" I can't help loving you,             my Kyiv!"

Geographical location of Ukraine

    1 𑛉 Ukraine is an Independent state. It is situated in the east of Europe and is its second largest country. The territory of Ukraine covers an area of 603,628 square kilometres, with a coastline of 2,782 kilometres. The country is washed by  the Black Sea and by the Sea of Azov. Ukraine borders Belarus in the north, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary in the west, Moldova and Romania in the south-west, and has a neighbour-aggressor in the east.

    2 𑛉 The landscape of Ukraine consists mostly of fertile steppes and plateaus, crossed by rivers. There are 131 rivers in Ukraine. The longest rivers are the Dniester, the Donets, the Bug and the Dnipro. The last one divides Ukraine into two halves - appropriately referred to as the Right Bank and the Left Bank.

    3 𑛉 Ukraine also has a number of highland regions such as the Volyn-Podillia Upland in the west and the Near-Dnipro Upland on the right bank of the Dnieper.  5% of Ukraine’s territory is mountainous. The country's only mountains are the Carpathian Mountains in the west and the Crimean Mountains, in the extreme south along the coast. Hoverla is the highest mountain (2,061 metres). 

    4 𑛉 Ukraine is a developed industrial and agricultural country. It’s rich in iron ore, coal, natural gas, oil, salt and other mineral resources. Ukraine has such branches of industry as metallurgy, machine-building, power industry, chemical industry and agriculture. Scientists of

Ukraine make their contributions of important discoveries and inventions to the world science.

    5 𑛉 The population of Ukraine is about 46 million people. Like most countries Ukraine has many nationalities. They contributed to Ukraine’s culture and history.

    6 𑛉 The biggest cities of Ukraine are Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk, Odessa, Mykolaiv and others. Kyiv  is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine.

Task 1 Match headings to the passages of the text.

        a) Population 

      b) Water resources

      c) Major cities

      d) Land

      e) Location

      f) The wealth of the country

Task 2 Continue the sentences.

1. The territory of Ukraine covers an … .

2.  The country is washed by … .

3. The landscape of Ukraine consists … .

4. 5% of Ukraine’s territory is … .

5. Ukraine has such branches of industry as … .

6. Ukraine is a developed … .

7. The population of Ukraine is … .

8.  The biggest cities of Ukraine are … .

    Khreshchatyk Street

                                          Khreshchatyk is the main street of Kyiv,                                      the capital city of Ukraine. It is the 

                                   shortest and widest main street in Europe. 

                                   The street is 1.3 kilometers long and 

                                   connects the European and Bessarabska

                                                                 Squares.     

   Kyiv City Council, Kyiv City State Administration, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, the State Committee for Television and Radio-broadcasting, and a number of cinemas and hotels are all located on the street.

    The area of Kyiv which is now occupied by Khreshchatyk was a forest-covered valley with a stream flowing through it. In ancient times, it was a hunting place where Kyiv residents hunted for wild animals. The name Khreshchatyk is derived from the Slavic word “krest” (cross), as it lies in a valley that is crossed by several ravines. A small river, the Khreshchatyk River, ran along the valley. A road ran beside the stream.

     Construction of the street started at the end of the 18th century, when the ravine began to be filled in. The first houses were wooden. The mansion of landowner called Golovinsky was among them and was built in 1797.

    Khreshchatyk was destroyed during World War II. Almost every building on the street was laid  down. The street was rebuilt in a neo-classical style after the end of the war, and has been renovated since Ukraine's independence.  Khreshchatyk became the place of the Dignity Revolution.

    The first ceremonial raising of the Ukrainian national flag took place in Khreshchatyk at the Kyiv City Council building  on the 24th of July in 1990. The Kyiv Independence Day Parades, 

passing through the street, have been held 

since 1994. 

Because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the annual Kyiv parade 

was canceled and in its place there was a display of the burnt remains of russian military vehicles. It was reported that russian forces were expecting to parade down Khreshchatyk within three days of the start of the invasion.

    Khreshchatyk is a popular attraction for visitors to the city and residents. During weekends, the street is closed to road traffic. It is the place of outdoor concerts and festivals, and is attended by street musicians.

    The street was one of the first parts of the city which was serviced by the first underground. The first underground station was opened in 1960. Nowadays there are four of the stations of the Kyiv Metro.

Maidan Nezalezhnosti.

    Maidan Nezalezhnosti is the central square of Kyiv and one of the city's main squares. It is located on Khreshchatyk Street. The square has been known under many different names: Khreshchatyk Square (1869), Parliament Square (1876,1941), Soviet Square (1919),Square of the October Revolution (1977). The square received its current name on the 26th of August in 1991, two days after the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine. 

    Since the start of Ukraine's independence movement in 1990, the square has been the traditional place for political events, including four large radical protests: the 1990 student Revolution on Granite, the 2001 Ukraine without Kuchma, the 2004 Orange Revolution and the 2013–2014 Euromaidan. Maidan is also a regular place for non-political displays and events; however, since 2014, most of them were moved to Sofiyivska Square in memory of those who were killed during Euromaidan.

  Independence Square is one of three squares located along Khreshchatyk. It is close to the northeastern end of the street and is situated close to European Square, which is the end of Khreshchatyk. Besides Khreshchatyk, which devides the square in half, several other streets lead to the square. They are Architect Horodecki Street, Institute Street, Michael Street, Kosciol Street, Minor Zhytomyr Street, Sophia Street, Taras Shevchenko Lane and Boris Hrinchenko Street.

    In Kyivan Rus times, the territory of the modern Maidan Nezalezhnosti was a part of the fortification facilities that protected ancient Kyiv from hostile invasions. Wooden Lyadski Gates, leading to the princely part of the town, stood here. They were destroyed by the Mongolian Tatars invasion in 1240.    

