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 Kyiv,
a scenic city of close to 3 million people situated on the Dnipro River,
is the bustling capital of Ukraine. Ancient Kievan Rus, which reached its
greatest period of ascendancy during the 11th and 12th centuries, was a center of trade
routes between the Baltic and the Mediterranean. The city of Kyiv and the
power of Kievan Rus were destroyed in 1240 by Mongol invaders and the lands of Kievan Rus
were divided into principalities located to the west and north: Galicia, Volynia, Muscovy
and later, Poland, Lithuania, and Russia. Once a powerful force on the European scene, Ukraine's
fate in modern times has been decided in far-off capitals. As a result, modern Ukrainian
history, for the most part, has been defined by foreign occupation.
Kyiv suffered severely during World
War II, and many irreplaceable architectural and art treasures were destroyed. Earlier in
the 1930's the Soviet authorities systematically destroyed many churches. Extensive
restoration has revived much of historic Kyiv. The city hit the headlines
in April 1986, when the nuclear reactor at nearby Chernobyl exploded, but scientists
generally agree that the city is now safe from radiation effects.
Despite repressions, suffering, political turmoil, and ecological
disasters, Ukraine's spirit and national identity have never died. On
August 24, 1991, after the aborted coup d'etat in Moscow, Ukraine
proclaimed its independence. As of 1994, Ukraine has diplomatic relations
with over 135 countries and close to 60 diplomatic missions are established in Kyiv.
News correspondents, business representatives, and students from all over the world reside
in Kyiv, and the flow of foreign tourists and official delegations is
heavy year round. The resident American community consists of Embassy personnel (including
dependents), correspondents, business representatives, clergy, professors and students. 
The art and architecture of Kyiv are world treasures.
The Cathedral of St. Sophia, where the princes of Kyiv
were crowned in the years of Kyiv's grandeur, has outstanding mosaics and
frescoes dating back to the 11th century. Overlooking the old section of Kyiv,
Podol, stands the Ukrainian Baroque church of St. Andrew, much beloved by
Ukrainians. The Pecherska Lavra, the Monastery of the Caves, a short
trolley ride from the center of the city, has two 11th-century cathedrals on its grounds,
in addition to its world-famous catacombs, bell tower, and museum collections. Close to
the center of Kyiv stands the Golden Gate, a structure which dates back
to 1037. These recently reconstructed remains of the former fortified wall of the city
defined the limits of the city centuries ago. Several blocks away, stands the magnificent
19th-century Cathedral of St. Volodymyr.
Theater-lovers will find much to choose from here. Most performances
are in Ukrainian or Russian. The recently renovated Kyiv
Opera House presents very good opera as well as a broad repertoire of ballets. The Kyiv
Young Theater is very popular and stages innovative plays in Ukrainian or Russian. The Ivan Franko Theater is the center of Ukrainian
drama, comedy, and musicals. This repertoire has just opened its 75th season and includes
brilliant versions of Aeneid and Teve Tevel, the original version of Fiddler on the Roof.
The modern center with surviving parts of the old city is on the hilly
west, or Right Bank, of the Dnipro River. The main street, Khreshchatik, runs between two
steep hills. Parallel about a half kilometer west is vulytsya Volodymyrska, the main
street of the Old Kyiv area (Staryj Kyiv). From the north end of Khreshchatik, vulytsya
Hrushevskoho rises southeast along a ridge to the Caves Monastery at Pechersk. Woods and
parks cover most of the steep right-bank slopes. The capital's newer sections stretch out
on the flat left bank. These are characterized by large housing developments and
industrialized neighborhoods.
Ukrainian pottery, embroidery, and handicrafts are available throughout
the city, particularly in shops on Andrievsky Uzviz, at Pecherska Lavra, and St. Sophia's
church. Quality and quantity vary from shop to shop. A growing number of hard currency
stores stock Western food, alcohol, clothing, and electrical appliances. Most prices, in
hard-currency stores, are higher than those in the West, and availability of stock is
unpredictable.
 The Monastery of the Caves
The Kiev-Pechersk Lavra is an ancient city of churches
that occupies a large territory along the eastern shore of the river Dnepr. Once the
center of the Russian Orthodox Christianity as well as the center of learning for Kievan
Rus, the Lavra is comparable only to the Vatican (it was from here that the monk Nestor
recorded the earliest written history of the Kievan state). Beneath the many structures
are kilometers of labyrinthine catacombs from which the Lavra derives its name. Within
these are entombed numerous Orthodox saints, as well as the founder of Moscow, Yuri
Dolgoruki.
A town, which is fifteen hundred years old, is likely to have
architectural landmarks of various architectural styles, which date to various epochs. And
if such town is a capital of a large state of long history and cultural traditions, the
likelihood of seeing splendid palaces, grim castles, elegant mansions and majestic
churches increases considerably. Kiev is that sort of town but its history has been so
turbulent, so filled with wars and revolutions which laid it waste that a visitor does not
find as many architectural splendors as one might expect. That is why those landmarks that
have survived the ravishes of time and destructive fury of invaders attract special
attention.
The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra is much more than
just an ancient monastery. For many centuries it was a truly spiritual centre of Ukraine,
from the time of its foundation to the early twentieth century. It is here in the Pechersk
Lavra that the earliest surviving chronicles were written telling us of the
events in the earliest history of Kyiv. It is here that both
ecclesiastical and secular books were published and printed at the time when nowhere else
in Ukraine it was done at such a scale. It is here that the buildings
themselves, their architecture, give the visitor a spiritual uplift. After a period of
several decades when the Monastery functioned only as a museum, a revival of spirituality
has begun with monks returning to the Lavra.
Hotel "Bratislava" ***
is located on the left bank of the Dnipro, in forest park zone. Windows of the
hotel overlook the Dnipro and Kiev parks. In a walk distance from the hotel there is an
underground station "Darnitsa" (10 minutes from the center). Hotel designed for
870 guests (366 rooms). It has 13 floors.
Facilities: elevator, Ukrainian and European restaurants, hairdresser's, currency
exchange, booking office.
BB, 7 days, 700 USD + airticket
Hotel "Tourist" *** It
is located on the left bank of the Dnipro (15 minutes from the center). Hotel designed for
1000 guests.
Facilities: 2 restaurants, a casino, cafes, bars.
BB, 7 days, 567 USD + airticket
Hotel "Lybid" *** It
is located in Peremohy (Victory) Square.
Facilities: 2 restaurants.
BB, 7 days, 560 USD + airticket
Click here [ Walking through the city ]
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