ROUTE No. 5

1. Khreschatyk Street is just 200 years old and 1, 300 metres wide.

In Kyivan Rus times It used to be a valley and a river surrounded by a forest where Kyiv princes used to go hunting. The river still runs underground along much of the street.

Traditionally it is associated with chestnut trees.

It attracts people who would like to relax and spend their time in a café or restaurant.

On holidays it offers concerts and live performances.

2. Bessarabska Square is famous for its indoor market. Immigrants from Bessarabia would come here to sell their produce.

The market was built in 1908-1912 in a modern style by Polish architect Henryk Gay.

It is decorated with agricultural figures in relief.

200 years ago this area was on the outskirts of Kyiv.

3. “Survivors”. At 40/1 – 52 Khreschatyk street you can see a line of historic buildings that survived the year 1941.

In the 19^th century house 40/1 was a private hotel that accommodated painter Vrubel, actor Saksahansky, hetman Skoropadsky.

House 42. The story goes that a young officer fell in love with a daughter of a wealthy Kyiver who didn’t want to agree to their marriage. Still, the couple got married but the lady died at childbirth. The officer jumped from the chain-bridge into the Dnipro to death. The father admitted being wrong and took care of his granddaughter Olha who commissioned this house. Later she married Mr Dyakov and after the revolution the couple emigrated to Germany.

In the early 20^th century house 52 hosted a cinema theatre. In 1922 it was a Lysenko musical and drama institute.

4. Central Department Store. At 38/2 Khreschatyk street you can find the Central Department Store.

In the early 1930s the authorities began to construct a six-storeyed Book Centre. But the architectural style was heavily criticized and as a result the walls were pulled down.

The present-day building was designed by Moscow architects in 1936-1939. The new shape is more rational than it was supposed to be.

After WW 2 the Store was reconstructed, extended and architecturally incorporated into the new environment of the street.

Nowadays it is under renovation again.

5. City Council Building was built in a classical style by architects Vlasov, Zavarov and Malinovsky in the 1950s.

At the rear of the building you can find a large annex for a conference room.

Nowadays the council consists of 120 members headed by the mayor elected by the city population.

In front of the building there poles with national flags.

6. The Kyiv Passage is a narrow commercial and residential street.

It offers out-and indoor cafes, boutiques and apartments.

The buildings were designed in an Empire style and constructed in 1913-1915 by architect Andreev.

The apartments accommodated well-known people such as film director Yutkevich, opera singer Hmyrya, writer Viktor Nekrasov.

One of the bas reliefs displays children trying to give wine to a lion.

7. Ukrteleradio. 26 Khreschatyk street. In the late 18^th century at this place there was a country estate of Holovinsky and the first stone house in the street. Since 1849 it had been hosting the post office.

In 1914 it was demolished to build a new post office. Behind it you could find a telephone station that was extended into a broadcasting centre after WW 2.

The faç ade was designed by architect Elizarov in a Ukrainian baroque style.

8. Independence Square is the official centre of the city.

The present-day architecture of the square was shaped in the post-war years.

The ensemble includes the Post Office, the Opera Studio, the Ukraina Hotel, the Trade Union Building with a clock tower.

It is also famous for its fountains and underground trade centres.

In 2004 the square witnessed the Orange Revolution.

Nowadays, it offers open air gala performances (in 2007 it was Elton John, in 2008 – Paul McCartney.

9. Bank buildings. Building 8 used to belong to the St Petersburg bank and building 8 to the Volga and Kama bank.

They were built in 1914-1916 by architect Andreev in a neo-empire style.

Building 10 displays a bas relief with some ancient gods – Hephaestus (symbol of industry), Poseidon (symbol of navigation) and Hermes (symbol of trade). These were the branches financed by the bank.

10. The National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine is a complex of two concert halls in the Khrestchaty Park.

It was founded at the end of the 19^th century by Mykola Lysenko.

Throughout the centuries it has hosted numerous Russian composers such as Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, and Tchaikovsky and famous opera singers like Sobinov and Chaliapin.

Originally, it was Merchants’ House, a place for balls, conferences, lotteries, literary evenings and musical performances.

Today, it is one of the most prestigious classical music stages in the city.