Joint trip with Minsk, Belarus

I flew into Kyiv from London for my four day stay here, but also planned for it to be combined in with another country visit.

Later I flew into Minsk in Belarus from Kyiv – why not as they are so close together! It turned into a mini two nation trip. Click here for my post on Minsk, Belarus.

This connection may not be possible now due to Ukraine and Belarus severing transport links between them..

A little bit about Kyiv before we start

Well, where do I start with this city.

Today it is the 7^th biggest city in Europe with a population of 3 million and a huge industrial, scientific, commercial and educational centre for not just Ukraine but for a large part of the east of Europe.

If we go back in history the city is said to have been founded in the 6^th Century by 3 brothers and their lesser-known sister. However, one of the brothers was also the prince of the local tribe and was called Kyi – guess where the name of the city comes from!

If you want to see this translated into today pop down to the river bank of Navodnytsky Park  (the park with the huge Motherland Statue in it). Here the four are depicted in a sculpture standing on an ancient riverboat by the river’s edge in a monument known as the “Kyiv Founders Monument”

During the centuries after its foundation, the city was besieged, captured and destroyed by nearby Slavic, Hungarian, Russian and Turkic warlords and tribes. Each time it recovered as it was actually deemed as one of the largest cities in the world over this period. It wasn’t until the Mongols invaded in 1240 that the city was utterly destroyed and virtually forgotten about.

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania took it over in 1320 and if prospered but guess what. Along cane the Crimean Tartars in 1482 and pillaged it. How this city kept rising from the ashes, heavens know!

The Polish commonwealth then took over, afterwards the Duchy of Rus etc, etc, The city was played as if a ping pong ball by whoever was the next conqueror of the region. I’d love to talk about prestigious buildings over this period but with the constant destruction nothing, if anything, remains from then. It still managed to thrive however, and rise like a phoenix each time, such was its logistical importance.

1854 brought the Russian Tsars on the scene and they ruled over the area and Kyiv and gave it a sort of local autonomy. It was the first real spell of calm for a while,

The city now became a great learning centre with universities (they still exist) and the Russian Orthodox progressed its commercial and religious fame. However, that also brought about the growing independence movement that lingered on for the next two centuries with some success.

With the Russians, the whole area, and the city especially, experienced huge Russification with immigration and culture arriving into the area. The Russians took over stratas of life and the Ukrainian population was demoted down to the poorer classes and living on the outskirts of the city and life.

From 1893 Kyiv experienced huge industrialisation and received a new tram system (only the third of its kind in the world). It was now, along with its massive commercialisation and trade buildings, one of the biggest cities in the Russian Empire. Much of those buildings still exist today – and they are huge buildings, that we shall see later.

Taken over by Germans in WW1 and then caught up in the Russian civil war it struggled to maintain its autonomy. It became a Republic under the Soviets with greater independence.

These constant interruptions to life now meant there was a growing Ukrainianization of the territory and by the 1930’s it had returned to being a Ukrainian, not Russian, speaking city.

WW2 brought devastation by the Nazis who massively bombed it – one prolonged battle alone was said to have killed 500,000 people defending the city. The Germans rounded up 34,000 Jews and massacred them at the now famous Babi Yar site. It is said they killed a further 100,000 civilians here on later dates.

The city and its people were devastated but at the end of WW2 the Soviets managed massive rebuilding and it once again prospered to become the third biggest city in the Russian Soviet.

Fast forward to 1991 and with the breakup of the Soviet Union Ukraine declared its independence finally.

History lesson over…. and breathe!

Where I stayed in Kyiv

As usual I did extensive research to get a good deal at a decent hotel in an accessible location.

City centre hotels were coming up quite expensive, so I did my usual trick of looking further out of the centre but next to a fast Metro link to the centre.

Several came up and one 3-star hotel (I usually go for 4 stars) had am incredibly cheap price – that often sends alarm bells ringing for me though.

It was quite a distance out, in fact on the route to the airport at Boryspil where I will be flying into (but hey, maybe that was a benefit as it would be near to the airport for arrival/departure).

It was only a 7 min walk away from the green Metro line on a wide, safe, main street and actually had a small shopping area nearby with a huge supermarket I noticed.

The reviews were all good and the pics looked great, so I went for it!

I have to say that it was a great choice. I actually enjoyed my little walk to the Metro station passing by the shops down a wide tree lined, but busy highway.

I asked by email for a quiet room away from the main road – the hotel faced it – and they allocated me one at the back of the hotel. It faced the small houses nearby with fields and a view to the wide expanse of forest nearby, which was actually a massive public green park. It was thus heavenly quiet and peaceful.

The hotel is fairly basic, like a good Travelodge / Premier Inn, in the UK and was perfectly clean, modern and rather stylish in an Ikea sort of way.

The receptionists were friendly, helpful and spoke great English. They also arranged my taxi from and to the airport as there is no train or Metro link to the airport and I couldn’t find bus info. The taxi was actually quite cheap too.

The room was spotlessly clean and quite functional but well designed. In fact the furniture looked fairly new and the walls freshly painted. Wi-Fi was great and I had a large desk in the room too. The price included breakfast too, which was a bargain as the variety and quantity was excellent for a 3 star.

The lobby was stylish with cream sofas and colourfully painted walls. There was even a bar. I sometimes used a table in the side lobby just to get away from being in my room every day and to see the activity in the lobby.

Here’s the booking.com link 

The one drawback to the hotel is that when the room rate stated single bed – it was indeed a narrow single person bed.

I’m used to this description being given when one person is in a room and it is a double bed (as opposed to twin beds). But no, this time the description (for the first time ever in my travels) did actually mean a single bed.

The difference between a single bed room and a double bed room (despite them being the same floor plan) was an extra £4 per night.

I should have chosen the double bed room, as a single is just too small for a six-footer (1.83 metre tall) like me – but I survived and slept ok in general and it was my error.

Being so far out meant that my Metro ride into the centre was really interesting. I got to see the city folk in a work environment at peak times and shopping folk at quieter times.

The line also crosses a massive iron girder bridge over the hugely wide Dnipro River as it approaches the city on the other bank. I loved staring out at the riverbank houses and boats sailing under us as we traversed the river.

Day 1 of 4 exploring Kyiv

I already knew that Kyiv was a huge city and there was so much to explore.

I therefore had deliberately booked a four day stay to see all there was – and that wasn’t even enough and left me wanting to see more.

If you are coming here, then I warn you now, that the city is a treasure trove of sites. You either research ahead and chose which 5 or 20 places you want to see and factor in a time scale for it, or you just resign yourself to the fact that you will not see all you want to. You can always leave it to a second visit of course and I’d probably want to return again to see more of this fabulous gem of a city.

Some of the sites here are huge – the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra with its multitude of churches, caves and sites can take 4 hours alone and is a mini city in itself, such is its size.

Then the Park of Eternal Glory with its several museums, memorials, remembrance sites, statues, open air displays and panoramic views can be several hours again.

