The Old (Upper) city of Kiev

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The Old (Upper) city of Kiev has a very ancient history. The most significant objects that have survived till our time are the Golden Gates, St. Sophia’s and St. Michael’s Cathedral, the Detynets – the city of Volodymyr (the foundation of Kiev). This part of Kiev has also a Jewish history (Oles Honchar Str.), the acquaintance with it can be continued further in the recently updated Babyn Yar (2106).

In the period of Kievan Rus there lived the royal nobility, important events took place in the squares and main streets, the cathedrals were used for seating on the throne, and the princes of Kiev were buried in them. Those days there were many stone churches and monasteries, such as St. George’s and St. Irene’s monasteries, the Tithe and Exaltation of Cross Сhurches (on the site of the St. Andrew’s Church), St. Theodor Monastery, Yanchyn Monastery and many others.

Firstly there was the first princely settlement with area of about 2 hectares on the Ancient Kiev Mountain. According to the legend, Kiy, Shchek, Horyv and Lybid settled there in the VIII century. Prior to them, the local population of goatskins, potters and tar lived and worked on local streets of Vozdvyzhenka. The foundation of the house of Princess Olga, the foundation of an unknown stone building, a pagan temple are preserved until now.

The city of Volodymyr was founded in the 10^th century when Volodymyr the Great came to these lands. The area had increased to 10 hectares. The foundations of the Tithe Church, the South and the West Palace, the St. Sofia Gates (Batyiovi) were left from his city, but the foundations of Kiev and St. Michael’s Gates were not found.

The process of building of the city of Yaroslav started in 1037 with the construction of the Golden Gates, the St. Sophia’s of Kiev and St. George and St. Irene Monasteries. The shafts from the Golden Gates extended westward along the Yaroslaviv Val Str. to Lviv Square to the Lviv Gates (not found) and then along the Velyka Zhytomyrska Str. (on the spurs of the Ancient Kiev Mountain) enclosed with the trees of the Detynets. In the east direction from the Golden Gates, the trees extended along the Prorizna Str. to Khreshchaty Valley (modern Khreshchatyk) to Independence Square, where there were Liadski Gates (the foundation was preserved). Then the trees extended up till the shafts of the Detynets. The area of ​​ancient Kiev has expanded to 72 hectares. Later, in 1113 the borders of Kiev were expanded by the St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral by Sviatopolk Iziaslavovych, the grandson of Yaroslav the Wise.

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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.

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3, Volodymyrska Str. – Trubetskoy mansion, a monument of architecture, is located on the territory of the Detynets of ancient Kiev. In the XII–XIII centuries there was a stone rotunda and there was a temple earlier on this place. Presumably, it was built in the 1820’s. O. Annenkov, an official, was the first owner of the estate. In 1867–1917 the mansion belonged to Elizabeth Trubetskaya, the Princess, to the family of S.P. Trubetskoy the Decembrist. During the archaeological excavations in the 1870’s the foundation of a large two-story rotunda of the late 12th century was found on the territory of the estate. Today the House of Trubetskoy is a valuable and rare example of the residential development of the city of the times of classicism. Today it is used as a department of archeology.

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10, Volodymyrska Str. – Central Telegraph was built in 1910 by A. Kobelev the architect and was intended for the Kiev branches of the Peasants’ Land and the State Noble Banks. Later, during the Soviet era, the Central Telegraph was located in the building. The clock appeared on the building during its reconstruction in 1971. The clock is noteworthy in the following: it shows time in 60 cities of the world. The mechanism was created by two local locksmiths. They used the mechanism of post-war tape telegraph apparatus STA-M-67. It has not been used on the telegraph for a long time, but it works properly in the clock.

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11/6, Volodymyrska Str. – Adriana Guesthouse (a scientist, art historian, archaeologist, lived in Kiev in 1884–1896) managed the art works in the Volodymyr Cathedral, investigated the ancient frescoes of St. Cyril’s Church, St. Sophia’s Cathedral and St. Michael’s Cathedral. Many scientific and artistic representatives of that time visited the house of the Prahovs. A. Prahov Emilia, the wife, was the soul of the house, her portraits were created by I. Repin and M. Vrubel.

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13/5, Volodymyrska Str. – the fire-tower was built in the 1850 at the Starokyivskyi site, at the corner of Volodymyrska and Velyka Zhytomyrska Streets. One of the two fire-towers preserved to this day properly fulfills its functions now and it is called Fire Station No. 2. The building was also used as a police department, as evidenced by a security sign on the house.

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15, Volodymyrska Str. – the building of “presence” places of construction of the beginning of the 19th century. It contained various provincial departments, financial bodies, the Trial Chamber and the District Court. Subsequently, as the apparatus of “presence” expanded, the structure was built up twice. In front of the facade, a thoroughfare was arranged and a chain of squares was subdivided. Today the police and the court continue to work in the former house of Presence.

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16, Volodymyrska Str. – the building where the famous artist Mikhail Vrubel lived while he was working on the murals of St. Cyril Church. The house was built in 1879 and it belonged to the Franz Chernetsky the lawyer, who opened more than a hundred “lucrative rooms” in it. In 1911 the female gymnasium was located in the building.

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33, Volodymyrska Str. – the building of Kiev Provincial Zemstvo, built in 1913–23 by V.A. Shchuko the architect, where the governing bodies of various trade unions came into being: metalworkers, food processors, textile workers, tanners, builders, woodworkers, sewers and medical workers. The building received a magnificent name of Palace of Labor. In the 1930s it was transferred to the organs of state security. Within the walls of this building and in its cellars torture was carried out by Stalin’s executioners, during the war by the Gestapo, and after the Gaybists. Ivan Kudria, Olena Teliha, Vasyl Stus, Viktor Nekrasov and others visited this place. Now the building belongs to the SBU.

