Andriyivsky descent

This is without a doubt one of the Kyiv's oldest and most beloved streets. In ancient times it linked the administrative part of the upper town with Podil, the lower town of merchants and artisans. Its steep and winding cobblestones are a traditional place for outdoor festivals and concerts, and it has numer­ous intriguing art galleries and museums. Many people associate Andrew's Descent with Montmartre of Paris. Of course, being at the very heart of the city's art community the street is a favourite stop for tourists in search of paintings and traditional Ukrainian crafts, as well as a repository for souvenirs and different Soviet stuff. The elegant silhouette of Baroque church one large dome and five lesser cupolas are easily visible from Podil and beyond. Built in 1754, Andrew's church is one of the most magnificent Christian Orthodox buildings in the city. The sidewalk artisans come out in the full force on weekends and big holidays. There's an interesting building that Kyivants refer to as the Castle of Richard the Lion-Hearted, built in 1902. A bit further down on the right is a steep, twisting flight of iron steps which will reward lovers of heights with yet another commanding vantage point above Podil and the Dnipro. At the bottom of the hill, turn left to reach the former marketplace of Kontraktova square or right to head towards the funicular at Poshtova square.

The One Street Museum is a charming little museum near the bottom of Andriyivsky descent tells the rich history of this important street through the years.

Folk architecture and life museum pyrohovo

Pyrohovo is definitely the only place in or around Kyiv where you can get by in a mat­ter of minutes. This picturesque open-air museum has over 150 buildings - monu­ments of folk architecture, material and spiritual culture of various epochs from 25 regions of Ukraine from the 16^th to the 20^th centuries. You'll also find wooden churches, windmills, barns, wells and even a school building typ­ical of rural areas from recent centuries. If everything seems very authentic, it's because most of the buildings are in fact original and were moved here piece by piece. Traditional Ukrainian clothing, ceramics and farming equipment are also on display.

At holidays, especially the religious ones, the folk groups give shows and public festivals are organized. During these festivals people traditionally wear national clothes and all guests could taste Ukrainian cuisine just like in the countryside. The displays of museum give to every visitor a realis­tic impression of the travel in time.

St. Michael's golden-domed cathedral

Originally built by Prince Sviatopolk in 1108, this cathedral was destroyed by the Soviet regime in the mid-1930s in keeping with their anti-religious programme. In our hard times, the reconstruction of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral is a sign of spiritual rebirth of Kiev - the cradle of Russian Christianity and all Ukraine, as a civilized European state. Its reconstruction was completed in May 2000. The sky blue exterior and glittering golden domes seem a bit too new and shiny for this ancient city and are certainly stunning. Another reminder of the Communists' inhuman policies is to the right as you exit the church. This monument is to the millions of Ukrainian victims of the Great Famine in 1932-1933. The monument is com­posed of a granite stone with recess made in a form of the cross and bronze effigy of Mother-Ukraine with a child. Farther out in the square, the statues of Princess Olha, Apostle Andriy, St. Cyrill and St. Methodius were also reconstructed in 1996.