In fact, just those two sites took up all of my fourth day – and my last piece of advice – bring really comfy walking shoes. Whilst the Metro system is good here, the stations are often not near the famous places so you will have a walk a while from the station to get to the site.

Research what you want to see and plan an advance route using the Metro and walking to see the wonderful buildings between sites. If you really need to and can afford it, taxis can be a solution, but I never took one.

I planned four separate routes, one for each day, of sites that were grouped together within the city. Each route was about 6 hours of walking and metro-hopping. It worked well for me.

Golden Gate or Zoloti Vorota 

I took the green line Metro from near my hotel direct into the centre of the city. An interesting journey in itself as I needed to get off at the 12^th stop along the line, which gave me plenty of people watching time.

The site I was about to see would be my first sighting of any real well-known building in Kyiv but it was a bit of a wow moment when I walked out of the Metro station and this was standing directly in front of me.

It wasn’t what I was expecting as a city gate (think arches, battlements, fortified nearby walls). It was a terracotta-coloured block of a building, atop a grassy mound, and at first, I couldn’t see any entranceway.

The hanging banners gave it an heraldic air and the domes on the top a somewhat religious look.

It’s called the Golden Gate, as its design was originally copied from one in Constantinople (Istanbul now) with that name. It was also called the Southern Gate as it was the southernmost of the three gates that formed part of the city walls of the time.

I had read it dated from 1017 or so but was surprised at how complete and perfectly formed it was …. As if it had been built in the last 20 years or so …… teaser alert!

Well, my assumptions were not wrong as the gate today remains a controversial subject.

The gates were all demolished in the Middle Ages and none of the gates or walls survive today. The foundations were still there in the 1960’s but someone came up with the idea in 1982 that it should be totally rebuilt as a celebration of the 1500^th anniversary of the founding of Kyiv.

Why would this be controversial? – well no-one really knew what it looked like originally. Several designs were submitted and this one was chosen. Hence what you see is actually only 40 years old and arguably nothing like what it historically looked like.

It does look a strange design – kinds of an amalgamation of two designs, one brick, one wood, shunted together.

Inside there is a small museum and a representation of the old church that also stood within the original structure.

I looked around the mini green park it sits in, in the middle of the square, seeing cafes, wine bars and classically styled buildings lining the streets and thought this was an impressive introduction to the city. It felt affluent, historical, clean and tidy and very green.

In the square a celloist was playing/busking and he was rather good, I stopped a while and listened and the music from the springs filled the air, giving a calming and almost romantic atmosphere to the area …. I’ve been spoilt already and I haven’t even started yet.

Opera House area

Walk further down the elegant street and you arrive at the National Opera House of Ukraine.

It was opened in 1867 to much fanfare (the city declared a city-wide holiday for its opening performance).

I want to indulge in a little history here as the Opera House had a tragic next period. Barely 33 years after its opening a fire totally destroyed it but stored on its premises was possibly the biggest music library in Europe.  Everything went up in flames, nothing survived.

In 1901 the rebuilt Neo-Renaissance styled Opera House reopened with one of the biggest stages in Europe – compensation indeed. This is the design we see today

It thrived and became a centre of excellence. Visiting foreign troupes added to its glory. Click here for tickets and Opera opening info.

I enquired about tickets and was pleasantly surprised at the prices. The best seats in the house for all the upcoming productions (with some famous works) were around £12/ 13 Euros or15 USD. That is about 1/10th of what I would pay for a similar seat in London. It would cost £12 just for a drink in the bar at the Opera House, London!

These incredibly cheap prices made me consider coming back in the evening, but nothing was on for my 4 days that I wanted to see, unfortunately.

However, the building does hold one claim to ominous fame.

In 1911, at a performance attended by the Russian Imperial family, nobility and politicians, that the Russian Prime Minister was shot dead by a left-wing revolutionary.

To stroll around the area in which the Opera House sits is to see some of its finest and most classic buildings in a montage of styles. Here actually is the building of the Ukrainian secret Service (in a building resembling a grand, columned and porticoed, white coloured hotel.

The apartments blocks here face small pedestrian areas with fine statues and green gardens. If you are looking for a fine hotel then the French inspired crimson and mustard coloured Renaissance Hotel sits elegantly on a corner.

I wandered this area, as whilst it wasn’t a famous area it was very grand and calm. There was a small area of outdoor cafes set with orange canopies on black frames clearly many years old. At its centre was a similarly black coloured fountain with cascading waterjets and all surrounded by trees.

Nearby little creative designs like this A-board advertising wines at the café opposite made the zone even more enchanting and restful. I was sorely tempted to take a chair here, have a drink and breathe in the atmosphere – but it was still early morning and there was a full day’s sightseeing ahead of me.

St Volodymyr’s Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral

My next port of call was a 10 mins walk away down the main street that the Opera House sits on to meet the wide Tarasa Shevchenko Boulevard. A turn left onto the Boulevard and past some grand buildings facing the park, on the opposite side of the highway, brought me to this place – St Volodymyr’s Cathedral.

Yep, probably like you when I first saw the name I chuckled as I misread it as Voldemort Cathedral (as in the evil wizard in the Harry Potter series!).

Nope, no wizarding spells here – it is a beautifully painted yellow and white, seven-domed neo-Byzantine styled Cathedral dating from 1896.

I warn you now. Kyiv is absolutely full of churches …. massive ones …. and all so colourful. This post will visit many as they are some of the most important in Europe but even I, by the end, was all “churched-out”.

It has to be done, however– its like going to Rome and trying to avoid Roman ruins or to New York and avoiding skyscrapers – it impossible to avoid if you want to admire and get to grips with this city.

So back to Voldemort ….. sorry, ….. I mean St Volodymyr.

The colours hit you from the road, so you won’t miss it but it has a rather quaint history to its building.

A public fund was set up to construct it and within 4 years in 1859 about £2 million in today’s money was raised, The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Monastery (more on that later), made and donated a million bricks for its construction.

The scene was set for it to be built and it opened in 1896.

I had heard that the interior is exquisite and so I lost no time in getting inside to see if this was true (in my eyes).

I was not disappointed. The moment you walk through you are hit with its glory.

There are signs to say that if you want to take photos you have to buy a pass. This usually annoys me as it costs nothing to allow, but then it presumably goes towards the up keep of the church and that was what I was here for, so maybe that’s fair.

I bought my pass – actually just an official piece of paper, much like a raffle ticket, with the amount written on it and stamped. I was pleasantly surprised at the price, 50 Ukrainian Hryvnia (just over £1). Again, very cheap.

I was told to keep it to show as stewards around the church will ask to see it if they catch me taking photos. Funnily enough, I was one of the few of the around 60 people wandering the church that was taking photos, so I was pretty conspicuous. Despite that, no-one ever challenged me for the pass.

Weirdly, in my mind I wanted to be challenged so I could whip out the pass, as if it was a special document, to prove my innocence, but I never got that egotistical pleasure!

The church is absolutely full of frescos, mosaics, gold figurines, side chapels, iconography … you name it, it’s got it. Every centimetre of wall and floor was covered with something.