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35, Volodymyrska Str. – the mansion of A.V. Beretti, built in 1848 in the style of classicism. There was a garden with an arbor on the left of the mansion, in the courtyard there was a well. In 1870 the mansion was bought by I. Mikhailovskaya, the wife of the merchant of the 1st Guild. In the mansion there were stuccos molded, in the hall and living room the walls were painted by Aliaudi the Italian artist. The emblem of the owner appeared on the facade of the mansion – there were three golden spears aimed at the star on the shield in the red field, there was a goat on the crest. The Mikhailovsky had owned a mansion until 1919, before nationalization. Now there is SBU reception in the building, the front of the house is decorated with a memorial plaque to Mykhailo Hrushevskyi..

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36, Volodymyrska Str. – the building of the former hotel “Prague”, built in 1880 by A. Shile, the architect for the owner of the furnished rooms of Ilinsky. At first it was a 3-storey house with outbuildings. After the death of Ilinsky, his widow sold the house. In 1911–1913 three additional floors were completed with the money of V.Vondrak. There was a restaurant “Prague” on the roof of the hotel. In 1914, the 7th floor and terrace for the summer restaurant were completed. In 1916–1918 Jaroslav Hasek the Czech writer-satirist – the author of the novel “The Adventures of the Brave Soldier Schweik” lived in the hotel. And in 1918 he lived with the family of Symon Petliura in the hotel. Now the building is not used and it is closed.

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39/24, Volodymyrska Str. – the profitable house of Sirotkin, the beginning of construction is 1900. A merchant and arms tycoon Pyotr Grigorovich-Barsky (Karl Shiman, the architect) was the customer of this construction. Due to financial problems, the house was sold to Alexander Sirotkin, the merchant, who bought an unfinished mansion at an auction. The construction was completed in 1902. Sirotkin rented out rooms. There was the famous confectionery “Marquise”, mentioned in Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel “The White Guard” on the 1st floor of the profitable house. In Soviet times, there was a restaurant called “Leipzig”. In the first years of its existence, the profitable house was the tallest residential building in Kiev (about 40 m in high). It was also one of the first houses in the city, in which there was a system of steam heating and an elevator. The building of a new hotel in Kiev is conducted in the former house of Sirotkin today.

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40/2, Volodymyrska Str. – the profitable house of Mikhailov. Initially, there was the estate of A.Pyatigorovich, the titular adviser in this place. In 1898 the estate was purchased by M. Mikhailov the actor of the Imperial Theaters, who had ordered the construction of a four-story building by A. Krivosheev, an architect. The main facade of the building overlooks three streets. On the 1st floor there are eight shops, the rest are 16 apartments with 30 balconies, which were leased. There was the hospital of Dr. Shnarbahovsky and the Kiev Conferences of Chief Justices of the World in the building. In 1907 the male gymnasium of M.A. Stelmashenko was opened in the building. In the gymnasium, N.N. Gardenyi the architect and S.P. Korolev the father of spacecraft designer were the teachers there, M. Nosov the children’s writer studied there. I.G. Ehrenburg, the doctor of Lurie, stayed with his brother in his profitable house for some time.

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42, Volodymyrska Str. – it was constructed in the middle of the 19th century in the style of the late classicism. In the last quarter of the 19th century the house belonged to the family of I. Setov (Setgofer), a singer, director and entrepreneur, who directed Tchaikovsky’s Oprichnik, Verdi’s Aidu, Wagner’s Tannhauser in Kiev for the first time. Vasily Tarnovsky, a well-known collector, philanthropist, public figure spent the last months of his life here. Since 1908 it functioned as a literary club, D. Antonovich, a historian, N. Bilyashivsky, an archaeologist, S. Efremov, a literary critic, the writers A. Oles, O. Pchilka, Lesya Ukrainka, L. Yanovskaya, the actors M. Zankovetskaya, N. Sadovsky and others took active part in it.

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43, Volodymyrska Str. – the building, built in 1888 by an architect V. Nikolayev, belonged to A. Antonovich, a professor of Kiev University. There were furnished rooms and offices here. The editorial office of the daily newspaper Kievskoe Slovo (1886-1905), edited by A. Antonovich was located part of the premises in the house. A. Kuprin (cycle “Kiev types”), I. Franco, O. Pchilka, N. Vertinsky published their researches on its pages. The family of Vertinsky lived on the fourth (attic) floor of the house, where Alexander Nikolayevich Vertinsky (1889–1957) the poet, composer, actor was born. During the Civil War, the house had a wine cellar “Castle of Tamara”, mentioned by M. Bulgakov in the White Guard. Today, various institutions and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea are locted in this house.

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45, Volodymyrska Str. – or the profitable house of Vladimir Kachalyi. This house was located on the territory of the estate of V. Kachaly, to whom it belonged. The profitable house was built in 1892 by Alexander Khoynatsyim, the architect. And Kachaly’s mansion is located in the backyard (a small two-story house – 45-a, Volodymyrska Str.). It often happened that the owners, being unable to repay the loan, sold their homes for debts. V. Kachala was an engineer-chemist, an artificial mineral water facility was opened by him in Kiev. The building of the former profitable house is in excellent condition, there is the Embassy of Armenia now. The very same mansion of V. Kachaly is the House of Scientists today.

