The Golden Gate

Kiev's Golden Gate dates from the 11-th century. Surrounded by a picturesque public garden, it, like other monuments of the past, is carefully protected by the state. It is from here that tourists usually begin their rounds of Kyiv of the times of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, under whom Kiev Rus reached the height of its flowering and might.

The Golden Gate was a monumental structure, 7.5 metres wide, with 12-metre-high and approximately 25-metre-long passage, which served both as the main entrance to the central part of the capital's citadel and a mighty defensive barrier. Its dual purpose, by analogy with the Golden Gate of Constantinople, and perhaps also the fact that the grand entranceway's oaken doors were reinforced with copper and decorated with precious metals were what gave the gate its name. Judging from chronicles, the Golden Gate was a rectangular, two-tiered structure with Church of the Annunciation over the entrance. Its walls were built of natural stone - granite, quartzite and slate - and plinths of large, flat bricks laid in pink mortar. The alternation of brown-red and grey-green stone with strips of pink mortar, and the decorative, semi-circular niches in the wall gave the building a particularly attractive appearance. The Golden Gate was damaged during the Mongol-Tatar invasion of 1240, but continued to serve as the entrance to the city until the mid-seventeenth century. In order to preserve them, the remnants of the ancient monument were covered with earth in 1750. In the 1830's they were excavated by the Kyiv archeologist K. Lokhvitsky, and somewhat later measures were taken in consultation with the architect A. Beretti to conserve the ruins.

In 1983 the ruins of the Golden Gate, built as a defensive structure, were restored to their present condition. The same year, the Golden Gate Museum was opened. The ground floor contains exhibits relating to the history of old Kyiv. The halls display armaments used by the ancient Kyivites and other excavations from the site of the Golden Gate.

1. What century does the Golden Gate date from?

2. What gave the gate its name?

3. What structure was the Golden Gate judging from chronicles?

4. What happened to the Golden Gate during the Mongol-Tatar invasion of 1240?

5. Who were the remnants excavated by? Who worked at the restoration of the Golden Gate?

2. Explain the meanings and give the context of the following words from the text above. Find the appropriate synonyms for the words:

remnants, excavate, display, armaments, alternation, reinforce.

3. Transcribe the following words to avoid possible mispronunciation and miscommunication in future:

Tier, granite, quartzite, plinths.

The monument to Prince Volodymyr and Volodymyrska Hill

 1. Read the text quite quickly and find English equivalents of the following Ukrainian words and word combinations given in the box before the text:

Видатний, урочисто відкривати, споруджувати, мальовничий, бронзова фігура, одяг (костюм), воїн, плащ,виразне обличчя, восьмикутний, плита, прийняття християнства