ROUTE No. 6

1. The Khreschaty Park was put up as a garden of Merchants’ House.

In the 1880s it used to be a leisure centre including a summer theatre, a club, a concert hall. It lasted till the 1970s when it was pulled down to build the Monument of the Peoples’ Friendship. The Arch is 30 m in diemetre.

Beside the Monument you can find a vista platform providing a view of the Dnipro, Podil, the left bank.

2. The Academic Puppet Theatre used to be the first stereoscopic cinema theatre built in the 1936-37. The faç ade was decorated with a panel picture depicting ‘The Firebird’.

The present-day building constructed in 2005, looks like a fabulous castle. Here you can see clock towers, a colour music fountain called the ‘Thumbelina’, the sculptures of fairy-tale characters.

The lobby also houses a puppet museum.

The faç ade preserves the mosaics of the former cinema theatre.

3. The Water Tower was built in the 1870s by architect A.Schile.

There used to be two towers which gradually stopped being used and were destroyed.

By 2003 both of them had been restored and changed into a water information centre.

The exhibits allow us to make a journey into the water world.

4. The public garden was put up in the 18^th century and called ‘Imperial’.

The Kyiv people could find here a special atmosphere of peace and quiet to relax.

The high-light of the garden is the open air stage built by architect Y.Seregin in 1982-83. Here you can watch public performances.

Nearby, you can find the statues of L.Ukrainka. M.Zankovetska and M. Glinka.

One of the alleys which runs alongside Hruschevsky Street was laid for pilgrims heading for the Pechersk Lavra.

5. The Mariinsky Palace was completed in 1752 by Ivan Michurin in a baroque style. It was named after Russian Empress Maria Alexandrovna.

The palace used to be used as a residence for the imperial family who came to visit Kyiv.

After the 1917 Revolution it became a museum.

It was badly damaged during WW 2. The last restoration work was carried out in the 1980s.

Nowadays the Mariinsky palace is an official ceremonial residence of the Ukrainian president.

6. The Mariinsky Park was designed in 1874 by gardener Niedzelsky in an English style.

Some of the trees have lasted till now.

In 1900 there was built a cast-iron fountain in the park.

During the Civil War the Park was used as a grave site for revolutionaries.

The Park is finished off with a house in a classical style built by architect A.Beketov.