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47, Volodymyrska Str. – the building, designed in 1889–1891 by Shille, the architect, together with V. Sychugov the academician of architecture, and it was built for Friedrich Michelson the merchant of the II Guild – the owner of the well-known Karavaevskiy baths and the hotel “Geneva” on Sofievskaya District in Kiev. The drawing school of Nikolai Murashko, opened in 1875 with the financial support of Ivan Tereschenko, is located in a lavishly decorated house on the 3rd floor. The school brought up a whole galaxy of famous Ukrainian artists. In the 1910’s a private women’s gymnasium of V. Peretyatkovich was located here. Later there were medical institutions here. The building has survived until now.

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49, Volodymyrska Str. – the mansion of Varvara Evgenievna Ilyashenko-Tomara, built in the middle of the 19th century. Since 1868 the family of Tomar settled in it. The Tomars is one of the oldest Cossack families, the origin of which was the Greeks. Varvara Tomara was a very wealthy woman. She married Patricii Ilyashenko. The family owned 4 thousand dessjatines in the Kiev Province and several houses in Kiev. After 1917 the mansion was nationalized. After that, various institutions were located here.

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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.

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54, Volodymyrska Str. – the female board of Levashova. The wife of the Kiev Governor-General Levashov was the owner of the establishment for noble maidens. The house was built in the middle of the 19th century by the architect A. Beretti. Initially it was a two-story building, later the third floor was completed. After the revolution, the board was still working for some time. But a few years later it was liquidated. Since 1918 the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences was located in the building, where it is located until now. The building is designed in the style of neoclassicism. The facades are decorated with stucco and attic. Today it is the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences.

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55, Volodymyrska Str. – the conference hall of the Academy of Sciences, built in 1927 by Pavel Aleshin. On November 29, 1934 a coffin with the body of Mykhailo Hrushevskyi was exhibited in the hall for farewell to the Kievans. The building is a monument of architecture. Today, the halls can be also used for special occasions.

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57, Volodymyrska Str. – a Pedagogical Museum, built in 1911 by P. Aleshin, the architect. The lectures, conferences, meetings of scientists from different countries were organized there. Until 1915, the museum could be visited free of charge. The museum is up to date. In 1917, the Central Rada of the UNR was functioning in the building. The Rada was headed by M.S. Hrushevskyi, whose monument is located near the building. On November 7, 1917 the Ukrainian Academy of Pedagogical Sciences was opened in the museum. Soon the Ukrainian State Academy of Arts started to exist here. There were the school of pilots, the volunteer White Guard squad, the Revolution Museum and the Kiev Regional Executive Committee here too. In 1934 the museum was reorganized into the Kiev city teacher’s house. From 1937 to 1982 the Lenin Museum was located here. Since 1982 the House of Teacher has been functioning here until today. The State Scientific and Pedagogical Library of V.A. Sukhomlynskyi and a choreography college are also located here.

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60, Volodymyrska Str. – Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv was built in 1837–1843 by Beretti the architect. The red color of the facade, the black details of columns and cornices correspond to the colors of the Order of St. Volodymyr, whose name was worn by the university. The motto of the Order “Good, Honor and Glory” also became the motto of the university. In the middle of the 19th century the university became the center of science and socio-political worldview of Ukraine. In 1845–1846. Taras Shevchenko himself worked at the Archaeographical department. During the Second World War, the university building was almost completely burnt. Today it is the most prestigious university in Ukraine.

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58, 62, Volodymyrska Str. – twin houses No. 58 – a library at the Kiev National University, built in 1914–30, in the style of neoclassicism in the design of Osmak and Aleshin, the architects, was originally intended for humanitarian faculties, then it was converted into a university library. According to official data, one of the largest libraries in Ukraine holds about 3.5 million books. No. 62 is a branch of No. 1 of V.Vernadsky National Library, was built in 1939–1940 due to the project of Osmak and Aleshin as a university library building, but eventually it was passed to the Central Scientific Library of the USSR (now V. Vernadskyi Library). Until the 1980s the building was the main building of the CSL. Two library buildings made up the monumental ensemble with the university structure.

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61/11, Volodymyrska Str. – profitable house of B. Moroz, a merchant. This beautiful Art Nouveau house on the corner of Volodymyrska and Leo Tolstoy Streets was built by Joseph Zaktser, the architect, in 1912. In some apartments there is still a rich stucco, there is an old decor in the entrances. The owner of the house was a businessman, a merchant of the first guild, Berko Moroz, he has nothing to do with Morozov, the famous merchant.

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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.

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National University of Food Technologies is one of the oldest universities, founded in the second half of the 19th century, during the period of the development of the sugar industry. That is why, due to the shortage of qualified personnel in the sugar industry, in 1884 technical schools were opened at Smilyansky Refinery Plant, the first technical school in the history of the Russian Empire for training of technicians, chemists and masters of sugar production. In 1898, the Polytechnic Institute was founded, where the sugar technology started to be taught at the chemical department. In 1929, at the basis of this department was established the sugar department, later – the sugar faculty, in 1930 the Kiev Sugar Institute was established and the first 450 students were admitted to it. Today NUFT is one of the leading universities in the country. G. Surkis and many others studied here at their time..

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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.

