Top 5 Kyiv Monuments

Are you looking for new travel experiences? Welcome to Kyiv, Ukraine! To be sure, you’ll be astonished by its rich culture and ancient history. Ukraine’s capital has many attractions that are really worth a visit. Kyiv is also home to some of the most incredible historic monuments in the world.

Let's look at the list of the most popular and unusual monuments of Kyiv.

Independence Monument is a victory column dedicated to the independence of Ukraine. It is located in the heart of the city, on the central square of Kyiv, Independence Square. The Independence Monument was erected in 2001. The author of the project is the sculptor Anatoliy Kushch. The height of the monument is 61 m. The column is covered with white Italian marble. On the column, there is a statue of a woman, dressed in a Ukrainian national costume and holding a viburnum branch in her hands. Separate elements of the sculpture, such as viburnum branch, ornament on clothes and wreath ribbons, are covered with gold. The mass of the cast bronze sculpture is about 20 tons.

Motherland Monument is one of the main symbols of Kyiv. The figure of a woman with a shield and a sword in her hands stands on the base of 40 meters high. Its total height is 102 meter. The monument can be observed from many parts of the city. Together with its base, it weighs 560 tons. The sword is 16 meters long, and weighs 9 tons. Motherland Monument was opened in 1981. Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev visited the opening ceremony. The monument is a part of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War. The Memorial complex occupies the area of more than 11.24 hectares. In addition to the metal statue, it includes museum expositions, which are located inside the monument’s basement, the bowl “Fire of Glory”, an exhibition of arms and military equipment, and sculptural compositions symbolizing the heroic struggle. Motherland Monument has two observation decks, one of which is located at a height of 91 meters.

Monument to St Volodymyr the Great is the oldest sculptural monument in Ukraine. It is dedicated to the famous ruler of Kyivan Rus Volodymyr the Great, who is also known as “the Baptizer of Rus”. The monument with a total height of 20.4 m stands on the steep bank of the Dnipro River in Volodymyrska Hill Park. It was built in 1853. The project was fulfilled by Peter Clodt, Alexander Tone and Vasyl Demut-Malynovsky. The figure of Volodymyr was made of bronze. He holds a huge cross in his right hand, and a prince's hat in the left hand. The 16-meter pedestal was built of bricks and faced with iron. On one of the eight sides of the pedestal, there is a bas-relief depicting the scene of the Baptism of the Kyivan Rus. There are many legends surrounding the monument. One of them tells that church treasures are hidden under the pedestal.

Monument to the Founders of Kyiv, also known as “Ladya”, is located in the Navodnytsky Park. This is a large boat that floats along the Dnipro River; three brothers and their sister - Kyi, Shchek, Khoryv and Lybid - are placed on it. According to the Primary Chronicle, these four figures were the founders of Kyiv. The monument, created by Vasyl Borodai and Mykola Feschenko, became a symbol of Ukraine’s capital and has been used as Kyiv's unofficial emblem for many years. It was opened in 1982. The monument is officially called “Hovering Lybid”. Scilptor Borodai took the image of his daughter, who was a talented painter and died at young age, to create the figure of Lybid. The composition is made of forged copper. At the foot of the granite pedestal there is a pool with fountains. The length of boat is 9 m; the height of brothers is 4.3 m, the height of Lybid is 3.8 m. Apart from the historical importance of monument, it’s also associated with love. Ukrainian couples come here on their wedding days. Turning back to the monument, the bribes try to throw their bouquets into the boat over the shoulders.  If bouquets of flowers fall into the boa, the marriage will be happy. 

A monument to Bohdan Khmelnytsky, one of the most famous hetmans of Ukraine, stands in the middle of St Sophia’s Square. Bohdan Khmelnytsky entered the history of Ukraine as an outstanding military leader and hetman, who led the first successful uprising for Ukrainian independence. The monument’s official opening took place in July 1888. But the idea of its creating appeared in 1840s. The initial draft of the monument was made by sculptor Mykhailo Mykeshyn who wanted to create the whole scene. However, the concept of the monument changed several times; as a result it was decided to leave only hetman on horseback. In 1879, the statue was cast in St. Petersburg with 25.6 tons of metal. After delivery of the statue to Kyiv, it was installed only a few years after. Architect Volodymyr Nikolayev designed a simpler pedestal and supervised its construction as well as the installation of the monument. A legend tells that when the monument has already taken its place, it turned out that the horse tail pointed to St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery. Therefore, the pedestal was moved, and the hetman's mace, which was intended to threaten Poland, turned to Sweden.