Event venue
Premier Hotel Rus, Hospital Street, 4, Kyiv, 01601
Road map
Accomodation in Premier Hotel Rus
Room |
Standard price |
For participants ** |
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Standard double * |
1970 UAH/day |
1576 UAH/day |
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Standard single |
1700 UAH/day |
1360 UAH/day |
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Prem'yer |
3350 UAH/day |
2260 UAH/day |
* If you want to stay in a double room - we will pick you a companion. Call the number +38 050 441 85 32 Natalya.
** When booking, call the code word "digital orthodontics." Reservation by phones: +38 (044) 359 08 08, +38 (098) 359 08 08.
Kiev-city guideeng
We suggest starting your acquaintance with the city from St. Vladimir’s Cathedral (1852-1882), which was built in the neo-Byzantine style. The interior murals were made by the Russian and Ukrainian painters: Vasnetsov, Nesterov, Vrubel, Yizhakevych, Kotarbinsky, Swiedomsky and others. There are holy incorruptible relics of St. Barbara (4th cent.) revered by all Christians in the world. At present the Cathedral belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kyiv’s Patriarchate).
Nearby is the Shevchenko National University that took its name from the great Ukrainian poet and artist Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861). It is one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Ukraine, established in 1834. The so-called red building was designed by Vikenty Beretti. Its red painted walls and black columns are explained by the colour of the ribbon of the order of St. Vladimir whose name the University had until 1939. Across from the University is the monument to T. Shevchenko (1814-1861), a symbol of Ukraine, a freedom-loved poet and artist whom we owe our independence in Ukraine.
Further, you can pay attention to the Teacher’s House, at the front of which there is a monument to the first head of the Ukrainian state in 1917-18. - Mikhail Grushevsky. In this house, the government of Ukraine — the Central Council — gathered in the revolutionary years.
Taras Shevchenko National Opera of Ukraine, built on the site of the old theatre in 1901 after architect Shreter’s design. The building is one of Kyiv’s highlights. After the 1980s major restoration, in the facade niche there appeared the bust of Shevchenko, whose name the Opera House has had since 1939. In this house in 1911 The Prime Minister of the Russian Empire, Peter Stolypin, was killed. (buried in Kyiv’s Lavra Monastery).
Nearby is located the Golden Gate, the former main entrance into Kyiv, a two-tier fortified structure of the 11th cent., with the Church of Annunciation on top of the gate proper. The remnant of the Golden Gate is today inside the model of 1982. For music lovers to know it’s the famous Great Gate of Mussorgsky’s music piece Pictures at an Exhibition.
The Upper Town is the cradle of princely times Kyiv, its spiritual center. You cannot pass by the St. Michael’s Gold-Domed Cathedral. It marked its 900th anniversary in 2008 but unlike St. Sofia Cathedral it was destroyed in the fateful 30s and reconstructed in 2000.
Not far from St. Michael’s square is located Sofiyska Square, Kyiv’s main square during Yaroslav the Wise’s reign in the 11th century. Present time the square is the place of many significant events related to Ukraine’s independence. Not far from it, there is St. Sofia Cathedral, Kyiv’s oldest church to survive, named after St. Sofia Cathedral in Constantinople. Like Constantinople’s ours was also meant to glorify the wisdom of Christianity (“sophus” in Greek is “wisdom”). The Cathedral was not only a holy place of worship for Kyivans of that time, but also the political and cultural centre of Kyiv Rus and it was the place where foreign ambassadors were received, treaties were signed, the first school and library were founded. That is the place where Yaroslav the Wise was buried. In 1934 the Cathedral became a museum, since 1990 it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. For almost 1,000 years the sacred mosaic image of Mary the Orans (Maria Oranta) on the Indestructible Altar Wall has protected Kyiv. Only in Italy in Ravenna there are mosaics comparable by beauty. On the left from the entrance of the museum in the summer of 2008 there appeared two plaques (one in Greek) commemorating the visit of the Constantinople Patriarch on the occasion of 1020 anniversary of Christianity in Ukraine.
Starting with Old Kyiv’s settlement, Acropolis of Slavs, you can go along the most Kyivan street - St. Andrew’s Descent. Among old annalistic hills. From St. Andrew’s Church, the masterpiece of Baroque genius Bartholomew Rastrelli, along Uzdykhalnytsya Hill, “Richard the Lion Hearted Castle”, the house of the Bulgakovs and the Turbins (from Bulgakov’s White Guard) you’ll descent to Podil, the old trade district, the centre of Medieval town.
In the center of Old Kyiv’s settlement is located Landscape Alley - a unique territory of historical Kiev, a favorite resting place for Kiev residents and guests of our city, a center for original landscape design.