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The Tithe Church is the first stone church of Kievan Rus. It was built on the site where, due to the Prince Volodymyr’s order, two Christians – infant John and his father Feodor were sacrificed to Perun, the pagan god. The church was built in 989–996 in the period of Volodymyr Sviatoslavovych reign, who allocated a tenth of the princely income for its construction, i.e. a tenth. Hence the name of the temple was arisen. The temple was established in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God and was a cross-domed six-pillar temple. The Tithe Church was decorated with mosaics, frescoes, carved marble and slate slabs. Volodymyr Sviatoslavovych and his wife, the Byzantine princess Anna, were buried here, and Princess Olga’s ashes were brought here from Vyshhorod. At the end of 1240 hordes of Khan Batu, having seized Kiev, destroyed the Tithe Church that was the last cache of Kievans. During the brutal massacre, arranged by the Tatar-Mongols, many Kievans tried to hide in the temple. Under the pressure of people, the church could not stand it and collapsed, the townsfolk were buried under it. In the 30-ies. of XVII century at the initiative of Peter Mohyla the Metropolitan, the first excavation began and the sarcophagus of Prince Volodymyr and his wife Anna were found. In 1635 at the initiative of P. Mohyla on the site of the Tithe Church, a church was built in honor of St. Nicholas, which stayed until 1824. Archaeological discoveries are kept in the reserve of the Sofia Museum, in the National Museum of the History of Ukraine. The complex of archaeological excavations is, like the whole complex of Sophia of Kiev, is under the protection of UNESCO.

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The Western (Grand) Palace is a palace that occupied a small square and was represented in front of the Tithe Church, contemporaries were amazed with its luxury and splendor. The western side of the palace was supposedly the main residence of Prince Volodymyr. The longitudinal axis of the Tithe Church is exactly perpendicular to the axis of the palace. Probably, in front of the Tithe Church four horse sculptures, brought by Volodymyr from Chersonese were installed. The same situation is in Constantinople, where the four famous horses of Lysippos the sculptor, taken out of Olympia and installed in front of the St. Sophia’s Cathedral. Analyzing the nature of the divisions, we can assume that the total length of the building reached 70–72 m. The central, almost square in the plan room (9*8 m in internal dimensions) was obviously the lobby of the palace, where staircases could be placed on the 2nd floor. The premise was covered more likely by a tent top. On both sides to the central room the elongated wings in the plan were adjoined. Perhaps the facades of the lower floor had open arcades in front of the main halls, on the upper – there were living quarters. The brick parts of the walls were not preserved, but due to the fragments of the brick it is evident that it was similar to the brick of the Tithes Church.

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The Southern palace is a palace, located from the south-west at an angle to the Tithes Church, which separated the square from the main street of the city, and was probably a princely griddle, i.e. the ceremonial hall where the squad was assembled. The palace had a three-part layout: an extended room in the plan and two square ones on the sides. The bases were laid relatively shallow (60 cm) with a very large thickness (170 cm). The base, masonry and brick of this building are the same as in the Western Palace. There was supposedly a large hall in the central room, and there were the towers with stairs to the 2nd floor in the side rooms.

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Pagan Temple is the temple located near the Historical Museum, not far from the Andrew’s descent. It is one of the most famous temples, the base of which is recreated on the Starokyivska mountain. Hundreds of years ago there was an altar here, i.e. a place of worship and sacrifice to the pagan gods. Probably, it was the temple of Perun that was the cult center of the Poliana principality, later – Kievan Rus. During excavation, a huge amount of ash, bones, mainly of animal origin, was discovered here. The temple is a stone circle with four ledges pointing to the sides of the world. The first to study the temple was Vikentii Khvoika, an archaeologist, who unearthed it in 1908. He believed that these remains belonged to a pagan temple, and the pillar served as an altar on which sacrifices were performed for a long time. The temple dates back to the 6th-7th centuries

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St. Sophia’s Gates – Khan Batu’s Gates, built in the late 10th century during the creation of the defensive system of the Upper City, i.e. the city of Volodymyr. The bases of the St. Sophia’s Gates were two parallel walls of 6 meters long. A high arched passage of 4 meters wide and, probably, a drawbridge were located under the quadrangular gate tower. The design of the St. Sophia’s Gates was originally made of wood and consisted of stands, erected in two tiers with gate towers- strelnitsas, which were crowned by pyramidal roofs with convenient platforms for shooting from bows and crossbows. The bases of the gates are marked with red quartzite at the corner of Velyka Zhytomyrska and Volodymyrska Streets.

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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.

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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.

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The Lviv Gates was built in 1037 in the period of expansion of Yaroslav the Kiev Prince. Initially, the Lviv Gates were called Zhydivski, because since the 9th c. there was a Jewish suburb. It existed until the end of the 20th century and is known to the older Kievan generation as Evbaz (Jewish bazaar). There was a market both near every city gates, where the crowd arrived, and the Yiddish Gates. The gate attracted the opportunity to get the most from the trade. Therefore, the Jewish population, traditionally inclined to trade and usury, readily settled here. Hence the name of the gate – Zhydivski. In the 10th-11th centuries Kiev was expanded and no longer fit within Detynets area. During the reign of Yaroslav the Wise the Prince, new lines of defense were erected from the North, West and South. A new gate was built: Golden Gates is in the west, LIadski Gates is in the south, Zhydivski Gates is in the north. Since the XIII century the Zhydivski Gates was renamed into the Lviv Gates. This is due to the fact that Kiev at that time belonged to the Polish-Lithuanian state of Rzeczpospolita, the capital of the Rus, it became the Galician city of Lviv after the Mongol-Tatar invasion. Behind the gates there were paths to Vyshgorod and Lvov, the so-called Dorozhishchi (Dorogozhichi) and the Galician princes renamed the gates in honor of their capital. The gates as a defensive fortification lasted until 1795. After the lapse of seven and a half centuries the gates were very dilapidated and completely demolished in the middle of the 19th century. The gates is supposedly located on the site of the modern Lviv square, but their exact location is unknown.