Lots of worshippers made a kind of route round the church, kissing and momentarily praying at various stations and ancient painted portraits of Saints.

Gold was the dominant colour and preference for embellishment and it took a while to look at each section of the Cathedral, as so much was crammed into each area.

From previous trips around Europe seeing Orthodox Churches, I was used to seeing this rather full-on painting and embellishment of every wall and fixture, but it still engrosses me to watch and study each piece.

The many individual shrines and places to stop off that I was seeing the worshippers perform at made me curious and I stopped to discreetly watch what they do in their rituals and prayers.

I don’t fully understand it all (I don’t follow any religion), but they seemed devoted and sincere in their actions. I was also surprised at the number of people of a younger generation doing this too.

I was aware that this is probably only number four on the biggest and most important churches in Kyiv and I was already captivated ….. the others must really be something else to beat this

Early coffee break at the Kyiv Hilton

It was now nearing lunch time and although I did not feel hungry after my hearty full breakfast, I felt I needed a quick rest. I had already walked around for 3 hours and I knew from experience that if I don’t get a sit down by now my legs would start to tell me to do so.

I looked at my phone app map and noticed that the Kyiv Hilton was literally two minutes away. I quite fancied a coffee so headed there,

The hotel has a large raised terrace at the front of the building that overlooks towards the park on the other side of the wide Boulevard.

I took my place, ordered coffee and a cake, and indulged in my break for 20 minutes or so.

The outdoor seating had thick, padded comfy seats and a cooling breeze was drifting across the patio in what was becoming a lovely sunny. warm day.

The pic shows the delights I consumed – the cake is apparently traditional and was yummy.

All done, I paid, (again so cheap, even for a high-class Hilton) and set off to visit my next location.

Taras Shevchenko Park

Walk back from where we came along the road and take a right turn, after the huge hospital building, into the gardens of Taras Shevchenko Park.

The Park is named after a very famous Ukrainian He was often called simply Kobzar (the Bard0 as the British might call Shakespeare a bard, and lived 1814-61.

He was a mufti-talented person and everyone in Ukraine knows about him.

He was a poet, writer, artist, public and political figure, painter and folklorist, Talents indeed! He is often considered the founder of modern Ukrainian literature and language.

This beautiful park does him justice, as it is designed for leisure and recreation and there’s even a statue to him in the centre of thus leafy urban oasis.

The park has a bandstand, an outdoor café, large lawns with funky seating and colourful flower beds and and even an old tram converted into a coffee bar.

Furrier in you will find a seating area specially set up with checkerboard table tops and seating under a graceful iron and glass overhead canopy. Old men were playing chess (a few younger ones too!) and the atmosphere was one of relaxation and peace.

In another part there were small stands selling artisan ware and long, curving, single-seat ,raised benches where young people with their laptops were enjoying the sun while typing away

Red University Building

How cultural is this park – well to one side was a small tiered seating area and a professor was lecturing students who were busily scribbling down notes and joining in what seemed a discussion about historical politics. A few had university logo’s t-shirts on so I guessed they were from the Uni across the park. It was like being back in Aristoteles’s Greek times when he discoursed in the open air about philosophical topics.

I adored this park environment and just wanted to sit and take it all in – so fresh and idyllic to see all this in one place – but time was not on my side.

Facing into park was one of the Taras Shevchenko University buildings – aptly named. This building from 1843 is known as the Red Building due to its colour, with black tops and bases to its 8 columned frontage). It was previously called the order of St Vladimir University (and black and red were the Saint’s colours).

Brodsky Synagogue

This synagogue is a 10 mins walk away and whilst it is only the second biggest Synagogue in Kyiv, it has a quite interesting story about how it came about.

A new synagogue for Kyiv was needed but the authorities held Kyiv as the cradle of Russian Orthodox Christianity and forbade any non-Christian religious buildings to be built, (only adaptations of existing ones were allowed.

In 1895 a wealthy Jewish sugar magnate and philanthropist Brodsky (hence its name), used trickery to get around the new build ban. He proposed to build a religious worship centre on his private land (avoiding the public ban). He also produced a sample of what it would look like, for the authorities. He showed only the side elevation (not the front) which looked like the façade of a decorative mansion.

It was approved – and then he added the entrance area , round the other side, in a more classical Jewish design and then opened it up to the public – clever, eh?

When I first approached it, I was thus confused, not knowing this story. Ahead of me, where my map said was a synagogue was a classical Romanesque Revival building of decorative lintels and long windows, resembling a palace.

I walked alongside it, thinking I’d got the location wrong. It wasn’t till I reached the end of the frontage that I saw the side – this was the entrance in a traditional Moorish/Jewish design not the side I saw that I assumed, facing the main street, was the entrance.

If it fooled me, then I totally understand how it fooled the authorities!

It survived until the Soviet authorities in their ant-Jewish campaign closed and turned it into an artisan club. Then the Nazis in WW2 bombed it and it was converted into a puppet theatre after the war.

Eventually, it was restored as a Synagogue in 2000.

The interior is on the rather plain side, from the many synagogues I have seen so far, but the usual Torah and symbols were there.

Brown, burgundy and gold were the dominant colour variations of the interior decorations with white walls.

I confess I don’t know a lot about the Jewish faith and often refer to my Jewish friends when I have a question on it.

As I entered, I saw a large group of around 20 men to one side around long tables, animatedly discussing something. The discussion often became loud and somewhat overassertive and I wondered what the “argument” was about in Yiddish or Hebrew.

My Jewish friends later told me they were discussing the Torah and its many different interpretations and this was quite normal in a synagogue.

You have to wear a kippah (skull cap) when you enter, which are supplied for free if you don’t have one.

Go up the stairs and you are allowed to visit the meeting room and even step out onto the wide balcony over the entrance for a street view from the second floor.

Kyiv Bessarabian Market

A 5 mis walk away is another place that I don’t usually make a beeline for when I am in a city but I have found that these types of places in Eastern Europe afford me views that I don’t often get in the UK.

The Bessarabian Market is a huge brick (exterior) and metal girded (interior) building. Its name is old Ukrainian for “poor people”, as it was designed for the masses when opened in 1912. It originally had hundreds of meat, fruit, veg and household stalls inside.

Today it has less stalls for sure but has gone upmarket, with the same as before but now also artisan flower stalls, home-made foods and higher quality foodstuffs often bought as presents.

I found the interior had stalls stacked to the hilt – no shortages here, and they were so creatively displayed.

Spices and nuts were colour co-ordinated and there’s even a high-end coffee roaster and beverage stall.

No great historic value, although it is a welcome break from churches and museums and I was left surprised at it beauty.

Strangely, I know that the old name for the neighbouring country of Moldova and its surrounds was called Bessarabia – is that an insult to the population there, or just a lost in translation thread.

Houses in Lipsky area of Kyiv

This part of the city is well-known for its vibrant and eclectic mix of architectural styles. You will probably find an example of every European trend in building design at some point during the last 170 years here, along with a few modern blocks thrown in for good measure.

