Attractions of Kyiv region

The Saint Dimitry Church on Podil in Kyiv was founded in the 17th century as the church of Equal-to-the-Apostles Kostyantyn and Olena.

The beginning was wooden. In 1742-1750, according to the project of the famous architect Ivan Hryhorovych-Barskyi, the stone Kostyantyn and Olena temple with a bell tower and a refectory of the Saint Dimitry church was built.

In the 1930s, the main church was destroyed by the Bolsheviks, but the refectory building, which housed the school gym for a long time, was preserved.

Currently, the Church of Saint Dimitry belongs to the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate, reconstruction is planned with the restoration of the lost dome.

The architectural ensemble of the Saint Michael's Monastery is located on the territory of the Episcopal Court of the Pereyaslav Dytynets (Citadel). 

This fortification at the confluence of the Alta River and the Trubizh River was the historical core of medieval Pereyaslav in princely times. It is a part of the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve "Pereyaslav".

Saint Michael's Cathedral of the XI century, built on the initiative of the Bishop of Pereyaslav, the Reverend Yefrem Pechersky, under Prince Volodymyr Monomakh was the largest church in the city. Many Pereyaslav princes were buried there (the tomb has not survived).

The cathedral was destroyed by the Mongol-Tatars during the storming of Pereyaslav in 1237. Now you can see the later Saint Michael's Church, revived on ancient foundations by Pereyaslav Colonel Fedir Loboda in the middle of the XVII century. as a small wooden temple, and a century later rebuilt in stone in its present form. At the same time, a defensive bell tower with an entrance gate was erected. As a result of secularization in 1876, the church became a parish, received the status of a city council.

Under Soviet rule, Saint Michael's Church was closed and the dome torn down. Until recently, it housed the Museum of Folk Costume of the Dnipro region. The interior has preserved paintings of the XVIII-XIX centuries. Since 2010, the monastery complex has been in use by the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate, the men's monastery of Archstrateg Michael was opened in it. Instead of the authentic dome recorded in Taras Shevchenko's painting, the religious community erected a dome-model of a 12th-century church above the church.

The monastery shares the territory with the Museum of Architecture of Ancient Rus Pereyaslav, which was opened in 1982 on the initiative of the founder of the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve "Pereyaslav" Mykhaylo Sikorskyi. The outline of the temple destroyed by the Mongols is lined with stone around the perimeter of the church, and the original masonry and mosaics are available for viewing in the covered pavilion in the courtyard of Saint Michael's Monastery. There is also a model of an ancient Rus cathedral.

The remains of other structures of the baby are hidden underground. There is a memorial sign in honor of the ancient Rus chronicler Sylvester, one of the authors of the "Tale of Bygone Years", and several other sculptures.

In 2023, the Economic Court of the Kyiv region made a decision based on the lawsuit of the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve "Pereyaslav", according to which the oldest shrine of Pereyaslav should return to the use of the National Historical and Ethnographic Reserve and obliged the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate to vacate the premises of the Saint Michael's Church.

The gloomy Neo-Renaissance building of the Zemska Administration, built on the order of the provincial authorities, in Soviet times was transferred to the NKVD department, then the KGB. During the German occupation, it served as the premises of the CD.

The entire block around the building is equipped for the needs of the secret police, including temporary detention cells.

The building still retains its profile - the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) is located here.

The caisson of the Stalinist metro is a huge reinforced concrete structure in the Natalka Park in Obolon, which is popularly nicknamed the "Concrete Ship" for its characteristic shape, reminiscent of a submarine with a cockpit.

This is "Title No. 12" - one of the objects of the so-called "Construction No. 1", as mentioned in secret documents, a project of an underground transport system duplicating railway bridges across the Dnipro in the Kyiv region. Currently, the object is known as "Stalin Metro". Two railway tunnels to the south and north of Kyiv (now within the city limits) were intended to ensure reliable, safe and secret transfer of troops and cargo between the right and left banks of the Dnipro.

The construction of the Northern tunnel in the area of present-day Obolon began later than the construction of the Southern tunnel in the area of Zhukiv Island. At the beginning of the Second World War, in 1941, underground work had not yet begun.

A reinforced concrete tunnel and caisson section remained on the surface of the earth near the bank of the Dnipro, designed to sink into the soil and create an underground working chamber for the work of walkers in water-saturated soils.