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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

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St. Michael’s Square was established on the place of St. Michael’s Mountain, where the monastery of the same name used to be. At that time, the territory was dotted with ravines that separated the Northeastern part of the Upper City from the rest of the Ancient Kiev Plateau. Over time, the ravines were covered and a square appeared on the place. A time later, the first school was built on St. Michael’s Square, in front of which the monument to Olga the Princess was erected in 1911. The Soviet government planned the construction of a complex of government buildings here. But only one was embodied among all the ideas: this is the building of today’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. The opening of a new monument took place on the Day of Kiev in 1996..

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The Monument to Olga the Princess consists of the following sculptures: St. Andrew the Apostle, Cyril and Methodius the educators, and the princess herself. It was erected in 1996. It is a reconstruction of the monument of the same name, erected in 1911 in the same place. Initially, the monument was the first object of the historical and artistic complex “Historical Road”. It was supposed to make an avenue from the St. Michael’s Monastery to the St. Sophia’s Cathedral with the sculptures of the great princes of Kiev. In 1919 the figure of Olga the Princess was dismantled by the Bolsheviks, and in her place a bust of Taras Shevchenko was established. The remains of the original sculpture are on the Andrew’s Descent.

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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.

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The St. Sophia’s Square originated in the first half of the 11th century and it is considered as one of the oldest in Kiev. According to the legend, after the defeat of Pechenegs in 1036, Yaroslav the Wise the Prince decided to erect on this site St. Sophia’s Cathedral in honor of his victory. In front of it the area, named after the cathedral, immediately was formed near the city walls. Since the construction of the cathedral square played an important role in the life of the capital. In the days of Kievan Rus, veche was assembled here – the people’s assembly. In 1857 St. Sofia Square was separated from its “neighbor”, i.e. St. Michael’s Square. In 1919 the Act on the Unification of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the Western Ukrainian People’s Republic was proclaimed on the square. Here in 1991, the Act on State Independence of Ukraine was supported. In the center of St. Sofia’s square there is a monument to Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, which was established on July 11, 1888 to the celebration of the 900th anniversary of the Baptism of Russia. Today St. Sofia’s Square has a beautiful view, bewitching its atmosphere and architecture. Every year cultural events are arranged on the square. A den is established on the day of Christmas. The square becomes the center of folk festivals on New Year.

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The Monument to B. Khmelnitsky is one of the oldest and most outstanding monuments. It is a visiting card of Kiev. The initiators of the erection of the monument were the progressive public of Kiev, who collected voluntary donations. The place for the monument was not chosen by chance. On December 1648 The Kyivans happily welcomed the Cossack troops led by Bohdan Khmelnytskyi on the square, who liberated Kiev from the Polish gentry and oppression. The erection of the monument deals with a huge number of legends and funny situations. Establishing the monument, no one could determine the correct position in any way. Originally there is an opinion that the sculptors established the monument to the hetman so that it pointed the mace towards Russia. Khmelnytskyi points the mace towards Poland not as a sign of military aggression, but because in another position the horse would be the “fifth point” to one of the following temples: St. Sofia’s or St. Michael’s, which, of course, is not permissible. The opening of the monument took place on the day of the 900th anniversary of the baptism of Rus.

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The St. George’s Monastery. According to the chronicles in 1037 Yaroslav the Wise founded the Golden Gates, St. Sophia Cathedral and two patronal churches in honor of the heavenly patrons of the four wise. So, St. George’s Church and St. Irina Temple appeared. The first was destroyed in 1934, and the last one – during the time of Khan Batu. St. George’s Church had a special status and was intended for “initiation and dining”. The five-story building along 2, St. George Lane was built in 1936–1937. It is separated from the bases of the church, and above them there is a green lawn set with the Hedgehog in the fog in 2009, behind which there is a high cross, denoting that here was one of the first Kiev temples.

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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

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The building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a pompous construction on St. Michael’s Square erected in 1938 on the site of the ancient Three Hierarchs Church (XII–XVIII centuries). In 1934, the capital of Soviet Ukraine was moved from Kharkov to Kiev. A government quarter was decided to be located on the territory of St. Michael’s Square: two monumental buildings – for the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party of Ukraine and for the government of the republic, and the area for the parades between them. Instead of a funicular it was planned to build a huge staircase to the embankment and to erect a 75-meter monument to Lenin, looking at the Dnieper. This was the first construction of the government complex of the capital of the USSR, which was planned to be built in the space between St.Michael’s and St. Sofia’s Squares. The St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral was demolished to clear the place for the government square in 1934, the demolition of St. Sophia Cathedral was also planned. The first building for the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) was built according to the project of I. Langbard, an architect from Leningrad. The second twin building was to be represented on the site of St. Michael’s Cathedral. Immediately a huge monument to Lenin was proposed to be placed here. But the barbarous plans were prevented by the war in 1941. The Germans did not use the building. In its entire history, only government organizations were located in the building of the permanent MFA. Since the 1940s, the regional and city party committees were operating here, as well as the main Komsomol institutions. After the war, the Central Committee of the Communist Party was again located here. Now it is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

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St. Volodymyr Hill is a magnificent place with a view of the Dnieper, where the baptism of Rus took place. The mountain was in the economic possession of the Mikhailovsky Monastery (1108), and it was occupied by wooden structures and vineyards. This area was significantly emptied and the mountain beyond the monastery began to be used as a cemetery after the attack of the Tatar-Mongolian troops in Kiev. In the 1830–1840’s its slopes began to strengthen and divided the park. At that time, St. Volodymyr Park was the only free park in Kiev. A monument to St. Vladimir the Baptist was placed at the top of the hill in 1853. A cross on the monument to St. Volodymyr the Great has been illuminated with electric bulbs with the advent of technical progress since 1890. A panorama of Golgotha was organized in the park in 1902, where scenes of the crucifixion of Christ were demonstrated. In the period of the USSR a summer cinema with night movies operated at that time here, there was also a summer cafe. One of the fans of the hill was I. Nechuy-Levitsky, who created the work “Evening on the Volodymyr mountain”..