You don’t need a lot of time dedicated to this area as it is a walk-through, to appreciate the buildings, their grandeur and … well …their difference to the norm.

The House of the Weeping Widow is probably the most famous one – when it rains, the water runs down the face of the lady carved into the central façade and looks like teardrops

It is officially one of the residences of the President of the Ukraine but it also serves as accommodation for visiting heads of state and official receptions.

Paradoxically, it was taken over as one of the administration buildings of the Communist Party in their early days

There are structures that resemble gothic churches, small mediaeval castles and others in pastel art-nouveau designs. All are ex-homes of mercenaries or the rich, of days gone by.

Other, even more unusual and decorative buildings, are in the area, (it’s actually close to the Presidential Palace, so at various points you will see a plethora of security and police standing around.

That was day one finished and I was already in awe if this amazing city. The depth of architectural exuberance and the beauty in which it was all arranged had impressed me greatly. This was day one and there were three more to go – can’t wait .

The Metro station nearby was calling me to go home and my legs were telling me the same.

Day two in Kyiv

My second day arrives and I’m off pretty early today, as I have a long list of places to (what’s unusual in that, I hear you say) and plenty of walking in between, as usual again!).

I head straight for the same Metro station that I got off at yesterday.

A word of warning about the Metro stations here. When two lines cross, there is not one named station that covers both lines. For example, the red line crosses the green line but at that intersection the red line station is called Zoloti Vorota station and the green line station is called Teatralna, despite the fact that you transfer from one to the other as an intersection. That confused the hell out of me for a while.

This time I exit and walk in the opposite direction along the same main street that I used ,until I enter a wide-open area of a kind of square but bigger,

St Sophia’s Cathedral

This Cathedral has conflicting founders. Some (the majority, including UNESCO) point to it being founded and started by Vladimir the Great, the Ruler of Klevan Rus (an area now pretty much encompassing Ukraine, Belarus and Russia up to Moscow) in 1011. Others say it was his son, Yaroslav the Wise, in 1037.

Either way the Cathedral has been here in some form for 1,000 years and was the burial place of previous rulers of the area.

Want more confusion – well, how about this? It’s officially called Sophia after the Hagia Sophia (meaning Holy Wisdom in Greek), Cathedral in Istanbul, Turkey. It seemed to have taken on the name of Saint Sophia (there is a Saint called Sophia) by accident but it has stuck.

What we see today, because like so many buildings here, the original was destroyed in sieges and attacks, dates from the 1500’s.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 meant that religious services stopped and it was proposed to demolish it and build a public park here. Thankfully that did not happen, but the Soviets turned it into a museum in 1935.

It has stayed that way since as no-one seems to be able to agree on who it now belongs to . It is now simply referred to as a “Christian Cathedral”.

Unfortunately, no photos are allowed of the interior – hence why none here – and that royally annoys me when they do that. Inside however, is the best preserved set of mosaics of 11^th Century Europe and some wonderful iconography.

You can wander the grounds and admire it from the outside for free.

The 13 cupola domes with white-washed walls and green roofs is quite a mixture of external styles. Make sure you go round the whole building as each of the four sides gives a different perspective and look to the edifice.

here is a massive entranceway bell tower (ticket available to go to the top for views), Also on the site is a monastery canteen, a bakery, the western gates (Zborovski gates), a Monastic Inn, a Brotherhood campus and a bursa (seminary). Most of them visitable for small price individually or with the purchase of an all-inclusive ticket…. Plenty to see, so give yourself time.

The wooded gardens and pathways are also beautiful and gave welcome shade on the warm day that it was when I visited.

Here’s the website for opening times and ticket prices.

Outside the Cathedral grounds in the massive St Sophia square sits what has become somewhat of an icon for the city.

Completed in 1888, it is of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, a Cossack ruler, who is regarded as the first ruler to push for and gain an independent Ukraine in 1694.

Look down the long, wide boulevard behind him and you will see the domes of another famous Church which we will visit later.

Princess Olga Monument

So, who is Princess Olga? (890-960AD). I thought the same thing and why is she so revered as to have a huge statue made of her and placed in a massive prominent square?

Well, the truth is both good and bad,

When her husband was ruthlessly murdered by a local tribe, she ascended the throne and took terrible retribution on the tribe with of murder and deceit. She was the first and only female ruler of Ukraine and Eastern Russia,

She is regarded as the first ruler to introduce Christianity to the region after a visit to and baptism in Constantinople (Istanbul).

Funny story here,

The statues of her and three saints was placed here in 1911, but when the Russian Revolutionists took over it was toppled, along with the saints some years later, The statues were buried in the ground where they fell and forgotten about.

In 1996, the then concrete statues were unearthed, re-sculptured in marble and re-erected in their original places.

End of story.

St Andrew’s Church

I’m not going into great length on this one for fear that this post will seem like a tour of the churches in the city. Heaven knows there are so many beautifully designed churches here that I could actually compose a religious tour article.

I want to include it because;

a). Its setting is unique,

b). It has an interesting reason for being here

c). it is the only rare example of its style in Kyiv (and probably Ukraine too).

Its setting. Well, it’s set on a high mound (yes, it’s high as my legs told me when I got to the top), and looks out over the historic neighbouring Podi district and the Dnipro River of Kyiv to the horizon.

It’s here because St Andrew was supposed to have visited this site in the 1^st Century and planted a wooden cross on the hill. He prophesised that a great city would be built here and that it would become the centre of Eastern Christianity. 10 out of 10 for that prophesy!

Unique style ? -Remember the Winter Palace and the Catherine Palace in St Petersburg? Well, this church was built by the same Italian architect.

The white, turquoise and gold multi-columned and domed edifice stands out and above everything in this part of the city.

The church was closed by the Soviet authorities in 1932 and converted into a museum. In 1939 the museum was (somewhat paradoxically) dedicated as a Anti-religious Museum! Services resumed during WW2 onwards but stopped again in1962.

In 2018 the Church finally got it back. Great, but it was locked, closed on my visit, hence no internal pics.

Andrivs’kyi Descent and views from the Church 

Once you are at the top often mound the views are wonderful – and if there is a breeze to cool you in the warmth of the day, as it was on my visit, even better.

The streets that descend from around the mount are famous for their old styles. It is in part of the old city, and restaurants and artisan shops galore surround you.

There is a small park nearby where artists hang their works from stands and walls and craftsmen sell their wares in the open-air.

The area reminded me much of Montmartre in Paris with their cobbled streets, shop awnings and painted doors.

Monument to a classic Ukrainian movie

Just in front of the church is a very creative but life-like statue.

Normally I wouldn’t pay too much attention to this, as I had no idea what it was about. However, parts of the bronze sculpture were shiny from rubbing, so it was clearly important to lots of people for some reason.

The statue of Svirid Petrovich Golokhvastov and Pronya Prokopivna Sirko (try saying that after a few drinks!), is based on two characters of Soviet times Ukraine comedy movie “For two hares.” The movie took place in Andriivskiy descent and the main scene is in St. Andrew’s Church.

