Sightseeing & Excursions kiev
The Goldendomed Capital
Adriyivskyi descent is the Montmartre of Kyiv filled with the art shops, galleries and exhibits, cafes. The street has it own magic atmosphere, so it’s no wonder that it is a traditional place for concerts, festivals, art exhibits, Days of Kyiv Festivals. Be sure you will find the right souvenir here – a picture or a statuette or a bijouterie, antique or modern thing, wooden, metal or made from semiprecious stone. There is a huge choice of embroidering and national Ukrainian garments.
The Andreevskaya church. It was built by the empress Elizabeth request. The project of the building was developed by Bartholomew Rastrelly in 1748, construction work proceed during 1749-1754 under the direction of the famous Moscow architect Ivan Michurin.
The St.Sophia’s square with a gripping see sites of St.Sophia’s Cathedral and Mikhailovsky Golden-domed Catedral
The Golden Gate (erected in 1036, reconstructed in 1982) the main entrance to Kiev at a Princes Period.
The National Opera and Ballet Theatre named after Taras Shevchenko built in a 1989 under the project of the Russian architect Viktor Shreter.
St.Volodymyr Cathedral – erected in 1882 in neo-Byzantine style in honour of thousandth anniversary of providing Christianity to the Rus’. There were the most famous painters of that period where involved in a mission of glorifying this in an expressing wall-paintings and carved-in-stone decorating such as Vasnetsov, Nesterov, Vrubel and Pimonenko. It is a genuine pleasure to watch all that grandeur while hearing the psalms sung by the St.Volodymyr Cathedral Choir. Not in a vain this is the Seat of the Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate.
Saint Sofia Cathedral. The foundation of this multidomed, five-naved church was laid by Prince Yaroslav the Wise in honour of his victory over the Pechenegs in 1037 and it was erected by unknown local masters. The building have changed a lot in a period of Cossack’s Renaissance but it’s monumental wall decorations dated to the 11th century still astound imagination. The marble sarcophagus of Prince Yaroslav the Wise have also survived.
Saint Sophia is not only a national treasure of Ukraine - it belongs to all Christian world and is under the protection of UNESCO
Where Khreschatyk begins its descent to the river stands a giant Arch of Druzhbu Narodov (Friendships between Peoples) over the brawny statues of two 'brothers' - Ukraine and Russia, erected in the Soviet period, here is the one of the most wonderful views of the river and the city. The park continues south all the way to the Kyivo-Pecherskaya Lavra Monastery, museum of history WW2, and botanical garden where Vidubitsky and Sviatotroitsky Monasteries are situated.
The edifices of Ukrainian Parliament (Supreme Rada) and Ukrainian Government,
The Mariinsky Palace (former Palace of Russian queen Maria, built in XVIII c. by Bartolomeo Rastrelli specially for her pilgrims to Kievo-Pechersk Lavra. Nowadays the palace is used for presidential official functions). Panoramic View to the Dniper. The Kyiv History Museum is situated nearby.
The Square of Glory and the Glory Park
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (Cave Monastery)
The medieval ensemble of of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra’s includes observing of interiors and exteriors of the Troitskaya Nadvratnaya and Trapesnaya churches (Over-Gate church of Trinity and Refectory), Uspensky Cathedral (Cathedral of Assumption), a bell-tower. You can visit also the Museum Of Historical Treasures, the State Museum Of Ukrainian Decorative And Applied Arts, the Museum of miniatures and labyrinth of Monastery Caves with underground chapels and sacred relics.
A "cave" is "pechera" in Ukrainian, hence the name of the monastery. The first monks-recluses Antonyi and Feodosyi settled here in 1051 and then where followed by progeny. They mined underground churches and cells and prayed and lived and even where buried there. The combination of the cool temperature and soil composition of the caves allowed the bodies of the dead to mummify. At the time of the monastery's foundation this appeared to be a miracle enhancing the monastery's prestige. Even today the bodies remain almost perfectly preserved.
In 1990 the site was included on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
The Museum of Historical Treasures, situated on the territory of Lavra, possesses one of the richest systematized collection of the jewellery manufacturing history during about three millennia.
The collection includes the chefs d'oeuvre of the world value, such as a Scythian pectoral from the Tovsta Mohyla kurhan (grave-hill) dating from the IV century B.C., a silver vase from the Haimanova Mohyla, dating from the second half of the IV century B.C. The collections of the 16th-20th centuries Ukrainian jewellery are most interesting. One of the most fascinating possessions of the Museum is a collection of the Judaic ritual silver objects (18th-20th centuries).
The half day trip to the Pyrohiv
This is something unique. Pirohiv is a huge territory where from all over Ukraine original ancient buildings have been brought and rebuilt again. For everybody who is interested in Ukrainian life of the past with emphasis on how the ordinary rural population has lived this is a must see.
The territory of historic Pyrohiv now serves as the location of a 1.5 km² (370 acre) outdoor Museum of Folk Architecture and Life of Ukraine. Founded in 1969, the museum contains over 300 pieces of folk architecture brought here from all parts of Ukraine and carefully reassembled. The picturesque hill with several windmills is the museum centrepiece and the entire territory of the museum is divided into sectors, each representing the folk architecture and life of a specific Ukrainian region.
Commoner's homes, buildings of small trade, commerce and local administration, and old wooden village churches contain authentic items that represent the everyday lifestyle of Ukrainian villagers and townsfolk. Local volunteers and modern Ukrainian artisans selling their wares dress in old-style clothes and demonstrate the use of authentic everyday items to visitors.
Pyrohiv museum has been accorded the status of State Museum of Ukraine and is affiliated with the Institute of Arts, Folklore and Ethnology of the National Academy of Science of Ukraine.
This is a place where most of Folk fesivals and National celebrations are arranged. There are two restaurants of ukrainian cuisine situated there, so there is no chance to became hungry..)
The Jewish heritage
Observing of main Kyiv’s attractions or join services. In the afternoon enjoy a walking tour in Kiev. You will see the Brodsky Shul, the largest in Kiev (where you may attend Shabbat services), and the monument to the great Yiddish writer, Sholom Aleichem – author of “Fiddler on the Roof” as well as many other bittersweet tales of Ukrainian shtetl life. The Kiev Great Synagogue was built by the salt magnate Lazar Brodsky in 1898. It was appropriated by the Communists in 1926 but returned to the Jewish community in 1997.
Exploring sights of Jewish Kyiv, with a visit to Congregation Hatikvah, the Podol Synagogue, and the Great Kiev Community Center. You will also pay respects at the Babi Yar Memorial, Babi Yar is a ravine near the centre of Kiev, where 150,000 men, women and children, mainly Jews, were slaughtered under the Nazis, who occupied the region for two years during the war. site of the Nazi massacre of Kiev Jewry, and movingly commemorated by world-renowned Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, who identified with the sufferings of the Jewish people