Kiev is the capital and largest city of the independent state of Ukraine. It is the center of Eastern Europe, which is rich in ancient culture and art. Kiev has a large number of ancient houses and buildings, interesting places, monuments, caves and dungeons. If you have a lucky chance to spend a weekend in Kiev, you will be presented with a huge number of interesting places.
The first thing that tourists usually visit after arriving in the capital of Ukraine is Maidan Nezalezhnosti. Maidan is considered the main square of Kiev, which is located between Khreshchatyk, Borys Hrynchenko, Sofiyivska, Mykhailivska and five other streets. In 1977, the square was called October Revolution Square, and in the center of the square there was a monument to Lenin and fountains. In 2001 the square was completely rebuilt: new monuments, sculptures and fountains appeared. In the center there was a white tall column crowned by the figure of a girl with a branch of calanium in her hand, which means the independence of the country.
Then you can visit a very important religious monument for the city — Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. This world-famous monastery is the first Christian monastery in Russia. Every Christian who respects his faith considers it his duty to visit this holy place at least once. Many holy relics are located in the ancient caves of this monastery. The whole complex of the monastery is created in the Ukrainian Baroque style, which is one of the main attractive features of this ensemble.
The city is proud of such a landmark as St. Sophia Cathedral, which is located in the center of Kiev. It was built in the early eleventh century by Yaroslav the Wise. In the nineties, St. Sophia Cathedral and Kiev-Pechersk Lavra were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The walls are decorated with elegant frescoes of the eleventh century, the walls and columns are decorated with images of saints, the mosaic «Oranta» is particularly impressive.
If walking around you are a little hungry, a lot of cafes in the city will meet you and welcome you. By the way, all addresses of cafes in Kiev can be seen on this site.
Next, you can see the monument to Bogdan Khmelnitsky. The monument is considered one of the symbols of Kiev, a work of art of the nineteenth century. A very beautiful structure is the House with Chimeras, which was built in the early twentieth century. The building was created in Art Nouveau style. The building is called so because of the sculptural decorations, which are created in the form of terrestrial and underwater animals, fairy tale creatures, hunting attributes.
It is impossible to ignore such an attraction as St. Andrew’s Descent. Many artists, theatergoers and art lovers have had a hand in this place. It is here that two observation slides, theaters, the castle of Richard the Lionheart are located. The center of the descent is St. Andrew’s Church. The world-famous writer Mikhail Bulgakov once lived and worked on this street.
There are a lot of interesting places to visit in Kiev, but it is impossible to tell about all of them in one article.