The statue shows the moment when Svirid Golokhvastov is on one knee, offering a hand and his heart to Pronya Prokopivna. She stretches out her hand for him to kiss.

The film is one of the classic Ukrainian comedies and so well known by everyone here.

Even though the monument is quite new, it already has myths related to it. There are two main features: first, there is a ring on the finger of Pronya Prokopivna statue. Legend says that whoever rubs it, will be married soon.

The second is related to the bug on the back of Svirid Petrovich – if you rub it, you will get good luck and good fortune.

I rubbed the bug only!

I walked back to where I had left the huge square and turned to my left ,to walk towards the golden domes ahead of me- here was my next stop.

St Michael’s golden-domed Monastery

Another church, I hear you groan. Yep, but that’s life in Kyiv. I swear this city has the highest concentration of churches per head in Europe and many too splendid to miss out on.

So, here we go again.

Luckily, in this one I going to shut up, as much as possible and just let the photos do the talking.

Again, it’s a big site so give yourself time as there is a Cathedral and side church, refectory and bell tower and some green grounds to explore.

Walk in via the bell tower but take in the painted boundary walls outside in their luscious golds and pastel shades of colours first.

Walk through the decorated archway and through its thick and painted walls.

The exterior of the Cathedral (the place is also a Monastery, the head church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and a UNESCO site too, just saying!), is a riot of white, blue and gold.

The colours on a bright day almost force you to put sunglasses on and really was a wow- breath-taker when I exited the bell tower gateway and saw this magnificent structure ahead of me. I actually did do a “stopped me in my tracks” moment, stunned as I was by its beauty,

Wander around outside in a full circle and take in all the intricate facets, decoration and colours and then head inside afterwards.

Thought you got away with no history lesson on this one – bad luck – here’s a short narrative.

1050 is the date when the original monastery  building was founded here but none of that remains now.

It was destroyed over the centuries, especially by invading Mongols but in the 1600’s it was restored. By 1629 it was the wealthiest in Ukraine.

By the 18^th Century around 240 monks resided here and in 1870 around 100,000 Pilgrims descended on the Monastery in homage – it was big and famous now.

Along came those cheery anti-religion Russian Revolutionists and decided to demolish the whole site in their anti-religion fervour. In 1935-6 the site was turned to rubble by demolition and even dynamite used to blow up areas. Sports fields and tennis courts were put in their place.

Ancient 12^th Century mosaics however were removed and stored safely

Ukraine gained its independence in 1991 and  in 1998 Kyiv authorities decided to restore and replace the site in its entirety back to the last surviving buildings, having assessed the demolition as a Soviet crime – too right!

St Michael’s was fully restored and reopened in 1999

The inside is another feast of golds, reds and primary colours in what can feel like an over-embellished interior. I even managed to get a wonderful shot of a black robed nun paraying silently at the altar in the background – I was discreet to avoid problems.

I have to say that it is probably the most gold adorned and colour packed interior of an orthodox church that I have seen. The gold enough made me think how much is this interior worth from the decorations alone.

Exquisitely painted iconography on the walls, white marble flooring with delicate flower and candle arrangements was everywhere.

On the way out I just had to get a few photos of the busts of various people, (I don’t know who), as they stood guarding the entrance into the Church HQ building.

In the grounds were several other buildings. One, a white-washed plain building with a high black tiled roof I believe was a refectory for the monks with a floor above. Inside was a small Chapel area

Memorial Wall for the fallen of the Ukraine 2014-2020 War 

Outside the Monastery and along its walls was a permanent memorial to those Ukrainians who had fallen in the fight against the invasion of Russia into Crimea and parts of eastern Ukraine,

The memorial was different to anything I had seen before as it felt made by hand and heart-touching in its frankness, rather than some grandiose monument.

Along the floor, in a line, were hundreds of memory boxes, each filled wit a few personal items of the fallen soldier, a photo of them, their medals, a few personal items or a piece of their uniform.

It was incredibly emotional and solemn. Here is the actual picture of the person and their personal effects for you to see and touch in real life.

The long wall contained a uniform banner with hundreds, if not thousands, of Ukrainian soldiers killed in that invasion. Some looked only 18-19 years old. Flowers, flags, candles and memorabilia adorned the walls and base of the memorial.

A separate section had a quite military feel to it with webbing and military equipment, maps and presumably names of towns that had been taken over by the invading Russian forces.

I felt the solemnity and extreme pain and sadness at the loss of these heroes defending their country from invasion.

I reluctantly drew myself away from the memorial area. I had spent a long time wandering the area and taking in the horror of these deaths. There was one more place to pass by before I arrive at my Metro stop for home.

My last place to see was just as a view. I had no intention of going inside and anyway, it would most likely be closed. On the way I passed through a small public park with statues and views over the river.

National Philharmonic of Ukraine

The building dates from 1881 and due to it being taken over in WW2 as a Nazi Officers Club, avoided being demolished.

Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky have performed here.

Its not exceptional as a building and its only because of my love of classical music that I always seek out a city’s Opera or Philharmonic Hall.

Here it is in all its glory.

My Metro stop to get back to the hotel was now 3 mins walk away and it was the very stop I shall be returning to tomorrow to recommence my route – I told you I had a planned route!

Day three in Kyiv

Well, here I am back at exactly the same spot as where I left off yesterday.

I took the Metro on the Green Line to Maiden Nezalezhnosti (Blue Line) or Khreshchatyk (Red Lime) – same station interchange but with different names according to which line you use to get here, as explained before.

Independence Square

This was one place I had been aching to see since I got here.

I had followed the Orange Revolution of 2004 and especially the Euromaidan protest when people rose up against the President who rejected the accepted Parliamentary proposal to align with the EU in favour of signing a treaty with Russia.

There were mass street protests of thousands of people and an encampment was set up here. Police shot at and killed protesters in efforts to disperse the crowds. Over 100 protesters and 13 Police were killed,

The protesters eventually won at great cost of life.

It was weird to be standing in the middle of a square that had literally been a battleground between the Ukrainian public and its Sate forces in terrible attacks and counter-attacks.

Fun fact – We call it Maidan Square but its true name is Independence Square Why?

Well, the name in Ukrainian is “Maidan Nezalezhnosti” (Maidan means Square, Nezalezhnosti means Independence). We took the name Maidan because, of the two words, it is easier to say in English, We thus corrupted the name and are actually calling it Square Square …. You can chuckle now ……

Another fun fact …. It has been called by eight different names in its past

There is quite an eclectic mix of buildings lining its edges. Govt buildings, hotels, shops, apartment blocks, a palace, offices and even a shopping mall at some point all make appearances in the structures.

It’s wide and paved but strangely with a main (but quiet) Boulevard running through it and a small street running along one edge.

One side has the beautiful classic columned building of the Tchaikovsky Music Academy and concert Hall, facing the long, symmetrical govt admin buildings. The other side houses smaller somewhat tackier buildings surmounted by huge advertising boards.

Go over to the other and there is a huge Stalinist, brutalist style building that sits across from the curving façade of an old palace.

