Golden Gates are among the oldest architectural monuments of Kievan Rus. The first mention of the gate dates back to 1037 in the records of the Kievan chronicler: «In the summer of 6545 Yaroslav laid the great city, at the same hail there are golden gates…». They served as a grand entrance to Kiev from the western side. In ancient times the Golden Gate was a two-tiered structure consisting of two parallel walls connected at the top by a vault. The lower tier was two powerful stone walls. Between them there was a roadway 7.5 m wide, 12 m high and about 25 m long. On the upper tier there was a defense platform, above which the Church of the Annunciation towered. The oak cloths of the gates were covered with copper, and they got their name by analogy with the Constantinople Golden Gate. The walls of the gate are made of granite, Ovruch quartzites and slate, reinforced with lime mortar with an admixture of crushed bricks.
The Golden Gate played an exceptional role in the life of ancient Kiev. During the acute struggle of princes for Kiev, they were one of the main objects, to master which the main forces were directed. Ancient chronicle records describe the conquest of Kiev by Izyaslav Mstislavovich in 1146, the defense of the city by Prince Izyaslav Mstislavovich from the troops of Yuri Dolgorukov in 1151, military actions connected with the struggle of princes for the Grand Ducal table, and other historical events in the description of which the Golden Gate is mentioned. This grand entrance to Kiev was a symbol of political independence of the capital of Kievan Rus’. Both Polish nobility and Cumans khans considered it a matter of honor to achieve victory over the Kiev princes in the area of the Golden Gate. But the annals never once mention the capture of Kiev from the side of this gate. Even Mongols did not try to master the city, having broken them with wall-breaking machines. Having captured Kiev, they destroyed the Golden Gate in 1240.
Till our time from Golden Gate in Zolotovorotsky square there are only remains of parallel walls up to 8 meters high. In 1982 the Golden Gate was rebuilt and turned into a museum, open to Kiev citizens and guests of the capital. From the metro station «Golden Gate» starts one of the excursion routes through the streets of ancient Kiev.