 Most buildings on the Maidan Nezalezhnosti were raised after the World War II - in 1950s - 1970s. At the same time, one of the square's most famous buildings appeared - Ukraine Hotel. Later the square was repeatedly rebuilt and reconstructed.  

    Ukraine's capital's main square includes its key symbol: a tall column with a statue of a girl dressed in national clothes, standing on the globe and holding a cranberry branch, the symbol of Ukraine's independence, was installed in its center. On the other side of the square, Lyadski Gates were restored and crowned with the statue of the Archangel Michael - the patron of Kyiv. 

  Saint Sophia's Cathedral

    Saint Sophiya's Cathedral is one of the 

city's best known landmarks and the first 

heritage site in Ukraine which was included

to the World Heritage List along with the 

Kyiv Cave Monastery. In Ukraine the cathedral 

is known as Sobor Sviatoii Sofii or Sofiiskyi sobor.  It is located in the center of the capital of Ukraine - on Sophia Square.

     The cathedral began its history in 1036 and  was completed in two decades. It was founded by the Prince of Kiev Yaroslav and named after Sophia - the Holy Wisdom of God.

        According to one theory, Yaroslav the Wise sponsored the  

         construction of the Saint Sophia Cathedral in 1037 to 

            celebrate his victory over the  Pechenegs in 1036.

    .

    According to Dr. Nadia Nikitenko, a historian who has studied the cathedral for 30 years, the cathedral was founded in 1011, under the reign of Yaroslav's father, Grand Prince of Kievan Rus, Volodymyr the Great. This has been accepted by both UNESCO and Ukraine. The structure has 5 naves, 5 apses, and 13 cupolas. It is surrounded by  galleries from three sides. Saint-Sophia Cathedral is a unique monument of architecture and monumental art of the early 11th century having the biggest collection of mosaics and frescoes of that period.

                                            Originally the cathedral was a burial                                             place of the Kievan rulers including 

                                     Volodymyr Monomakh, Vsevolod 

                                    Yaroslavich and the cathedral's                                                   founder Yaroslav I the Wise.

 Originally the cathedral was a burial place of the Kievan rulers including Volodymyr Monomakh, Vsevolod Yaroslavich and the cathedral's founder Yaroslav I the Wise.

    The cathedral complex has a rich history, many times it was damaged and rebuilt. The complex of the cathedral consists of a number of buildings, such as: bell tower, refectory, bakery, south tower, metropolitan's house, Zaborovsky's Gate, fraternal building, bursa and wall cells, which were built in different centuries, representing different architectural styles.

    On the 21 of  August in 2007 Saint Sophia Cathedral was named one 

  of  the Seven Wonders of Ukraine.    

Kyievo-Pecherska Lavra  

    Kyievo-Pecherska Lavra is also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves. It was founded as the cave monastery in 1051. The word 'pechera' in ukrainian means 'cave'. The word 'lavra' is used to describe monasteries for monks. That's why the name of the monastery is also translated as Kyiv Cave Monastery.

    According to the Primary Chronicle, in the early 11th century, Anthony, a christian monk came to Rus and settled in Kyiv. He chose a cave at the Berestov Mount that overlooked the Dnipro River. This cave had corridors and a church, and now is the Far Caves. In 1057 Anthony moved to a cave near the Upper Lavra, now called the Near Caves. 

The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra caverns are a 

system of narrow underground corridors 

        with numerous living rooms and 

       underground chapels.

 In the 16th–17th centuries foreign travellers centuries wrote that the catacombs of the Lavra stretched for hundreds of kilometres.

    The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra is one of the largest museums in Kyiv. The exposition consists of the Upper (Near Caves) and Lower (Far Caves) Lavra territories, which house many architectural relics of the past. The collection within the churches and caves includes articles of precious metal, prints, portraits and rare photographs. The museum provides tours of the catacombs, which contain remains of saints or 

their relics. There are over a hundred 

burials in the Lavra. There are tombs 

   of many notable historical persons 

             among them.

The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra contains numerous architectural monuments from bell towers to cathedrals to cave systems and to strong stone fortification walls. The main attractions of the Lavra include the Great Lavra Bell Tower, and the Dormition Cathedral. Lavra also includes many other churches, cathedrals and value buildings.

    Together with the Saint Sophia Cathedral, the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990.

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House with Chimaeras

                                        House with Chimaeras (Budynok z                                               khymeramy) or Gorodetsky House is an Art                                        Nouveau building. It is situated across the                                          street from the President's office at Bankova                                      Street No. 10. The building is used as a                                             presidential residence for official and 

                                        diplomatic ceremonies. 

    A House with Chimaeras was designed by Polish architect Wladyslaw Gorodetsky in 1901–1902. That is why it is named ‘Gorodetsky House’. Gorodetsky was born in 1863 in a Polish noble family in the Podillia region. After graduating from the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg in 1890, he moved to Kyiv, where he lived for almost 30 years. During many years, Gorodetsky established himself as a prominent Kyiv architect. He designed and constructed together with his close friend and partner engineer Anton Strauss many city buildings. 

    Gorodetsky was an enthusiastic hunter. That’s why 

the building got its popular name House with 

Chimaeras because of decorations which depict 

exotic animals and hunting scenes. They were

sculpted by Italian architect Emilio Sala. The name 

does not refer to the ‘chimaera of mythology’, but 

to an architectural style known as ‘chimaera decoration’ 

in which animal figures are used as decorative elements 

to a building. 

 Because of its unusual nature and long history, House with Chimaeras has many legends about its foundation, but not all of them are true. These legends are mentioned in guide-books and attract many tourists.

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