Contrast that with the massive glass sloping façade of the shopping mall, with the 1950’s style tall hotel behind it and you will understand what I mean by an eclectic mix.

It doesn’t feel as if it was designed as a square but rather self-formed when buildings were demolished and others built nearby centuries later.

There are curious glass domes on the floor in one section which are light dome for underground shops and the main column stands graciously in the middle.

In the centre of one half of the square sits the Independence Monument.

The 61 metre tall Italian marble column was placed here in 2001 (10 year anniversary of Ukraine’s declaration of Independence). It replaced the previous statue of Lenin which was  torn down in 1991 upon the declaration of independence.

At the top of the column is Berehynia – a female Slavic spirit goddess who is the protector of the home. She holds aloft a garland of native flowers. The whole ensemble is painted in blue and yellow-gold, the colours of the Ukrainian flag.

Around the area are two “I love Kyiv” signs – very Instagramable – and yes I did do that and post on Facebook and IG …. Well, it has to be done!

Why is the spelling Kyiv and not Kiev, as it has historically been more popular to write,

Well. Kyiv is the Ukrainian pronunciation (and thus writing) of the Russian version of Kiev. My post reflects the Ukrainian version throughout.

To one side of the square stands the International Centre of Culture and Arts – a grand 19th-century palace-like venue that hosts jazz, folk & classical concerts, plus conferences & exhibitions.

Beside it is the beautiful Floral clock. It’s design changes seasonally and is so colourful and pretty. It is flanked by memorials to those killed in the two political protests in the square.

If you want a really good view of the clock and palace, go up to the bridge nearby on the Globus shopping mall viewpoint, as I did.

In this area are also various memorials to the fallen of the protests. One of old tyres and a metal anti-vehicle barrier with a flag of the Ukraine defiantly flying from its interior.

Independence Square Fountains 

The whole square is full of various fountains joyfully splashing in the sun. Some are fun – water jets from the ground that kids love running between.

Others are historical and depict the founder 4 members of the city, others are quite classical in their design.

One is a creative globe with water spouting from its sides. There is even one that plays music with accompanying water displays. They all add to the fun and creativity of the square

Kyiv Globus Shopping Mall

Shopping malls rarely feature in my blogs – I am not a big shopping fan, although I will wander shopping areas to get a vibe, rather than a bargain.

I wondered what the glass domes in the square were all about. I then realised that there were light shafts to something underground. I followed the signs and ended up in a gigantic underground shopping mall. I had no idea it was here  and it is perfectly disguised under the square.

Admittedly the glass wall on the square gives away the other half of the mall.

This Mall is in two sections, on several levels, on either side of the square and called fittingly, Globus 1 and Globus 2.

Between them they hold around 100 stores (many high end designer stores), multiple restaurants and around one of the underground fountains there are 8 cafes alone facing it.

The internal walkways and merchandise designs were eye catching and I just had to take a pic of one part.

If you need a coffee break in a convivial, albeit commercial environment, here is where to come.

National Art Museum of Ukraine Kyiv

It was time to leave the square and continue with my walking tour.

Today was going to be a heavy walking day (when is it not with me), and I was aware of the time.

Retracing my steps from the Philharmonic Hall to the Metro station of yesterday I arrived at the big roundabout near it and turned left

I was heading to my next destination

I was needing a culture fix after all the churches I had seen and this was the only Museum in all of Kyiv that I had chosen to see.

It is full of over 20,000 works of art (not all on display) of Ukrainian and Russian artists over the centuries.

However, on arrival, it was not to be – it was closed.

The signs on the boarded-up doors stated that it was undergoing renovations!!!

I seemed to have chosen a bad week to see the interiors of many places in Kyiv, as the closed sign was becoming a prominent feature.

The building itself is quite classical, with a columned, portico front in beige stone.

Beside it was a small garden with some pieces of art placed it and next to it a wonderfully, expressive monument to …. Someone I had never heard of.

This memorial to Vyacheslav Chornovil was placed here in 1996, just down from the old HQ of a Ukrainian Independence Movement. He was a prominent Ukrainian dissident in the Soviet Union days and was arrested multiple times in the 1960s and 1970s for his political views.

He was a long-time advocate of Ukrainian independence and one of the most prominent political figures of the late 1980s and early 1990s who paved the path of contemporary Ukraine to its independence.

They must really have adored him as it was bigger than many statues of famous people I had seen elsewhere.

Cabinet of Ministers Building

This building is massive and so imposing. It is where the Ministers of Govt have their offices and at one time, for 13 years from 1941 was the tallest building in the city.

It was built in 1938 and to my mind is such a glorious Soviet style, tempered by a white façade with Corinthian columns. The brown colour of the base two flors give it such a heavy solid feel.

It majestically faces the greenery of the park on the opposite side of the road and was one of my favourite Soviet style buildings in the city.

Misʹkyy Sad Park and gardens

Cross over the road and you enter into a real recreation park.

Long gravelled walkways intersect at every point and the tall abundant trees give shade from the sun and a real feel of walking through a small forest in a city centre setting.

Families and people on work breaks were enjoying the walks and seating and at various points there are fountains, statues and flower displays

At one point you can even see the back area of the Mariyinsky Palace that will be revealed in full to you later.

There is a large open-air theatre here as well that puts on community and well attended public performances. The roof is a strange upturned boat shape with brown wooden beams and tiles. It looked almost Polynesian rather than Ukrainian

Go past the theatre and you will come to views, through the trees, of the riverbank on the other side of the Dnipro River that flows through Kyiv. You are quite high up here and the river is set in an almost gorge like location.

Double back and carry on round the park and it begins to open out into wide open spaces, fully paved and set to slightly more formal gardens. Ahead you will see the grand front entrance to the  Mariyinsky Palace

Mariyinsky Palace

It is a Baroque palace, dating from 1752 and is the official residence of Ukraine’s President. Tours are available to see the inside. I’ve read that while it is pleasant with various artworks too, what you can visit is small, as it still functions as a meeting place for visiting dignitaries.

What made it interesting for me was that it resembled a somewhat Viennese style of Palace, quite low in height with interesting pastel turquoise and beige colouring to its facades.

The tall black ironwork of the lampposts gave it a slightly Disneyesque feel and the huge amount of open pace it was set in, did seem too much for such a low-rise edifice. However, you could just imagine convoys of State cars driving through to its doorways, on what could also be parade grounds, with rows of welcoming ceremonial guards.

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine – Parliament

The Verkhovna Rada, or Parliament Building, stands very close to the Palace and juxtapositions itself with it. That Stalinist style building, in plain white seems quite ordinary in style for such an important building, even the symbols of the govt’ in a coat of arms style is painted white.

It dates from 1838 and was the old Supreme Soviet of the Ukraine building before. Now, all the old Soviet symbols (there used to be a statue of Lenin here), have been removed and the Ukrainian flag flutters proudly instead.

There are railings to stop you getting too close to the entrance (a rarity in Ukraine) with a ceremonial guard posted to one side.