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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.

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The Lviv Square is one of the oldest hearths of the city life, the ancient square of Kiev, located at the junction of several streets. Presumably here in the times of Kievan Rus the Zhydivski (Lviv) Gates was represented here. It is a complicated complex of defensive and fortification buildings. During the XVII–XVIII century the Ancient Kiev fortress was represented here, but its remains were completely dismantled, which contributed to the liberation of the space for the future full-fledged area. Its name was officially granted to the square in 1868. However, it was called Sinna Square by many people, because until 1958 there was a hay bazaar where hay, firewood and a construction timber were sold. Now the beautiful square has grown on this place. The main architectural ensemble of modern Lviv Square is the following buildings: Artist’s House, House of Commerce, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, built in the classic “Soviet style” in the 1960-70s.

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Velyka Zhytomyrska Str. is one of the oldest streets of Kiev, connecting St. Michael’s and Lviv Square. It originated in the XI century in the days of Kievan Rus and it served as a road to the west from Sofia to the Yiddish Gates. Later it was as part of the way to Zhytomir, that is why it has a modern name. The street was a part of Yaroslav city in the XI century. In the XV–XVIII century the Bolshaya Zhitomirskaya Str. had name of Lviv and was one street along with the modern Sichovykh Striltsiv Str., but since 1795 it is Zhytomyrska Str.. The first buildings that were preserved to our times were built in the 1850s-1860s: the farmstead of the pharmacist I. Eisman (building No. 2 2) at the very beginning of the street, the building of the Office and the fire station with a watch-tower. Real houses on Velyka Zhytomyrska Str. have different architectural styles, but they are united by the general trend of the location of the main building on the red line of the street (at the roadway), and the outhouses – in the depths of the plots. So, the Velyka Zhytomyrska Str. is a corridor-street. The street itself is narrow and short (800 m), but almost every house here is a monument of architecture with its own history.

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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.

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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.

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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. Because of the location on the top of the hill, the groundwater erodes the base and causes landslides.

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The Richard’s Castle was built in 1902–1904 on the Andreiivskyi Descent. The site where the construction was started, and then the whole house, belonged to one of the residents of Kiev, to Dmitry Orlov, the contractor, who bought this site from Malenko, the manufacturer of the iconostases. A. Krauss, a builder and technician built an outstanding house in the style of English neo-Gothic. Richard’s Castle has the appearance of a real classic noble castle, which has all the features of such mansions, i.e. sharp and spectacular spiers, crenellated walls, steep stairs that lead to the patio.

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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.

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The Sleeper Mountain or Vozdykhatelnitsa is the most romantic mountain in the capital. For the first time the mountain was mentioned in the middle of the 16th century. The mountain, which was higher than Zamkova, was reduced so that it could not be fired at its top. During the excavations the cave of an ancient hermit was found. In the period of Kievan Rus the military camp of the prince’s younger squad was located opposite to the mountain. According to the legend, the young ladies were not allowed to go there, but if some one began to miss her beloved, she climbed the opposite mountain, waved a nice handkerchief, sighing and sending air kisses. So, the mountain acquired the name of Vozdykhatelnitsa. Tourists are also attracted to the mountain by the rumor that once it could be climbed through the secret passages and galleries of Richard’s Castle. Old-timers remember how, through the tunnels, staircases and galleries of Richard’s Castle, you could get to the top of the mountain and enjoy an amazing view of Podil. Now on this summit there has been running a festival of Ukrainian youth cinema “Open Night” for several years.

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The Castle Hill is a high hill with a history of several thousand years, was one of the central parts of Kiev during the Kievan Rus, fortified by defensive structures. It was a handicraft district of the capital city. In the times of Ancient Rus, the mountain was called Horivytsia (also known as Kyselivka and Florivska), since the 15th century it becomes a Castle (Zamkovaya) Hill. The origin of this name is associated with the construction of a wooden castle built after the entry of Kiev into the Lithuanian principality in 1363. But there is also a version that the fortifications were erected by Kievans, as Khan Batu devastated Kiev in 1240, destroyed the fortress on the Ancient Kiev Mountain, located not far from it. In 1840, the Castle Hill passed to the Florovsky Convent to the cemetery. In 1921, the cemetery was closed, and with the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War in 1941, a military unit was located on the Castle Hill, which served as a radio station built here. It was used to mute the signals of foreign broadcasting stations. At the same time, the military conducted the necessary communications on the mountain, finally destroying the surviving sections of the old cemetery. In the 1990s, the radio station was dismantled for uselessly, and the building of the military unit was dismantled for building materials. Today the mountain is an ambiguous place, with which many legends and mystics are associated. Rising 80m. above the Dnieper, the Castle Hill offers an excellent view of Podol, Andriivsky Descent, St. Andrew’s Church and Vozdvyzhenka District.

