Kyiv. Maidan Nezalezhnosti and Khreshchatyk (24 photos)
LJ user tanya45 writes on his blog: Recently I was lucky enough to visit Kyiv. This is a wonderful and interesting city. A few days spent in it is very little. This is just enough to get an idea of the city, fall in love with it and acquire the dream of coming to Kyiv again and again.
1. Let me start by saying that we were very lucky with the weather. Despite the fact that Gismeteo and other weather sites promised rain and thunderstorms throughout our stay in Kyiv, the sun did not care about the forecasts and shone constantly. True, there seemed to be one day with a thunderstorm and heavy rain, but we spent it safely in Chernigov.
We were lucky with the resettlement. I had a luxurious room in the very center of Kyiv at the Ukraine Hotel.
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3.The room has a small balcony that overlooks Independence Square, better known as Maidan Nezalezhnosti.
4. It’s hard to resist taking pictures of the famous square in the morning:
5.And in the evening lights
6. From my sixth floor I had a great view of the domes of St. Sophia Cathedral
7. St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery
8. In ancient times, there was a swamp on the site of the square. In principle, the square as such began to take shape only in the 19th century. It changed its name many times. There was Khreshchatytskaya, Duma, Sovetskaya, and even Klinin Square. Until, finally, after 1991 it became Independence Square.
As a symbol of Ukraine's independence, there is a column in the center of the square, crowned by a girl in national clothes with a viburnum branch in her hands.
9. In the pedestal of the column there is a passage to the square
10. Behind this monument you can see a very beautiful house with white columns, in which, just on our arrival, the Russian Ambassador Zurabov was receiving a reception in honor of Russia Day
11. In general, in my opinion, the square is very elegant and festive. Lots of fountains and sculptures. A very attractive fountain that resembles a ripe dandelion
12. But the legendary founders of Kyiv Kiy, Shchek, Khoriv and sister Lybid
13. It looks very nice how six streets fan out towards the Maidan
14. In the square in the place where the Lyadskie Gate was located in the 11th century, through which Batu’s army entered Kyiv in 1240, there is now a copy of the Pechersk Gate (built on the site of the Lyadskie Gate in the 18th century, but also subsequently destroyed). True, on the original gate there was no statue of the Archangel Michael, the patron saint of Kyiv. They say the people of Kiev nicknamed him Batman because of his black color.
15. The building of the Kyiv Conservatory is located on the Maidan
16. On weekends, Khreshchatyk in the Maidan area is blocked, and people walk along the square and the adjacent roadway. This further enhances the impression of festivity
17. I don’t know whether there was a rally on the Maidan all the time or only during our stay in Kyiv. Maybe at the beginning it was numerous, but when I approached the protesters, I found the following picture.
This is actually all the participants. But they spoke very loudly: it was audible both in my room and, probably, throughout Khreshchatyk.
18.And these, as I understand it, are signs of the Orange Revolution. They say that earlier the inscriptions were brighter, but now they have faded, despite the fact that they are trying to preserve them under glass
19.Khreshchatyk is one of the widest and shortest main streets in the world. Previously it was 35 meters wide. But during the war, underground fighters blew up Khreshchatyk. During the post-war restoration, Khreshchatyk was significantly expanded to 75 meters and built with houses in the Stalinist Empire style.
Some houses look quite nice. This one, for example
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21. This is what Khreshchatyk looks like on weekends
22. And so on weekdays
23. At the western end of Khreshchatyk there is the famous Bessarabian market. The most expensive market in Kyiv. The building was built in 1912
24. These are the first impressions of the trip to Kyiv. I hope you're not bored
