The Lybid ( uk, Либідь) is a small river in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. A right tributary of the

Dnieper } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and ...

, it flows within the "Right Bank" (original) part of the city, just to the west of the historic center. The Lybid has played an important role in shaping Kyiv's urban design by aiding the city's

drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess of water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils is good enough to prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic condition ...

system.

Course

The Lybid runs east, then southeast, then roughly parallel to the Dnieper before it takes a sharp eastward turn and enters the Dnieper several kilometers south of Kyiv's center. The river travels through a culvert for much of its course. It can be seen along the railway lines south-east from the main station of Kyiv. The Lybid has small tributaries, most notably the Khreschatyk River. It runs parallel to modern Kyiv's main street,

Khreschatyk Khreshchatyk ( uk, Хрещатик, ) is the main street of Kyiv, Ukraine. The street has a length of . It stretches from the European Square (northeast) through the Maidan and to Bessarabska Square (southwest) where the Besarabsky Market ...

. Another notable tributary, with small lakes on its course, joins just as the Lybid turns to the east in the Montajnik area south of central Kyiv.

Name

The river was named after the possibly mythical ''Lybid,'' sister of the legendary founders of

Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv ( uk, Кий, Щек, Хорив ; orv, Кии, Щекъ, Хоривъ) were three legendary brothersoften mentioned along with their sister Lybid ( uk, Либідь, links=no ; orv, Лыбѣдь, links=no)who, accordin ...

. Others state that Lybid was a former ruler of the Kyiv prior to times of

Kyivan Rus' Kievan Rusʹ, also known as Kyivan Rusʹ ( orv, , Rusĭ, or , , ; Old Norse: ''Garðaríki''), was a state in Eastern and Northern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical Atlas of ...

History

References to the Lybid River were first made in records in 968 A.D. The Lybid was then a relatively big river, as deep as 20 meters in some places. It formed the southern boundary of the city. In the 19th century, the river was widely used for milling. In some places, it reached up to 50 meters across. Three

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

s were situated on one of these wide sections where the river formed a reservoir with small islands on it. The biggest watermill was Mikhaylivska. Seven watermills lined the river. Due to the milling business, the surrounding area began to develop, with inns and small villages. Late in the 19th century, construction of the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

began.

Twenty-first century

Lybid is no more than half a meter deep and does not exceed four meters in width. Its course now is mostly subterranean, flowing through concrete pipes, growing polluted as it flows past the town's industrial areas.

References

{{Authority control Rivers of Kyiv