequences.
The last Saturday in November is the Famine Victims Memorial Day in Ukraine.

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Address: St.Michael's Square
Directions: Next to St.Sophia Square and the Foreign Ministry

When you are in St.Michael Square, take a look at this building to the left of the monastery: it's our Foreign Affairs Ministry.
This building used to house the Central Committee of the Ukrainian Communist party before.
It was often called "on the Bald Mountain" for this countryside was known to be the Bald Mountain area.
To the left of the Ministry you can see the street leading to St.Andrew's Descent, the famous city street where you can have a stroll and and buy lots of souvenirs of popular handicrafts.

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When you are in St.Andrew's Descent, take a look at what they call Richard's Castle
This attracting unusual building was built in 1902 and is another place of interest in St.Andrew's Descent.
It was built in modern Gothic style.
This attracting bulding in St.Andrew Descent used to be a usual apartment house and is now being renovated to be something more attractive (a four/five-star hotel?).
Richard’s Castle is going to be turned into a first-class European hotel. Live and see.
It's located down the descent in the Old Kiev.

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Address: St.Michael Square
Directions: To the right of Princess Olga monument