 | Kiev: Encyclopedia II - Kiev - Attractions
Kiev - Attractions
It is said that one can walk from one end of Kiev to the other in the summertime without leaving the shade of its many trees. Most characteristic are the horse-chestnuts (Ukrainian: каштани, "kashtany").
Kiev is known as a green city, with two botanical gardens and numerous large and small parks. Notable among these are the World War Two Museum, which offers both indoor and outdoor displays of military history and equipment surrounded by verdant hills overlooking the Dnieper river; the Hidropark, located on an island in the river and accessible by metro or by car, in which an amusement park, swimming beaches, and boat rentals can be found; and Victory Park, a popular destination for strollers, joggers, and cyclists.
Boating, fishing, and water sports are popular pastimes. Since the lakes and rivers freeze over in the winter, ice fishermen are frequently seen, as are children with their ice skates. However, the peak of summer is when masses of people can be seen on the shores, swimming or sunbathing, with daytime high temperatures sometimes reaching 30 to 34 °C.
Kiev's noteworthy architecture includes government buildings such as the Mariyinsky Palace (designed and constructed from 1745 to 1752, then reconstructed in 1870) and the sweeping Ministry of Foreign Affairs building, several Orthodox churches and church complexes such as the Kiev Pechersk Lavra (Monastery of the Caves), St. Sophia Cathedral, St. Michael's Cathedral, St. Andrew's, and St. Vladimir's, the historic Zoloti Vorota fortress, and others such as a nineteenth-century Lutheran church.
The cylindrical Salut hotel, located across from Glory Square and an eternal flame at the WWII Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, is one of Kiev's most recognized landmarks. Its windows command views in all directions from one of the highest points in the city.
Among Kiev's best-known public monuments are the statue of Bohdan Khmel'nyts'kyi astride his horse up the hill from Independence Square and the venerated Volodymyr the Great, baptizer of Rus, overlooking the river above Podil.
The wide varieties of farming products is available in many of Kiev's farmer markets with the Besarabsky Market located in the very center of the city being the most famous one. Each residential region has its own market, or rynok. Here one will find table after table of individuals hawking everything imaginable: vegetables, fresh and smoked meats, fish, cheese, honey, dairy products such as milk and home-made smetana (sour cream), caviar, cut flowers, housewares, tools and hardware, and clothing. Each of the markets has its own unique mix of products. There is a popular book market by the Petrivka metro station.
Not so far outside of Kiev, near the village, there is a skansen museum, officially called Open-Air museum of Folk Architecture and Ethnography Ukraine. It has an area that covers 150 hectares. On this terrain, multiple "mini-villages" that represent the traditinal countryside architecture of various regions of Ukraine are build.
Kiev - Views of Kiev
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Kiev Conservatory
Monument to Princess Olga
House with chimaeras, Pechersk district
National Taras Shevchenko University
Post-1980 reconstruction of the Golden Gate (Zoloti Vorota)
thumb|Post-1991 reconstruction of the Dormition Cathedral of the Cave Monastery
Post-1991 reconstruction of the church of the Theotokos]] of Pyrogoroshcha, Podil district
View on the Dnieper
St. Volodymyr's Cathedral
Independence Square by night
Palace of Ukraine
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 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Attractions", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