Since the information about "Construction No. 1" remained secret until recently, the history and purpose of the "Concrete Ship" - a caisson on Obolon was overgrown with many urban legends. The further fate of the building has not yet been determined.

A small recreation area on the Dnipro embankment near the new high-rise buildings near the Pivnichny Bridge on Obolon is called the "Garden of Stones" in Kyiv.

A miniature park with an area of ​​0.35 hectares with cobbled paths is decorated with many sculptures. 24 high basalt stone columns and 5 artificial, several bronze sculptures, 16 benches for rest, 24 decorative lanterns were installed in the park. All stones were brought for the park from different parts of Ukraine.

The main decoration of the square was a large fountain with a diameter of 11 meters, made of granite. In the center of the fountain there are three female bronze figures under an umbrella. A bronze mermaid sitting on a stone and holding a seashell in her hands attracts special attention. it is believed that love will surely come to those who touch her breasts.

Syretsky Park in Kyiv is a monument of garden and park art of national significance.

It was established at the end of the 19th century by the German Meyer as a demonstration park for ornamental crops in flower farming. The yews, thuja, spruces, maples and lindens planted at that time are still preserved.

Work on expanding the park territory, forming decorative tree-shrub groups, as well as expanding the collection of ornamental plants was continued in the 50s and 60s of the 20th century by the famous dendrologist, a great enthusiast of his work, Mykola Ptitsyn.

Currently, the park covers an area of 6.5 hectares.

The Arboretum does not have its own entrance. To get to its territory, you need to go through the transit agro-firm "Flowers of Ukraine".

The Television Museum of the National Public Television and Radio Company of Ukraine (NSTU) was opened in 2006, to the 55th anniversary of Ukrainian television broadcasting. It is located in the premises of the Kyiv TV Center "Olivets", opposite the Kyiv Television Tower.

The 24-story building of the TV center in Syrka was erected in 1983-1992 on the site of the old Jewish cemetery. The Kyiv TV Center was planned as a backup for the central television of the USSR, in case of failure of the Moscow TV Center, which explains the excessive scale of the complex, given the needs of Ukrainian television at the time. In addition to the central office building, which resembles a pencil with its contours, there is a powerful equipment and studio complex for 8 television studios, an unfinished movie concert hall and a protected underground storage for broadcasting in conditions of martial law.

The Museum of Television is located on the lower level of the central lobby of the TV Center. The exposition visualizes the history of Ukrainian television with the help of a series of installations. In particular, the interior of the first television studio of the 1950s in the old television center at 26 Khreshchatyk Street has been recreated.

The permanent exhibition includes more than 800 exhibits, including a television with a magnifying lens KVN-49 and other tube televisions, old film and television cameras, video recorders of various periods and standards, editing equipment, etc. A gallery of sketches and mock-ups of scenery for famous TV programs, made by artists of the TV channel, is presented. A separate section is devoted to the participation of Ukrainian television broadcasters in coverage of the Chornobyl disaster.

The museum has an interactive film set, thanks to which you can try yourself as a presenter or cameraman. The permanent exhibition is complemented by an exhibition area in the main lobby.

Excursions introduce visitors to the exposition of the museum, the programs of the "UA: Public Broadcasting" TV channels, the production units of the TV center, the behind-the-scenes kitchen, television professions and interesting people. Pre-registration is required to visit.

The Park of Trypillya sculpture is considered a business card of the city of Rzhyshchiv, which disputes with the village of Trypillia for the informal title of the capital of Trypillya culture.

Trypillya Park was created in the square in front of the building of the Rzhyshchiv City Council and the new cultural center in 2003-2004 at the initiative of the local authorities. The central element of the park is a large sculpture in the form of a Trypillya binocular vessel by the sculptor Anatoliy Haydamaka. This ritual vessel also became the central element of the new coat of arms and the main symbol of Rzhyshchiv.

The park also features female statuettes and other enlarged Trypil figures by sculptors Mykola Bilyk, Mykola Sivak, Volodymyr Sholudko and others.

The water mill on the Ros River in Bila Tserkva is currently not working. A complex of mill buildings and dams blocking the river has been preserved.

The mill offers a picturesque view of the Ros River and the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene.

The Art Nouveau mansion (Weeping Widow House) was built in 1907 by architect Eduard-Ferdinand Bradtman by order of Serhiy Arshavsky, a Poltava merchant of the 2nd guild.

