Kiev is a capital of Ukraine. This city has a more than 1,500-year history and is a cradle of Easter Slavic civilization. It is a city the legends and history of which are recorded in chronicles, “bilyny” and hundreds of history books about Ancient Rus, Ukraine and the modern Ukrainian state.
In 988, Prince Volodymyr the Great baptized Rus into Christianity in Kiev. To this day toponomics of Kiev one can find proof of the events from ancient times in the Vydubytskiy Monastery. A monument to Volodymyr the Great stands tall on Volodymyr’s Hill… According to legend, Volodymyr the Great laid the foundation to the first Christian temple in Kiev, the Desyatynna Church, which is located nearby the monument. A little further, a memorial with the inscription in the Ancient Rus words: “From here starts the lands of Ancient Rus…”, one of the best panoramas of Kiev opens out onto the Lower City – Podil.
According to legend, the apostle Andrew proposed the construction of the magnificent St. Andrew’s Church, designed by the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, which rises up further down St. Andrew’s Descent. One of the only mistakes the great architect made in his life was the fact that the iconostasis prepared in St. Petersburg and delivered late did not fit inside the church… St. Andrew’s Descent flows into the old section of Kiev – Podil. During the spring and summer, the most famous souvenir market in Kiev is bustling. On a cloudy day, one can check out the shops offering souvenirs and antiques, the Museum of One Street, the Bulgakov Museum at No. 13 and many cafes…
The grandiose St. Sophia Cathedral built in 1036 upon the directive of Yaroslav the Wise became the centre of government in Kiev and nearby Eastern Slavic lands. Today the cathedral is noted for its bell-tower rebuilt in the 18th century and its ancient frescoes that take up more than 3,000 square metres.
From the top of St. Andrew’s Descent you are a stone’s throw away from the Mykhailivskiy Cathedral, which was restored from its ruins after the turn of the century. It was built in the 11th century and was decorated with a rich and gleaming golden cupola, for which it was given the name Mykhailivskiy Golden-domed Cathedral.
“The city of 200 churches”, “the city of golden domes” and “the Jerusalem of the lands of Rus” – these are words that foreign merchants used to describe Kiev and the glory and splendour in eastern and western lands. This is likely why the city shared the destiny of many Slavic settlements that were attacked by the Tatar-Mongols in 1240. Meanwhile, its glory was preserved under the ruins of the Desyatynna Church…
Within the walls of the Mykhailivskiy Cathedral is a monument to the victims of the Famine of 1931-1933, which is almost always covered with fresh flowers. There is also a monument to Princess Olha on Mykhailivskiy Square. The famous Kievan princess is surrounded by statues of St. Andrew and the saints Cyril and Methodius, who are the founders of the Cyrillic alphabet.
The ancient city is a 20-25 minute walk from the Premier Palace hotel. You can also get there by car passing by the Opera Theatre and the Golden Gates, which were built in that same year, and the St. Sophia Cathedral, and the Sophia Square on which the statue of Bohdan Khmelnytskiy raising his mace on horseback.
The historic and business centre in which our hotel is located is today undergoing reconstruction, an underground parking lot and stores are being built, old buildings are being renovated and refurbished, and a business centre, restaurant, casino and night clubs are being completed.
Kiev main downtown thoroughfare, Khreshchatyk, starts 300 metres from the hotel. On the weekends, Khreshchatyk becomes a pedestrian zone. Needless to say, Kiev’s main downtown street is everyone’s favorite place to stroll on the weekends and listen to street musicians, watch performances by mimes and dancers and check out the work of caricature artists… The street musicians mostly play popular rock-n-roll hits from the 80s and jazz.
Kiev has always been renowned for its large number of parks, squares and boulevards. The symbol of Kiev, the chestnut leaf, is not in vain. One of the oldest and most beloved parks in Kiev is Shevchenko Park, which is located near the hotel. In front of the park is the main building of the Taras Shevchenko National University, painted in red in honor of the Order of St. Volodymyr.
Shevchenko Park is famous for groups gathering to play chess and joggers. The Aleksandrivsiky School, where Bulgakov and Paustovskiy studied, is located on the opposite side of the boulevard, next to the Volodymyr Cathedral.
A must see is the Kievo-Pecherska Monastery, famous for its hand-made caves. Here, Illya Mukhomorets is buried. It also contains the remains of the founder of Moscow, Yuriy Dovhorukiy. The monastery was built in 1051. Over the years of its existence the monastery received the status of a lavra and became most authentic “city within a city”. Those who like ancient artifacts must visit the Museum of Historic Valuables of Ukraine with its unique collections of Scythian gold. Meanwhile, aficionados of architecture should check out the Uspenskiy Cathedral and its amazing bell-tower, which were reconstructed after 1941 based on all canons of classicism; the magnificent Trapezna Church is for those who appreciate originality: a unique museum of miniatures on the territory of the Lavra.
Those who appreciate folklore are well advised to take a tour of the Museum Under Open Skies located 3 km from the city limits of Kiev in the town of Pirohovo. The museum contains authentic Ukrainian houses, kozak (Cossack) churches, and windmills (called vitryaks in Ukrainian), which were brought from different parts of Ukraine in their original form and appearance and placed on a territory that made up a miniature geographic diarama of Ukraine.
Today Kiev is a modern and dynamic European city with a bustling business and cultural life. The city does not have a bustling business centre like The City in London, for example. The majority of government buildings are located in Pechersk, while business centers are scattered across different parts of downtown Kiev.
In many places around the city, particularly in the downtown area of Kiev, credit cards are accepted to pay for goods and services. Our hotel accepts Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
So, welcome to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, and the 5-star Premier Palace Hotel! |