Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Back on vul Volodymirska walk towards
Taras Shevchenko National Opera
Theatre
(
Click here
) before turning right into vul Bohdana Khmelnytskoho and,
two blocks later, left into vul Ivana Franka. At the end of this road on the left stands
St Volodymyr's Cathedral
.
Turning left, you're on bul Tarasa Shevchenka, named after the Ukrainian nation-
al poet, Taras Shevchenko. On the right is his
statue
in Shevchenko Park. A
quick detour will give you a look at
Kyiv University
.
At the end of the street once stood Kyiv's last
Lenin statue
, famously pulled
down and smashed to bits by Euromaidan protesters in late 2013. Until his demise,
Lenin looked across thundering vul Khreshchatyk to the wonderfully atmospheric
Bessarabsky Rynok
(
Click here
).
House of Chimeras
NOTABLE BUILDING
(vul Bankova 10; Khreshchatyk)
Hard to say which other national president has a bunch of
otherworldish creatures peering into his window, but the Ukrainian one does for his of-
fice is face-to-face with Kyiv's weirdest edifice. The 'chimeras', which cover every
patch of architect Wladislaw Horodecki's creation, are in fact depictions of his exotic
hunting trophies - elephants, rhinos, crocodiles, lions and whatever you name. He kept
many prototypes inside - in the stuffed form.
The Art Nouveau house, which he built for himself in 1903, is placed on a high cliff so
it appears as a six-storey structure on one side and three-storey on the other. The 'chimer-
as' are here not only to decorate, but also to advertise the revolutionary building material
- concrete, of which Horodecki was a huge fan. Many locals say that the house is best
admired at night, when spooky creatures seem ready to come alive and jump down from
the roof.
Getting inside is tough, the Ukrainian presidency being the main obstacle, since the
house is used as a reception office for fellow leaders. Tours are conducted once a week,
en
; vul Shchekavytska 30/39)
and Interesny Kiev (
Click here
)
. If you do enter, about the
first thing you'll see is a fireplace shaped as an octopus.
St Volodymyr's Cathedral
CHURCH
(bul Tarasa Shevchenka 20; Universytet)
Although not one of Kyiv's most important
churches, St Volodymyr's Cathedral arguably has the prettiest interior. Built in the late