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The Museum of one street is the first private museum in Kiev, whose collection is dedicated to the history of Andriivsky Descent and its inhabitants. The museum items from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century were used for the exposition. Getting here, plunging into a nostalgic atmosphere, as if traveling on a time machine. Here you can imagine how the boudoir looked like with a full set of ladies’ toiletries, a dining room with a table, interiors of workshops and shops. Retro music is played in the museum, which gives a search to the realities of the past. In addition to objects of urban life, the museum has a lot of rare autographs and books – original manuscripts and photographs of Alexander Vertinsky, Bulgakov’s novel “The Days of the Turbins” (1927) and his “Therapeutic Directory” by Dr. M. Schnierr. There are exhibitions and interesting projects in the museum. Well, a real excitement of the public was caused by an exhibition dedicated to the public houses of the Andriivsky Descent.

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Oles Gonchar Str. began to form in the 30-50-ies. of the 19th century. Since 1834 it had the following name – Malo-Volodymyrska Str. in honor of Volodymyr the Baptist the Prince. There were I.Makovsky Surgical Hospital, M.Kozlovsky Ophthalmological Hospital, A. Radinsky pharmacy, Profitable House on the street until 1917–1918. There is a square at the beginning of Oles Gonchar Str., where bronze sculptures of birds are placed, symbolizing the types of townspeople – the Kiev intelligents as an endangered species: Raven – wisdom, Owl –embodiment of mind, Kingfisher – modesty, Sparrow – rebel. Kostiantyn Skrututskyi, a famous Kiev sculptor, is the author of the square.

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The Makovskyi 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.

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Oles Honchar Square is a nice and pleasant place in the center of Kiev, surrounded by quiet cozy courtyards. The square was located in a well-known historical tract, which was named after Sviatoslaviv Yar, mentioned in “The Tale of Life” by K.Paustovskyi and in “The Tale of the Fleeting Years” by M.Ushakov. There is a monument to Oles Honchar, sculptures made of wood and a fountain, as well as many shops located under thick willows. The monument to Oles Honchar the famous Ukrainian writer and public figure was opened in May, 2001. In the summer, freshness and coolness reign here.

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Lapynskyi Profitable House is a seven-story house on No. 60 Oles Honchar Str., built in the Neo-Gothic style for M.N. Lapynskyi, a famous professor-neurologist in 1908. According to architectural merits it is one of the most attractive houses in Kiev. The house is rich in architectural details, beautiful staircases and a bridge on the model of the lift, which leads into the house, and the entrance is located on the first floor. From the side of the street a path is adjoined to the house, outwardly resembling a barbican (front strengthening of a Gothic castle). There were two seven-room apartments on each floor of the Profitable house. In 1908–1918 Lapynskyi chaired the Department of Neurology of the Faculty of Medicine at St. Vladimir University. At that time the progressive doctor created the best hydropathic institution in Europe. In 1918 the doctor emigrated to Austria-Hungary. Now the former Profitable house is an elite residential building where you can buy an apartment with an area of 208 sq.m.

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Yaroslaviv Val Str. is a street, along which defensive shaft passed in the 11th century. The shafts existed until the 1830s and they are engraved on many ancient drawings. After the redevelopment of the Ancient Kiev part of the city, they were razed, and there is only one place where one can manage to study the structure of the fortifications with sufficient completeness. In the walls of Kiev of the 11th century there were six rows of oak log cabins – “gorodny”. The log-town consisted of 12 cells about 3×3 m in size, filled with forest soil, which was usually taken from ditches dug in front of fortifications. The trees were cut in thick and tall oak forests. The height of earth-filled horodny in the defensive constructions of Yaroslav was 11m. Higher ones were the wooden cages opened inwards, on top of which battle pavilions with loopholes were arranged on the battlefields. Defensive structures were strengthened by earthen slopes, inside which there were three additional rows of smaller stands composed of thin logs and poles. These stands protected slopes from shedding and gave them greater steepness. The main attraction of the street is the Golden Gates with part of the rampart and a wooden fortress wall.

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The Pidhirskyi’s Mansion is the “Baron’s Castle”, one of the most beautiful and romantic buildings of pre-revolutionary Kiev, built at the end of the 19th century by the order of a Polish landowner M. Pidhirskyi in the modernized Gothic style. The building is crowned with a high spire, the facade is decorated with sculptures of fantastic animals. For all the time the “castle” was used as a lucrative house, there was a cafe-confectionery “At the Golden Gate” (later – a cinema hall), a cinematography called “Unikat”.

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Karaim kenassa was built in 1898–1902 in the Moorish-Arabic style (the only structure in this style) on the initiative of Solomon Cohen, the owner of tobacco factories (V. Horodetskyi was the architect). The size of the building is not large: the interior of the manor is 30 m, the width of the facade is 14 m, the height to the top of the roof is 18 m. But the walls are of considerable thickness (almost 1.5 m at the base) and, therefore, 500 thousand units of bricks were used for their erection. Such massiveness was dictated by the peculiarities of the Moorish style of the structure. On the building there originally was a magnificent dome of galvanized iron with a spire, with patterns and ornaments. Unfortunately, during the Soviet era, the dome was destroyed, and the building lost the excellent Arabic style. All the external design of the kenassa (the edging of the entrance door and niche, the ornaments of the windows and the parapet, the pendants descending from the top cornice along the entire perimeter) was made from the cement, which at that time was an expensive material. there is a lobby, two small side rooms and a main prayer hall divided by an arch into two unequal parts in the building. The hall is struck by the beauty of the elegant stucco ornaments that filled the whole area of the walls. They are complemented by colorful stained glass windows. Since 1920, the kenassa had been closed, and the activities of the community had been discontinued. Later, there was an institution of political education, a house of the peoples of the East, a puppet theater, a cinema “Dawn”, and since 1981 there has been an actor’s house where exhibitions, concerts and evening events take place.

