Kiev Upper (Old) town tour

Volodymyrska Str. is one of the first streets of the capital. It ran through the city of Volodymyr and the city of Yaroslav in ancient times. It was the main city street, and led from the Golden Gates to the St. Sophia’s Cathedral. Its oldest site (from the Tithes Church and to the St. Sophia’s Square) appeared around the Xth century. It acquired the name Volodymyr only in the 1930s of the ХIХth century.

The funicular was created in 1902–1905. The cars could hold 70 passengers and, as now, they moved at a speed of 2 m/s. The route of the funicular was at that time almost forty meters shorter than the current one. The lower station was located on Borychiv Tok Str., although it was originally intended to be placed on Sahaidachnoho Str. However, the road was prevented by private houses, the owners of which could not solve the issue of resettlement for reasonable money and the lower station had to be moved. The tram line was specially laid from Kontraktova Square to it. In 1928, there was an accident during the repair. When replacing the rope, the top car fell down and collided with the lower car. There were no victims. Then during the reconstruction the lower station was moved to Sahaidachnoho Str.

The Makovsky Hospital is a small original house in the Art Nouveau style, decorated with bas-reliefs with half-naked female birds, who protect from the troubles and give strength according to one of the myths. This house was built as a hospital in 1907–1908 by the order of Peter Kachkovskyi, a Doctor of Medicine, who opened a private surgical clinic here. Not having a long work, Dr. Kachkovskyi died in 1909. The hospital was left to his friend Inatii Makovskyi, who converted the building into a modern clinic at that time. Stolypin, the Premier, who was mortally wounded by a terrorist in the Kiev Opera, died here in 1911. You can get inside today in any working day – there is located the office-museum of Chornovil.

Monument to Anna Yaroslavivna – installed in 2016 in a public garden on Lviv Square and dedicated to the youngest daughter of Kiev Prince Yaroslav the Wise. Anna Yaroslavivna, becoming the wife of King Henry I and subsequently Queen of France, became famous not only for her beauty, but also for her education. She knew letters, foreign languages, read in several languages, wrote in Cyrillic and Glagolitic. Kiev sculptors depicted Anna as a little girl with a book in her hands. According to legend Anna brought with her to France a book – the Gospel, on which she swore allegiance to the king. Today this oldest relic is kept in the Reims library.

Patio with Ravens, where you can see unusual inhabitants of a Kiev courtyard – ravens of impressive size in a small courtyard on 9, Reitarska Str. Cyril, Carlos and Corbin live in a huge cage. Corbin appeared first. According to the owner, first Corbin lived on a tree, tied to it by a 50-meter rope. The cell was built when a second chick Carlos appeared a year later. A few years later, Cyril also “moved in”. There was also a fourth crow. But one day the villains cut the cage and the birds flew. Three crows returned, and the fourth was no longer seen. Now crows are real stars of the capital. They are happy to pose in front of cameras, try the brought goodies and love to tease, imitating the sounds of a car alarm.

Bulgakov House is the famous literary and memorial museum of the capital today. The house itself was built in 1888 due to the project of N. Gordenin, a Kiev architect, and the customers were the merchant family of Litoshenko (the mansion was intended for the owner’s wife). One and a half floors of the building were built of stone, the top wooden floor, was bricked, the roof was covered with iron.

Within some time, several buildings were added to the main building, the new owner of the estate of four houses became Z.Mirovych, a merchant and a personal honorary citizen of the city. All the buildings were leased, and the apartment on the first floor was the most expensive. In 1906, the tenants of this apartment became the family of Afanasy Bulgakov the Professor of the Kiev Theological Academy, renting an apartment on the first floor.

So, from 1906 to 1919 years the world-famous writer Mikhail Bulgakov lived and worked in the Building No. 13 located on the Andriivskyi Descent. The house wasn’t different from neighboring ones for many years. But in 1967 in the popular magazine “New World” of that time was published an essay by Viktor Nekrasov, a Kiev writer of “The House of Turbins”. That’s right, Kievans began to call the Building No. 13 by the name of the fictional Bulgakov literary heroes, the Turbin family.

Today it is the only museum in the world where Bulgakov’s relics are collected. The decision to create a literary-memorial museum of Mikhail Bulgakov was made in 1989. Only in 1993, the museum began to be visited. Today it’s not just a building, it’s a Legend-House.

The St. Andrew’s Church built by the order of Elizabeth the Empress as part of the Kiev royal residence, consisting of the Mariinskyi Palace and the palace church in 1749–1754 in the Baroque style designed by F.-B. Rastrelli. The temple is built on a steep spur of the Ancient Kiev Plateau, which served as a pedestal for the construction of the church.

At this point, according to the chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years”, in ancient times the mountain on which now the church stands was surrounded by the sea. Predicting the foundation of a large city, in the 1st century AD Andrew the First-Called the Apostle set a cross, and the water mysteriously retreated. According to a legend, now the church closes the underground sea, which can only be awakened by a bell ringing, triggering the second world flood.