Kyiv Mariinskyi Park

Yet another Park, this one called Mariyinsky park, that used be the old grounds of the Palace, is sited in front of the Palace and Parliament building.

Again, both are filled with walkways, benches, statues and people simply enjoying this little bit of nature in the city.

Two side roads form walkways down to the main road running alongside the high river bank. One starts just at the parks further perimeter and the other being the first left from the park. Both led down to a road for a 10 mins stroll along parklands till you arrive at our next destination.

St Nicolas Church at Askold’s grave

Inside yet another small park, is this church.

The park is strangely called “Arkold’s Grave” and is supposed to be where Prince Askold is buried. He was one of the early Norsemen rulers of the Kyiv region in the 9^th Century.

In 1935 the Soviets covered over the graves and formed a park on its land – hence the present day name. In the 16^th Century the Orthodox monks of St. Nicholas’s had a Monastery here.

The Church is of a rotunda style and this is the reason I wanted to see it. The rectangular churches I had seen were pretty but this one in its circular design with the trees almost touching its sides gave it a Hansel and Gretel house in the woods fell to it all.

You can wander inside this Russian Orthodox church and the interior is similarly different. Not quite like the over-ornate iconography filled style you might expect. It has chairs and tables, display aeras and even areas for reading books. It felt more like a slightly dishevelled community hall than a church.

No-one was here when I entered, not even a guardian so it was interesting to have the place all to myself.

Monument to the Heroes of Kruty

In the grounds of the church is this monument.

It commemorates the death of 500 cadets at the Battle of Kruty when they impeded the march of the Bolshevik’s Red Army on to Kyiv in 1918.

The memorial was scrumptiously clean with fresh flowers – the battle clearly still being of significance today.

This concluded my third day in Kyiv. I had seen so much and had walked who knows how many kilometres on my travels around the city.

I made my way to the red line Arsenalna Metro station about 10 mins walk away, through the city suburbs.

Day four in Kyiv

Day four came too quickly. I slept like a log after all that walking and exploring and my legs were already asking for a rest before I set out, I persevered however, once I started walking, my interest would ignore any leg aches and I’d be back into the routine of my explorations.

I walked to the Metro station and literally retraced my steps from the day before, in that I was headed for Arsenalna station., with one line change on the way From here I would recommence my route on my final day in Kyiv.

Park of Eternal Glory

This park in itself takes an hour at least to go around. It is set over a massive natural grassed slope that faces the Dnipro river on one side and touches the city suburbs on the upper, flatter plateau. If you approach from the road where we left off yesterday at Askold’s Grave park you will capture one whole side of the sweeping curvature of the parkland.

The various memorials and monuments are set on the cusp of this expansive semicircle and each have panoramic views over the river and the landscape beyond from their high vantage points.

You can actually see the main memorials towers from this side, as my photo shows.

The parkland is extensive and despite being basically a memorial ground to the dead of wars and famine are beautifully maintained. Clipped hedgerows, paved walkways, shaped tress and even night lighting give a  well-maintained feel to the area and its solemnity.

Monument to the Unknown Soldier

Here is a tall obelisk that can be seen for kilometres around. Below is the sculptured bronze wreath to the dead of WW2 and the eternal flame flickers inside the design.

Walk the grounds because at various points there are statues and memorials to individual fallen heroes and commemorations of several battles. The plaques are set on stepped terraces amid dark green pine trees and hedges.

The feeling is of solemnity and peacefulness in the vast openness.

Holodomor Genocide Monument and Museum

A gruesome and harrowing memorial is also here, placed long after the country was free of the Soviet influence that caused one of the biggest mass famines in European history

Holodomor is Ukrainian for “to kill by starvation” so it is the Famine Monument. This and the Museum are devoted to the victims of the Holodomor, forced famine of 1932–1933, that affected the mainly grain growing areas of Ukraine

Josef Stalin enforced the famine in an attempt to eliminate a growing Ukrainian Independence movement by starving the Ukrainian people – estimates of the number of dead vary from 4-10 million people and it is generally accepted as a genocide attempt.

In 1932 the harvest was less than half of what was expected. This was due to Communist Collectives underperforming, bad weather, poor implementation of agrarian policies and low yields.

Instead of accepting the foreign aid that was offered to the region, Stalin refused it and denied the existence of a problem. Locals had their rations cut to below subsistence in the countryside which eventually spread to the cities.

Stalin did nothing to alleviate the food shortage and used it to kill of the independence movement and local people by genocide. He even murdered any dissenters or activists. Food was so scarce for two years that the population starved to death, whole villages were wiped off the map.

Discussion of the subject was forbidden even after Stalin’s death and future Russian politicians denied it happened.

It was only after Ukraine freed itself of the old Soviet regime that it was investigated and revealed in full. Categorical denials can still be heard from the Russian Federation, which is the successor of the USSR.

The Museum goes into details of the events of the time and harrowing photographic evidence is there to see.

Here’s the link to the Museum for opening times and tickets.

With your back towards the Museum entrance, head down the walkway passing the statue of the emaciated child (part of the Holodomor memorial) and head to the main road in the distance.

At this road turn left and follow the road . On the other side of the road you will eventually see the enormous Arsenal Building (now the National Art and Culture Museum Complex), On your left you will see a wide alley. This dead ends in a gold and white domed building with high arched windows. This is the entrance to your next place to see. so go through the archway entrance.

The building is actually the  Gate Church of the Trinity – one of the churches in this complex

There is a ticket booth nearby if you need tickets to go in.

Kyiv Pechersk Lavra

Where do I start with this one!?

Let’s just give it some perspective first.

It is a UNESCO site,

Is named as one of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine

Still has over 100 monks in residence here/

Is the size of a village in itself and is enclosed within walls

Has five churches within its complex and one just outside ,(one is a Cathedral and countless ancillary buildings.

Is the official residence of the Metropolitan (*Arch-bishop”) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

It contains one of the biggest Museums in Kyiv

Its original caves spread for several kilometres.

I’m going to give a brief description then let you views the photos. I cannot give this area an adequate site by site review. It has so many churches and buildings that I lost track and my way around this encircled religious site.

The interiors are gloriously coloured and covered in icons of religion and their exteriors ,whilst sometimes plain, are well preserved,

Something to look out for is the mini church the size of a large house, within a church. Rather than knock this ancient church down to build the new on its land, they decided to keep it as a centre -piece inside the new church which was built around it – I’ve never seen this anywhere else in the world!

The site was originally caves – “Pechersk” means cave and “Lavra,” Monastery, so it is the Kyiv Cave Monastery in English.

The place was founded in 1051 AD by a Christian monk called Anthony who travelled here from a Monastery in N.E Greece. He settled in a cave overlooking the Dnipro River (still here) and a settlement grew. He and others founded a Monastery here when a local leader ceded the land to him – and so the story begins!

On site is:

The Bell tower (joined to other buildings) from 1745,

The Dormition Cathedral from the 11^th Century, destroyed by the Mongols in 1240 but later rebuilt, then destroyed by he Nazis in 1941 and totally rebuilt and re-opened in 2000,

Gate Church of the Trinity located over Holy Gates, which houses the entrance to the monastery, built 1108. Was the main church after the Cathedral was destroyed by Mongols.