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Rodzianko Profitable houses are profitable houses of Leonid Rodzianko, a Kiev businessman, Colonel-Cavalryman. In the beginning of the 20th century Rodzianko financed the construction of 4 buildings in Yaroslaviv Val Str., among which there were two multi-storey profitable houses. Rodzianko is precisely known to own houses No. 14, No. 16. In the building No. 14-a, all the apartments were leased. It was erected in a fashionable Art Nouveau style at that time. The house is very beautiful, first of all, thanks to the rich decor. The entrance to the building is decorated with long-haired, steep-breasted young ladies. Leonid Petrovych lived in the building No. 14-b. On the eve of the war of 1914, he sold houses and, together with his family, moved to America. In America he profitably to invested money and in three years became a millionaire. Since 1988 the first chamber theater has been operating in the building No. 14-b.

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The Military Hotel “Zirka”, the photo exhibition “Looking Into the Windows” is a five-story gray building with sealed windows in No. 15, Yaroslaviv Val Str. It is the former military hotel “Zirka”, that functioned in the house. The monument of architecture of the Soviet period has not been used for many years by purpose, gradually collapsing. During the Great Patriotic War, there was the headquarters and a command post of the Kiev Air Defense Corps in the building, as evidenced by a memorial plaque on the facade of the building. Many people know the structure as the Sikorskyi house, but in fact the family of a famous Kiev doctor lived at No. 15-b, Yaroslaviv Val Str. Today black and white prerevolutionary photographs of Kiev residents are hung on the windows of the building, giving a new life to the house. The photoworks favorably emphasize the architectural details of an empty house. This method is used in the design of historic buildings in many cities, as well as in Europe.

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Sikorskyi House is a three-storey building, built in 1903 by the order of I. Sikorskyi, a psychiatrist, one of the founders of child psychology and psychopathology. In addition to living rooms, the doctor opened a hospital here and conducted his private practice. I.Sikorsky, the son of the doctor, who later became an outstanding aircraft designer and inventor of a helicopter, built the first model of his aircraft in the courtyard of his father’s farmstead. In 1912–1914 Ihor Sikorskyi built Grand and Ilya Muromets planes, setting a world speed record of 111 km/h with two passengers on board. This was the beginning of multi-engine aviation. In the late 70’s – early 80’s the building belonged to the Ministry of Defense of the USSR, it had a military hostel. After the earthquake, the walls went cracked, and the building was found unfit for habitation. At present, the buildingis are in emergency condition, gaping with the emptiness of window openings with the remains of luxurious stucco molding. It is planned to restore the house and create the Sikorskyi Museum of Aviation and Aeronautics in it.

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The Reitarska Str. is a historical street in Kiev, leads to Lviv Square and belongs to one of the four streets of ancient Kiev, which converged to the Lviv Gates. The street itself appeared during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise. The original name of the street is unknown, and the current name was acquired in the second half of the 17th century. It was inhabited by cavalry Russian regiments – the ranks. After the conclusion of the peace treaty between Bohdan Khmelnytskyi and Fyodor Alekseevich the Russian Tsar in 1654 the Russian garrison of streltsy (infantry) and raytars (cavalry used in combat firearms, sword – as a spare weapon) settled here. The name “Reytary” was abolished under Peter I, and the name of the street was preserved.

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The Courtyard with crows – one 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.

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The ambulance station is a grandiose mansion on 22, Reitarskaya, built in 1912–1914, where the first ambulance station in Kiev was located. There were arranged “barracks” for duty personnel, garages for cars, stables and coach rooms, as well as the front building for offices and clinics looked like a real palace inside the block. Joseph Zektser the author of the project efficiently designed the building in the spirit of the Florentine renaissance. After the completion of the construction in the main building, a surgical infirmary was opened for wounded soldiers on the fronts of the World War I. The doctors of this hospital had special requirements: the “new” doctor could not himself treat the patient until he made fifty trips with an experienced doctor. Later, various medical institutions were established here. Here, N. Amosov operated. Now the complex is the 16th city hospital.

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Georgievsky Lane was named in memory of St. George Church, which had been towered here until 1936. The remains of its foundation lie under the building along Georgievsky Lane, 2 and under the lawn in front of it. We will see the house No. 11 (along the wall of St. Sophia’s Cathedral) on Georgievsky Lane where Shevchenko was. Mikhail Bulgakov worked in the hospital for a while that is currently located here (in 1912 it was the “Hospital of the community of medical specialists”) on St. Georgievsky Lane, 9. Georgievsky Lane is considered the narrowest street in Kiev. The width of the roadway is 5.4 m. The decoration of the street is Brama Zaborovskogo – the former main entrance to the Metropolitan House on the territory of the St. Sophia’s Cathedral.

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The Zaborivskyi Gateway is a gate built in 1746 in the Ukrainian Baroque style as the western front entrance to the residence of the metropolitans of Kiev and All Russia on the territory of St. Sophia’s Cathedral. The name was acquired on behalf of the customer – Raphael Zaborivskyi, the Kiev Metropolitan. The modern monument is only a part of the gate of the 18th century, which was a stone construction of a rectangular shape measuring 16.5 x 13.5m. There was an arch passage about 4m wide in the middle part of the gate, as well as guardhouses (guard rooms) at its sides. There is a family coat of arms of Zaborivskyi – a burning heart framed by palm branches above the passage.