Khreshchatyk, the main street of Kyiv. It was badly damaged during WWII and rebuilt in the neo-classical style of the post-war architecture. Today the street is the administrative and business centre of the city as well as a popular place for Kyivans. It’s divided by Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). Following the collapse of the Soviet Union and especially after the so-called Orange Revolution of 2004 Maidan gained a wider context as a symbol of changes of the country. We proceed farther to Khreshchaty Park and see the Arch of Friendship there. This monument which is the remnant of our recent past was constructed in 1982 to celebrate an anniversary of the union of Russia and Ukraine. There is a nice view over the Dnieper River and its opposite bank.
If you get tired or hungry there are a lot of cafes and small restaurants on “the Kyiv Montmartre”. There are also galleries, museums, exhibitions and theatres as well as a big choice of Ukrainian souvenirs. We hope that you won’t leave “the Kyiv Montmartre” without buying a gift.
Having reached Podil, you’ll be on Contract Square, Kyiv’s center in the 14th – 17th cent. Where are going to be able to see Pirogoshcha Church mentioned in The Tale of Igor’s Host (the 12th century epiс), destroyed in the 30s and reconstructed in the 90s of the 20th century. In the centre of the square there is the monument to Hetman Sahaidachny, the 17th century chieftain of Ukrainian Cossacks whose name has the nearby street.
Nearby is Samson Fountain originally built in the 18th century. The popular belief of those days reads: “Those who will drink water from the fountain will stay in Kyiv forever.” To make photo at this site brings a good luck.
We will also draw your attention to the Kyiv Mohyla Academy founded in 1632. It was the first school of higher education in Eastern Europe. On the wall of the first stone building of the Academy (now the library of this prestigious university) is among others the memorable plaque to Peter Mohyla, the Metropolitan and founder of the Academy.
At the beginning of the 19th century the Contract House was built where landowners and merchants used to conclude contracts for purchasing the goods, land and real estate. It was also a cultural centre where Sarah Bernardt performed, France Liszt gave a recital. The contract fairs were frequented by Pushkin, Gogol, Shevchenko, Honore de Balzac. Later it was called “Rome of the North”.
From Podil, the journey will continue under the millennial cliffs of the right bank of the Dnieper, through numerous chronicle areas with beautiful landscapes. On the way, you can see the monument to the founders of Kiev - the legendary Kiy, Schek, Khoriv and their sister Lybed. The recently reconstructed monument is very popular among newlyweds and guests of the city.
Next to the park is Kyiv Pechersky Lavra Monastery, the Holy of Holies for Orthodox believers, the oldest monastery for Eastern Slavs which was founded in 1051 in caves, hence the name: “pechera” stands for “a cave”. Lavra is a title for large men’s Orthodox monasteries. There are three Lavras in Ukraine at present.
Kyiv’s Lavra consists of two parts: Upper and Lower. Holy incorruptible relics of saints which are in the caves attract a lot of pilgrims. The caves are small and narrow, stretching several hundred metres and up to 20 metres underground. The Upper Lavra attracts more tourists with its beautiful churches, museums and exhibitions (in 1926 the monastery became a museum, the men’s monastery was reopened in 1988).
In the same park your attention will be caught by the Candle of Memory monument of the Memorial opened in November 2008 on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of holodomor, famine, artificially provoked by Communists in 1932-1933 that took lives of seven to ten million people in Ukraine.
From the Pechersky Lavra begins the aristocratic areas of the city - Pechersk and Lipki, built up with old mansions of tycoons of past times. For the fourth century, this area has been elite in Kiev
Opposite the Lavra is the recently renovated Old Arsenal complex of the 1780s building. Then you can see the huge monument “Motherland” in the complex of the National Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War - the largest statue in Ukraine, with a height of more than 100 meters.
Next to Khreshchatyk along the Dnieper is Tsarsky (Royal) Park where there is Mariyinsky Palace (architect Rastrelli), built in 1750 – 1755. Intended originally for members of the imperial family when they visited Kyiv, in the early 19th century it became the residence of Governor-Generals and now it is the Presidential state residence. You could often see its beautiful interiors on TV news programmes where summits and meetings of official delegations, awards ceremonies, presentations of credentials by ambassadors of foreign states took place.
Passing by the legendary Dynamo Stadium, you will again find yourself on Khreshchatyk. The central square of Ukraine - Maidan Nezalezhnosti (or simply “Maidan”) is a center of political and business activity, a place of mass concerts and shows. In its center stands the Column of Independence, erected in 2001. If you get to Khreshchatyk and Maidan on weekends or holidays, you can enjoy a walk along the main street of Kiev, which turns into a pedestrian zone for the weekend.
Kyiv is waiting for you! Its museums, theatres, parks and architectural monuments are opened for visitors.