In 1918, the building was nationalized, and to this day it houses government structures.

The facade is decorated with a sad female face, which drips water during the rain, and it seems that the mask is crying. Hence the popular name of the mansion - "Weeping Widow House".

The two-story building, in which the Zemstvo administration of Pereyaslav was located, stands out with features of late classicism. Now it houses school No. 2.

Opposite is the elegant, skillfully decorated building of the former women's gymnasium (now also the building of school No. 2), which is compositionally connected with the building of the Zemstvo administration into a single architectural whole.

The monument to Decembrists was installed in the center of Vasylkiv, on the square in front of the city council.

In 1825, an uprising of the Chernihiv regiment began in Vasylkiv, led by the Decembrists Serhiy Muravyov-Apostol and Mykhaylo Bestuzhev-Ryumin. The uprising was organized by the Southern Society after the performance of the Decembrists on Senate Square in St. Petersburh. The Decembrist nobles, who opposed serfdom, tried to overthrow the autocracy by force. In Vasylkiv, the rebel troops seized weapons and the regimental treasury, after which they marched on the Bila Tserkva, on the approaches to which they were defeated by government troops. The instigators of the uprising were later executed.

The memorial sign in Vasylkiv depicts the profiles of five executed Decembrists: Pavlo Pestel, Kindrat Ryleev, Serhiy Muravyov-Apostol, Mykhaylo Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Petro Kakhovsky. Authors of the monument: sculptor Makar Vronskyi, architect Vasyl Hniezdilov.

The Central Artist House in Kyiv is the main exhibition site of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine.

Its eight-story building, erected in 1977-1978 according to the project of architect Anatoliy Dobrovolsky in the forms of Soviet modernism and functionalism, is part of the architectural ensemble of Lvivska Square.

The facade, decorated with white Inkerman stone and colored ceramics, is embellishes with seven allegorical figures – symbols of various types of art: art history, scenography, sculpture, architecture, painting, graphics, decorative and applied arts (known as the "seven hanged men").

The artist's house has five exhibition halls with an area of 90 to 360 square meters, as well as a concert hall with 350 seats. Large annual all-Ukrainian exhibitions take place here ("Picturesque Ukraine", "Christmas Vernissage", "Autumn Exhibition", etc.), exhibitions of graphic, sculptural, textile art, personal exhibitions of artists.

The complex includes an art salon, a hotel, a cafe.

Ascension Florivsky Monastery (sometimes called Frolivsky) is the oldest active monastery in Kyiv.

It is mentioned in documents from the 16th century as the monastery of Saints Florus and Lavr. In 1712, the complex was transferred to the nuns of the closed Ascension Monastery in Pechersk, and since then it has had the double name Florivsky-Ascension (sometimes it is mistakenly called Frolivsky).

In 1722-1732, the Ascension Cathedral with a southern aisle was built on the territory of the monastery in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. The belfry, the hegumen's house and the Ascension Church at the monastery hospital were built in the 19th century by the architect Andriy Melenskyi. The wall of the refectory is decorated with a painting. Later, other temples appeared.

In 1929, the Florivsky Monastery was closed, the Holy Trinity Church was destroyed. During the Second World War, it was reopened and was no longer closed, but part of the premises was taken from the nuns. Currently, all churches (except the destroyed Holy Trinity) have been returned to the monastery belonging to the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate. The Kazan temple is being restored. The Florivsky Monastery was famous for its school of artistic sewing.

An active source of holy water has been preserved.

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (House of the Government of Ukraine) is the largest administrative building in Kyiv (235,000 square meters).

It was built in 1938 for the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVS), which left its mark on the exterior and interior layout (rounded corridors and many corners facilitated defense). However, throughout its century, the building served as the premises of the Ukrainian government.

In 1997, on the initiative of the then Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko, the upper floors of the Government House were repainted white, thereby softening the harsh appearance of the building.

Excursions are held in the building of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The Government House also houses the History of Ukrainian Governments Museum. Original materials related to the activities of former heads of government, including documents, awards, and photographs, have been submitted. The interior of the office of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR has been recreated. Visitors can familiarize themselves with the technical means used by employees of the government apparatus. The exhibition of gifts received by leaders and members of the government of Ukraine as gifts to the state is constantly updated.