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St Sophia's Cathedral - Kiev - Ukraine
St Sophia's Cathedral, the city's oldest standing church, was built in 1017-31 in honor of Prince Yaroslav the Wise's victory over the Pechenegs, a rival tribe from the East. Sophia stands for wisdom in Greek. The cathedral bears a resemblance to Byzantine constructions, but there is no direct analogy. Soon the cathedral became not only a holy place, but also a very important political and cultural center. All ambassadorial receptions, crowning of the princes, signing of treaties were held in the church. The first school and library were also set up in the church.
The frescoes and mosaics of St Sophia's are of great historical and artistic value – the original ones of the 11th century. Now, the place it's a state museum and it is used as a church on special festivals.
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Pecherska Lavra - Kiev - Ukraine
The Cave Monastery (Pecherska Lavra)
Founded in 1051, the Cave Monastery was Russian Kiev's first and for a long time the most famous monastery. Spread across the wooden slopes above the Dnipro River, it's a unique array of gold-domed churches, underground labyrinths lined with mummified monks, and elegant monastic buildings nowadays turned into museums.
The monastery was Russian Kiev's intellectual center, producing chronicles and icons and training builders and artists. Wrecked by the Tatars in 1240, it went through a series of revivals before being mostly rebuilt in the 18th century Ukrainian Baroque style that we see today.
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The Motherland Monument And The Museum Of The Second World War - Kiev - Ukraine
Along the communist era the orthodoxy was considered an offense to the Soviet peoples.
Therefore, in 1977 Leonnid Brezhnev, leader of the Soviet Union, ordered the construction of the Monument of the Motherland to eclipse the golden domes of Lavra.
The statue reaches a height of 102 m and represents a woman with a sword in her right hand, directed towards the sky. The statue was built by Yevgeny Vuchetich and, together with the entire monumental ensemble wheighs 530 tonnes.
The sword is now only 16 m long and wheighs 9 tonnes. With its height, the statue totally covered the domes of Lavra. Brezhnev also ordered that an elevator be installed inside the monument, so that all the residents and tourists could admire the panorama of the city. After 1991, those who took the political destinies of the state wished to erase the mistakes of the past and reduced the sword with 30 meters. Thus, Lavra's golden domes regained their right to be seen in all their splendour.
The shield in the left hand has the logo of the Soviet Union and it has a size 13 meters high on 8 meters width.
The Memorial Hall of the Museum displays marble slabs carved with the names of more than 11600 soldiers and over 200 workers who fought on the frontline during the war.
On the hill beneath the museum, exhibitions of flowers are held every year.
The memorial covers 40 ha and it gives testimonies of the second world war, including a section dedicated to suffering children from the war time.
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The Monastery With The Gold Domes Of St. Michael - Kiev - Ukraine
Prince Svyatopolk - Yaroskav's nephew, founded the St. Michael's monastery in 1108. It was finished in 1113, becoming a symbol of the old Russian architecture. The church is composed of columns with gold domes arranged in a crucifix form.
The Mongolian invasion destroyed the building, which was completely rebuilt in the 17th - 18th centuries.
The interior walls of the monastery were ornated with mosaics and frescoes. St. Michael's was one of the most influential monasteries in Kiev. From the 12th century it became the burial place of Kiev's princes.
For the orthodoxes everywhere, the monastery has always been an important place of pilgrimage.
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Khreshchatyk Boulevard - Kiev - Ukraine
The name of the boulevard comes from the beginning of the 19th century, from the fact that in the times of the Russian Kiev there was a criss-cross wooden valley along the city, where the princes used to go hunting.
At the beginning of the 19th century this former valley has become the most important avenue of Kiev.
During the Second World War the boulevard was completely destroyed, but rebuilt immediately in the post-war period.
Thus, the boulevard became twice wider than before the war.
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The Golden Gates - Kiev - Ukraine
The Golden Gates of Kiev were in the past the main entrance in Kiev, between 11th and 18th centuries. Tenants used to name them Kiev's Heaven's Gates. The Gates resemble the famous entrance in Constantinople. Prince Yaroslav The Wise, son of Prince Vladimir, built them at the beginning of the 11th century to show the world that his country can be as powerful as the Byzantine Empire. During his reign, Kiev strengthened and become 10 times larger than had been before. Until 1670 the gates were undestroyable, but Batu Han conquered Kiev and almost erased them. Forgotten by time and history, the gates were redescovered in 1832. At the entrance of the gates there is a structure with two floors and a dome of a church, serving as a control tower. The Golden Gates inspired the famous Russian composer Musorgsky. On the eve of the anniversary of the 1500 years from the birth of Kiev in 1982, the Golden Gates and the Annunciation Church were reopened to the public.
