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Spread out on the banks of the Dnieper River, sunny and green, meeting the guests with a smell of blooming chestnuts in spring, and with a scattering of gold leaves in fall... Breezed with the legends, favored by Bulgakov and Vertinskiy, with mysterious streets and inviting benches at parks, friendly and tender. This is Kiev, one of the most beautiful Ukrainian cities. |
| Kiev is marvelous at any time of the year, but a lot of people prefer visiting it in May, when chestnuts start blooming, and botanic gardens rampage with lilacs and magnolias. This is really a magnificent view – the city starts being filled with spring aromas and a romantic atmosphere. |
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| At least 600 sorts of lilacs are presented at the Kiev Central Botanic Garden; and the view which opens on the picturesque slopes of the Dnieper, attracts guests to come to the capital. |
| The Golden Gates — a rare architectural monument of the Kiev Rus – are situated in the center of Kiev. It is curious to imagine that it was a city suburb once. At those times, Kiev, ruled by prince Yaroslav the Wise, was surrounded by high earth ramparts with a total length of 3,5 km. |
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| Kiev Pechersk Lavra is a special pride of the Ukrainian capital, which is deservedly included in the list of the monuments of global importance by UNESCO international organization. This is one of the oldest monasteries in the Rus. |
| Volodymyrs'kyi descent is also one of the oldest places in Kiev. Earlier, Volodymyrs'kyi descent was called Mykhailivs'kyi descent, because Mykhailivs'kyi cathedral is situated nearby. But later, the monument to prince Volodymyr the Great, who brought Christianity on these lands, was set up in the adjacent park. So the park and the descent were renamed. |
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| A funicular operates in the northern part of the park; you can use it to go down from Volodymyrs'kyi descent to Kontraktova square, have an easy walk on Podil streets and reach the Kiev Monmartre – Andriivs'kyi descent. |
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| Andriivska church is a real pearl of the descent. It was designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1745. And the Castle of Richard the Lionheart is the most mystical building. It is said that for a long time the castle was thought to be inhabited by ghosts, and that they howled at nights in the castle halls. Frightened Kiev citizens even threatened to destroy the castle, but one professor intervened and saved the building from destruction. It turned out that builders offended by a foreman put some eggshells in chimney tubes during construction works. The eggshells created those frightening wails when the wind was blowing and thus scared all the residents and passers-by. |
| There is one more unique building in Kiev - "House with Chimeras". This mansion, all plastered with monsters, was built by architect Vladislav Gorodetskiy in 1901; but it still keeps impressing everybody with its quaintness and originality. You can spend a lot of time looking at mermaids adorned with flowers, dolphins, smiling frogs on the roof of the building. The design and construction of the building are also very interesting: the house has three floors when you look at it from Bankova street; and the façade of the house facing the opposite direction has six floors. Inside, the design is not inferior to the exterior: a gigantic light at the stairwell, picturing a huge catfish in lotus stems; ceiling moldings in the form of an octopus; drowning ships; antlers and sculls of African animals on the walls of the mysterious house – everything strikes your imagination. |
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| And when it gets dark, you should definitely take a stroll at downtown: walk along Khreshchatyk – the main street of the city, visit the famous Maidan Nezaleshnosti, the European square. Night Kiev is very beautiful.
Come for a visit! |