That is why, the bell tower was not built in the St. Andrew’s Church. Since the XI century wooden and stone churches were built and destroyed in honor of Andrew the First-Called. Because of the location on the top of the hill, the groundwater erodes the base and causes landslides.

The monument to Volodymyr the Great is one of the most famous Kiev monuments, it was erected in 1853. Bulgakov described in the “White Guard” how the cross shone in the hands of Volodymyr every night. It was like a beacon for boats sailing along the Dnieper.

Now the illumination is carried out with the help of modern searchlights. The bronze statue of the Baptist of Russia, more than 4 m high, with a large cross in his right hand and a grand prince’s hat in his left, rises on the 16 m pedestal. The total height of the monument is 20.4 m. A bas-relief “The Baptism of the Russian People” has been established on one of the eight faces of the pedestal.

There is a woman with a baby is smiling in the bottom row on the right, grandfather was led to be baptized by a son and grandson is represented on the left, scenes of blessing and chrismation are from above. The decoration of the pedestal is complemented by images of stars and crosses, they are symbols of baptism by fire and sword. There is not a single place around the monument, from which without special equipment one could see his face.

St. Michael’s Golden-domed Cathedral is the oldest and greatest Orthodox shrine of Kiev, founded by the grandson of Yaroslav the Wise, Sviatopolk Iziaslavovych the Prince on the territory of the Dmitriivskyi Monastery according to the chronicle in 1108 and it is dedicated to Michael the Archangel the heavenly patron.

The name “Zlatoverkhyi” was granted due to the fact that it was the first cathedral with gilded domes made of solid gold leaf. After the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra St. Michael’s Golden-domed Cathedral becomes the second place in Kiev for pilgrimage. It contained the remains of several generations of Kiev princes. The most famous shrine of the monastery was the relics of St. Barbara the Great Martyr brought by the wife of Sviatopolk the Prince. In 1240 the monastery was looted by the horde of Khan Batu.

In 1713 a refectory church was built, in 1716-1720 the stone bell tower was built. Also, there was a real hotel complex that served the pilgrims on the territory of the Mykhailovskyi Monastery in the 19th century. With the advent of Soviet authorities in 1937, St. Michael’s Golden-domed Cathedral was blown up. In 2000, it was restored

The St. Sophia’s Cathedral is the greatest architectural structure, built by Yaroslav the Wise the Grand Prince in 1037. It preserved until now not only the richness of ancient architecture, but also the picturesque decoration of the 11th century, mainly mosaics and frescoes. Religious and state ideas of that time were embodied in the artistic image of Sophia of Kiev. The ensemble of mosaics is decorated with the main altar of the St. Sofia’s Temple.

Entering the Cathedral, the glance is captured by the majestic figure of the praying Virgin of Oranta (Divine Wisdom), located in the vault of the altar. Frescoes of St. Sophia’s Cathedral are an interesting source of information about the life of the prince’s court and that way of life. They are the only preserved collection of paintings from the period of Kievan Rus. There are graffiti, i.e. ancient Russian inscriptions, which are the most important document of the dating of murals, on the walls of the cathedral.

Apparently, the central part of the building works was performed in the 40’s, and in the galleries – in the 60s of the 11th century. Along with the famous ensembles of Ravenna, Venice, Montreal, Daphne, Palermo, ancient Constantinople, they occupy a prominent place in the treasury of world culture. St. Sophia Cathedral is included in the UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Starokyivska Mountain is one of the central Kiev hills, located in the Upper City area. According to legend, Kiev’s life bagan in these places. Kyi the Prince founded his city, a memorable sign, a stone with the inscribed words “From here there is a Rus land”, reminds about it. Presumably, there was a “castle of Kyi” in 5th-9thc. In the north-western part of the modern Starokyivska Mountain.

The parts of the walls of the prince’s Detynets and the foundation of the first stone church in Russia, laid down by Volodymyr the Prince – the Tithe Church (989–996), were partially preserved on the Starokyivska Mountain. There is a landscape alley, which served as an observation platform built in the 1980s on the Starokyivska Mountain today. A four-hundred-year-old linden tree was also planted by Petro Mohyla, the Metropolitan. In addition, the base of the Palace of Olga the Princess (10th century) was found here. In 1937–1939 the National Museum of the History of Ukraine was built on the mountain.

The Shevchenko Park – it was founded in the 1860’s on the vacant lot in front of the university building and it was named a University park. The work was conducted by Karl Christiani, the Kyiv city architect and gardener. In 1869 there was erected a monument to Nicholas I in the center of the park, and the park itself was renamed to Nicholaevskyi.