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The Cathedral Of St. Vladimir - Kiev - Ukraine
St. Vladimir's is a cathedral in the centre of Kiev, built as a symbol of the city and stands as the mother cathedral of Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
In 1852, Metropolitan Bishop Filaret of Moscow has proposed the construction of a cathedral in the honor of Prince Vladimir, the one who brought orthodoxy in Russia. People in the entire Russian Empire began to donate money so that there gathered in 1859 upto 100000 roubles, a huge amount for those times. Pecherskaya Lavra has donated 1 million bricks.
Its architecture is in Byzantine style. The final version of the cathedral belongs to A. Beretti.
The height of the cross on the main dome is 49 meters high.
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The Friendship Arch - Kiev - Ukraine
A huge titanium arch, representing a rainbow of 50 meters in diameter was built in Khreschatyk Park in 1954 to commemorate 300 years since the Treaty between Russia and Ukraine. Sculptor Skoblikov and architect A. I. Ivanov have contributed to the raising of the monument dedicated to the "everlasting friendship" between Russia and Ukraine. From here one can admire Podil, Obolon and Troeschina Island. Under the Friendship Arch there are two statues made of bronze, which represent Russia and Ukraine.
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The Subway Station "Arsenal" - Kiev - Ukraine
The subway is undoubtedly one of the most interesting things to be seen in Kiev. Each station is decorated with marble and granite in the style of the Russian imperial palaces, as well as of the moscovite subway stations. The most beautiful station is "Arsenal", situated at a 100 meters below the streets of Kiev. The stairway leading to this station seems to have no end in it is a must see! It's good to know that during the Cold War this station served as a nuclear shelter.
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The Opera Theatre - Kiev - Ukraine
Founded in 1867, Kiev National Opera "Taras Shevchenko" is the oldest institution of its kind after the one in Lviv. On February 4, 1896, after a Ceaicovsky morning music show a fire broke that heavily damaged the building entirely. One of the greatest libraries of music in Europe, together with numerous stage costumes were lost during the fire. After the fire, there was a new building designed by Victor Aleksandrovich Shreter for the Theatre of Opera and Ballet. The exterior was designed in neo-Renaissance style. The interior has been redesigned in a classical, modern Viennese type. The greatest achievement of the new construction is considered to be the scene - one of the largest in Europe. Today, the Opera Theatre of Kiev is considered to be one of the most prestigious institutions of Ukraine, as well as in Russia.
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The Bessarabia Market - Kiev - Ukraine
Although it is not an attraction in itself, the Bessarabia Square pulses of daily life in Kiev. The market was built between 1910 and 1912, and the name comes from the Romanian province, Bessarabia, conquered by the Russian Empire. The market is at one end of the most famous boulevard, Khreshchatyk, and was originally a market with goods made by Moldovans in Bessarabia. Today, the ground is fully occupied by vegetables, fruits, flowers, spices, meat, cheese, fish, caviar and other specialties. Here you can buy fruits, homemade cheese at prices lower than in any other supermarket, being one of the few places where you can find fruit or vegetables throughout the year. On the exterior, the building is full of restaurants, snack bars, shops and cafes, a nonstop teabar, Sushi Bar, fast-foods, pizzerias, etc.
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Hidropark - Kiev - Ukraine
"Hidropark" is an island on the Dnieper River, just minutes away from the center of Kiev It is actually an aquatic park, created as an entertainment complex, with beaches and boatrent. It is connected with the Dolobetskyi Island by the Venetian Bridge and with the rest of the city by two bridges: the Subway Bridge on the right bank and the Rusanivka Bridge on the left side. The Hidropark subway station is located right on the island. There are several beaches, with section for children or nudists. Other activities: ping-pong and tennis, football and paintball, etc. On the island, there are terraces, restaurants, a discotheque and Sun City Slavutych Casino, gyms, etc.
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Andreevsky Spusk - Kiev - Ukraine
Andreevsky Spusk is one of the oldest streets of Kiev, which - in the past - was the shortest route between the center and the "lower city", Podol. At present, this street is a traditional place for concerts, art festivals and outdoor holidays. On Andreevsky Spusk there are many galleries of paintings and souvenirs shops. This street is often called Montmartre of Kiev, because any time you can see here artists who display their works. It is also the place where singers and actors give outdoor performances.
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The Independence Square - Kiev - Ukraine
The Independence Square, or Maidan Nezalezhnosti - this is the most central and beautiful square in Kiev. Parades, concerts and festivals take place all the time in this place, which contains six wells, the Independence Column and an artificial waterfall. The left side of the Independence Square is covered with granite. The view over Kiev is splendid from the upper floors of the buildings in this square. There are many shops, cafes and hotels. This place has become in recent years an emblem of Kiev, especially after the Orange Revolution in 2004.
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