Kyiv

Ukraine · 7 sights · guided virtual tour

Welcome to Kyiv, the capital and largest city of Ukraine, spread across both banks of the Dnieper River. It is one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe, and its name is said to come from Kyi, one of its four legendary founders. It probably traded as early as the 5th century, on the great route between Scandinavia and Constantinople. Under the Varangians it became a capital of Kievan Rus', the first East Slavic state. Left in ruins by the siege of 1240, it later rose again as a centre of Orthodox learning and industry. Let's explore its golden domes and historic streets.

Sights

1. Saint Sophia Cathedral ▶ Listen

   

   We begin at one of Kyiv's best known landmarks, Saint Sophia Cathedral, an architectural monument from the age of Kyivan Rus'. Together with the Kyiv Cave Monastery, it was the first heritage site in Ukraine to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Around the main building you will find a whole ensemble of structures, including a bell tower and the House of the Metropolitan. The former cathedral is now a museum, the heart of the National Reserve Sophia of Kyiv.

2. Kyiv Pechersk Lavra ▶ Listen

   

   Now we come to the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, the Monastery of the Caves. Pechera means cave, and lavra is the word for a high-ranking monastery of Orthodox monks. It began as a cave monastery in the 11th century, and so important did it become that the whole Pechersk district takes its name from it. For centuries the Lavra has been a preeminent centre of Eastern Christianity in Eastern Europe. Here is a detail book lovers will appreciate: its printing house played an early part in the development of printing in Ukraine.

3. St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery ▶ Listen

   

   Look up at the gleaming domes of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery, dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel. It stands on a hill above the Dnipro, in the Upper Town, overlooking the old merchant quarter of Podil. First built in the Middle Ages by the Kievan Rus' ruler Sviatopolk the Second, it was remodelled outside in Ukrainian Baroque style in the 18th century, while the interior kept its Byzantine character. What you see is a rebirth: Soviet authorities demolished much of the monastery in the 1930s, and it was rebuilt after independence, with the cathedral reopening in 1999.

4. Golden Gate ▶ Listen

   

   Here stood the main gate of Kyiv's 11th century fortifications, the Golden Gate, likely named in imitation of the Golden Gate of Constantinople. The original was dismantled in the Middle Ages, leaving only a few traces. In 1982 Soviet authorities rebuilt it completely, even though no images of the original gate have survived, which made the reconstruction intensely controversial. Inside the rebuilt structure is a branch of the Sophia of Kyiv museum, and its name lives on in a nearby theatre and a metro station.

5. Maidan Nezalezhnosti ▶ Listen

   

   You are standing on Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Independence Square, the central square of Kyiv on Khreshchatyk Street, crowned by the Independence Monument. Since 1990 it has been the traditional place for political rallies, including the student Revolution on Granite, the Orange Revolution of 2004 and the Euromaidan of 2013 and 2014. Because people were killed here during Euromaidan, holding entertainment on the square came to feel inappropriate, and Christmas fairs and New Year celebrations moved to Sofiyivska Square. A makeshift memorial here commemorates those killed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

6. Andriyivskyy Descent ▶ Listen

   

   Let's stroll down Andriivskyi Descent, often called the Montmartre of Kyiv. This cobbled street runs for 720 metres, winding steeply around Zamkova Hora hill from the Upper Town down to Podil, the old lower city, ending near Kontraktova Square. Along the way you pass the 18th century baroque Saint Andrew's Church, a building known as the Castle of Richard the Lionheart, and the house of the writer Mikhail Bulgakov. The street is a national landmark and one of the city's major tourist attractions.

7. Motherland Monument ▶ Listen

   Towering above the river is Mother Ukraine, a monumental Soviet-era statue and part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War. Like similar monuments across the USSR, it originally symbolised Soviet victory on the Eastern Front. Its original name was Mother Motherland. Take a look at the shield: in 2023 its Soviet heraldry was removed and replaced with Ukraine's coat of arms, the tryzub, in response to the Russo-Ukrainian war.

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