In 1939, there was a monument to Taras Shevchenko on the site of the monument to Nicholas I in the center of the park. The park began to bear the name of T. Shevchenko. In 1972, an environmental status was given to the park. Street musicians perform here, and in the summer there are dances held. There is a restaurant on the territory of the park. Although the park is small, but it is a favorite place for Kievans and guests of the capital.

The Golden Gate is a symbol of Kiev, the oldest defence structure of Kievan Rus that survived until now. It is the main gate of ancient Kiev. It was built by the decree of Yaroslav the Wise in 1037. The height of the defensive fortifications of the city of Yaroslav with fences reached a total of 16 m, a width is 20 m, and at the bottom with slopes – up to 27 m.

According to estimates, to build a 3.5 km strip of fortifications it was necessary about 50 thousand m3 of oak wood, it is about 630 thousand m3 of land; more than 1,000 people had been working continuously for four years. The timing of these works could be more concise, taking into account the fact that after the rout and probably capture of the Pechenegs, Yaroslav could have at his disposal a lot of cheap labour.

It is reported in the chronicle that Blagoveshchenskaya Gate Church was built above the Golden Gate, protected from the sides of the gate with battlegrounds with stone loopholes. Until now, the fragments of the rugs made in the masonry technique of the 11th century have been preserved. These are traces of fortification structures that appeared after the deformation of the walls and arches after attempts of storm.

Kiev Detynets is usually called “the City of Volodymyr” by historians named after Volodymyr the Great the Prince, who built it during his reign (970–988). Despite the archaeological excavations demonstrating the first settlements on the territory of Kiev that were founded in the 6th century, Kyiv became the capital of the ancient state from the 8th-9th centuries.

During Volodymyr the Great reign, the settlement acquired the appearance of a fortified city surrounded by an earthen rampart and a moat with wooden fastenings, with entrance stone gates and occupied an area of 10–12 hectares. The Tithe Church, built in the period of Volodymyr Sviatoslavych reign in 989-996, was the compositional center of the city. In the following centuries the fortifications of the Detynets were renewed in the period of Yaroslav the Wise reign (the protected area of the city was expanded to 70 hectares, the Golden Gate was built).

Then in the 17th century in the period of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi reign and in the 18th century in the period of H.Minich, the Russian General-Field Marshal. The subsequent rapid development of the construction of Kiev erased from the face of the earth the remains of ancient trees and the very Detynets. The Tithe Church, the main stone structure, was destroyed as early as 1240 by the hordes of Khan Batu.

Its investigations have been conducted since the time of Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi by Petro Mohyla, the Metropolitan, and they have been conducted to the present day. The Tithe Church was restored in 1842 and it looked pompously. It was destroyed in 1930 by the Soviet power. The ruins of the Tithe Church are included in the complex of ancient buildings of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine.

50, Volodymyrska Str. – the opera house, located at the intersection of Volodymyrska and B. Khmelnytskyi Streets. In 1856, due to the project of I. Shtrom, the second room of the City Theater was built, but later burnt out in 1896. And on February 25, 1897 the jury announced the results of the competition for the project of the Kiev Opera and approved the project of V. Schroter the architect. On September 16, 1901 in Kiev a new theater was opened.

At first, critics called the building awkward and compared to a turtle. At that time, it was a theater with the largest opera stage in tsarist Russia (width is 34.3 m, depth is 17.2 m, height is 22.7 m). The legendary Fedor Shalyapin sang here, and in 1911 Peter Stolypin the Prime Minister of Russia was fatally wounded. The theater was equipped with the latest technology. It was so strong that the reconstruction was in necessity only 80 years later.

The Landscape Avenue was founded at the beginning of 1980s. The avenue lies along the line of defense constructions of the Х–ХІІІ centuries of historical Upper city. According to the project, the Landscape Avenue was supposed to be a part of the historical reserve “Ancient Kyiv”, including the archaeological, historical and urban museums. The nearby mountains (Castle, Starokyivska, Detynets and Vozdyhalnytsia) were also planned to be improved.

This was to be the most ambitious project in the whole USSR. Unfortunately, the project did not come true. Since 2009 Konstantin Skretutskyi, the sculptor, began to decorate the Landscape Avenue with fantastic mosaic characters: the centipede cats, Alice in Wonderland, etc. The park is built with the help of the money of patrons and people from the neighboring houses. The area is 1.48 hectares.

In the period of Kievan Rus Andriivsky Descent was the shortest route to get from the Upper City to the Lower city. The street acquired its name in honor of St. Andrew the First-Called. Rising on a steep descent merchants lost the goods, which fell from the wagons, and since then the saying had appeared: “There is no use crying over spilt milk”.

People also call the descent the capital’s street of red lanterns. The most significant development of the Andriivsky Descent was conducted at the turn of the XIX–XX century. The well-known personalities – scientists, artists, writers, sculptors, composers began to settle on the street. This descent is one of the favorite places for the guests of the capital and the Kievans.