Refectory chambers with Church of the Saints Anthony and Theodosius. Originally from the 12^th Century but replaced in the 16^th Century by the Russian authorities.

The All Saints Church, built in 1868 and often considered the most embellished and beautiful of all the churches.

The Caves, which are a system of narrow underground corridors (about 1.5 metres wide and 2.5 metres tall, that include living quarters and underground chapels. In 1051, the founding monk Anthony settled in cave now called the Far Caves, but in 1057, moved to a cave near the Upper Lavra, now called the Near Caves. They also contain the graves of several Saints and the heart of Pope Clement from 99 AD.

A museum that contains a wide variety of ancient items from manuscripts, metal objects, religious items to textiles and photographs, all from the 16-20^0h Centuries.

Local Conflicts Museum

Exit and turn right and follow the road down. There is a fork to the right at the Afghan Memorial site in a plaza area but ignore it and keep to the left somewhat inconspicuous road. There is no pavement, but this is a dead-end street for cars so few come down the road.

Eventually after around 6 mins (passing some old Soviet style residential blocks,) you will come to an opening ahead on the left with an old classically columned archways structure on the right,

Go past the archway and you see what seems like a huge, wide concrete walkway going off into a park. There may be various types of WW2 military vehicles parked here on display. This is the path you take. It has steps at various points as it descends along a plateau.

Ahead in the distance you will see a huge statue – more on that later.

On the right eventually will appear a building surrounded by WW2 military vehicles, tanks, equipment and howitzers. There is even a line of tanks situated as if ready to file out of the walkway.

This museum inside holds memorabilia of WW2 and other local conflicts that Ukraine has been involved in. There is however so much to see outside for free that you may not want to see yet more of the inside but give it a try.

It is a veritable graveyard of military paraphernalia and you are able to get up real close to equipment that was used during the war.

Don’t miss another open-air section further along your route downwards, off to the right.

This has a huge square full of yet more tanks with even rocket launchers and ballistic missiles and several old Soviet warplanes.

The amount of equipment on display is staggering – it feels like the total army supplies of some small countries. I have never been so up close to missiles and planes since I went to war museums in Seoul, South Korea and Ho Ch Min City in Vietnam.

Any war buffs out there will adore this place and I was surprised at how well they were preserved – could these ever be reused in an emergency I wondered!

National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War

This whole 25 acre open-air park is called a museum and within its grounds are several, I should say many, other museum buildings, memorials, statues, displays etc, etc. We are already in the Park-Museum itself at this point

From the military hardware areas we have just seen, here, go back to the main walkaway and note the tallest flagpole in the Ukraine – one of the tallest I have ever seen. Keep that flagpole to you right and walk the pathway – you will notice the ground changes from concrete to flat square cobbles, so you know you are on the right path.

Ahead of you now will appear a somewhat modern flattish structure of grey concrete with a wide square walkway underneath. It looks foreboding and very brutalist bit carry on – you will be delighted at what is inside

Proceed and walk through and along this marvellous semi-tunnel, semi-wall art sculptured area.

The walkway of carved statues and figures all engaged in fighting, rescue and symbolism of defending the country is called the “Alley of the Hero Cities”.  Kyiv was awarded this recognition pf “Hero City”, along with several other Soviet cities, that endured horrendous bombardment and attacks by the Nazis in WW2.

The  realist and often life-size bronze sculptures in the alley depict the courageous defence of the Soviet border from the 1941 German invasion, terrors of the Nazi occupation, partisan struggles, devoted work on the home front, and the 1943 Battle of the Dnieper, near Kyiv.

Some parts of the sculptures have been rubbed to the extent that they shine in bronze rather than the dark green. Presumably they are good luck symbols or hold special significance.

This Memorial Park was opened in 1991 by none other than Leonid Brezhnev himself, the leader of the old USSR. Incidentally he was Ukrainian. The park has been visited by over 22 million people.

It used to be called the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, but was renamed in 2015 to its present name. This was part of the movement to distance Ukraine from old Soviet ties and names.

As you leave the alley and enter into a white and grey tiled area, look to the left. Here Is the Eternal Flame and to the right, in a huge enclosed water area is the sculpture commemorating the Crossing of the Dnieper River, a turning point in the defence of Kyiv in WW2/

Walk ahead and you will come to tanks in a face-off. At various points in time these have had different paint jobs. On my visit there was clearly a Ukrainian tank painted in the yellow and blue of the national flag, facing off an enemy tank.

Look to the left and there is a marvellous view from the hilltop plateau, through the trees of  the river and to the outer suburbs f the city.

Ukrainian Motherland Monument  and War Museum

This enormous statue has almost become a symbol of the city and even of Ukraine itself.

The statue is 102 metres tall, including its base and weighs over 560 tonnes. The sword that is held by the symbolic figure alone is 16 metres long and weighs 9 tonnes.

It shines in the sunlight and I guess it’s made of aluminium but it’s controversial today.

On its shield is the hammer and sickle, an emblem of the Soviet regime. It was still there on my visit. It was proposed to have those symbols removed and the Ukrainian national symbol of the Trident placed on it. I’m unsure if that has been done since my visit, I heard not but then have seen a few photos with the Trident in place (maybe photoshopped? I don’t know.

You can get an even better view across the river from its base viewing plinth, but if you want the mother of all views (pun intended), you can go up inside the monument to the top for an even better view.

Underneath the statue is the official Museum of the ……. that title is so long, (see the photo). By now I was all WW2 ‘d out so skipped the museum

It was also starting to darken for the evening and I knew I had a long walk back to the nearest Metro station on the green line. The walk was about 20 mins and I felt I had just enough leg power left after today’s major hike.

My thoughts on Kyiv

Kyiv was genuinely one of the most impressive cities I have ever visited.

It struck me as completely a major capital in its wealth of museum, galleries, monuments and sites. The city is huge, and I mean huge. Sites are spread over the city area so long; long walks are needed or use the metro and taxis.

The sheer amount of architecturally beautiful buildings is astounding and many of these are not even famous.

I was so impressed by how the city had recovered from WW2 and Soviet days of destruction and how they had rebuilt previously destroyed and deliberately demolished buildings under political policies of the old USSR.

The churches have been restored to colourful glory and I’ll say it again – I think this is the most church per head of population city that I have ever visited.

There was affluence and civility here and the number of magnificently maintained parks and amenities is impressive. For such a big city, traffic moved freely and in the central areas the traffic is actually quite light, The Metro is a marvel, pretty and so, so cheap.

I felt though I had only scratched the surfaced and seen only the top sights – which is what I wanted to do, but there are so many more places to see. I had regarded these as secondary places to see, if I had the chance to get to them. In other cities these would have been major places to get to.

If you are a museum and art culture -vulture like me, then Kyiv is the city for you – I definitely want to come back here and indulge in culture much more deeply.

Aug 2018

Below are some related posts on nearby places to visit. Click on the pic to view.