Volodymyrska Hill
or Saint Volodymyr Hill ( uk, Володимирська гірка, ''"Volodymyrska hirka"'') is a large park
located on the steep right-bank of the
Dnipro River in central
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 ...
, the capital of
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 ...
. Its most famous and prominent landmark is the
Monument to Prince Volodymyr
Monument to Prince Volodymyr, is a monument in Kyiv, dedicated to the Grand Prince of Kyiv Vladimir the Great, Volodymyr the Great, built in 1853. It is located on Saint Volodymyr Hill, Volodymyrska Hill, the steep right bank of the Dnieper, Dnipr ...
. The monument, with its prominent location and overlooking the scenic panorama of the left-bank of Kyiv, has since become one of the symbols of Kyiv, often depicted in paintings and photographic works of the city.
The Hill provides an excellent panorama of the
Dinpro River, the
Left Bank
In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows.
In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terra ...
, and
Podil
Podil ( uk, Поділ) or the Lower cityIvankin, H., Vortman, D. Podil (ПОДІЛ)'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. is a historic neighborhood in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is located on a floodplain terrace over the Dnieper betwe ...
.
History
The first historical reference to Volodymyr Hill was in the ''
Primary Chronicles'' 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 ...
, where it describes
Sviatopolk II of Kyiv
Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich ( orv, Свѧтополкъ Изѧславичь; rus, Святополк Изяславич, Svyatopolk Izyaslavich; uk, Святополк Ізяславич; November 8, 1050 – April 16, 1113) was supreme ruler of ...
building the
St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral in 1108.
The hill, on which the cathedral was built, was a
citadel
A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core.
I ...
within the ancient part of Kyiv, built by and named after
Iziaslav I of Kyiv
Iziaslav Yaroslavich ( orv, Изѧславь Ѩрославичь; russian: Изяслав Ярославич; uk, Ізяслав Ярославич; 1024 – 3 October 1078, baptized as ''Demetrius'') was a Kniaz' ( Prince) of Turov and Grand ...
.
Volodymyrska Hill park was established in the mid-19th century, its name reflecting the
Monument to Prince Volodymyr
Monument to Prince Volodymyr, is a monument in Kyiv, dedicated to the Grand Prince of Kyiv Vladimir the Great, Volodymyr the Great, built in 1853. It is located on Saint Volodymyr Hill, Volodymyrska Hill, the steep right bank of the Dnieper, Dnipr ...
which was erected in 1853 in the park.
Volodymyrska Hill originally only referred to a park located at the highest and middle terraces of the historic St. Michael's Hill, which was named after St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral and Monastery. However, the name "St. Michael's Hill" went into decline after destruction of the cathedral and the renaming of local streets by the Soviet regime in the 1930s.
Construction of the terraces as they appear today started in the 1840s. Volodymyrska Hill park became the first free-of-charge public park in Kyiv.
Other landmarks
![Kost old2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/Kost_old2.jpg)
In 1902 at the upper part of the terrace next to
Saint Alexander's Church, a pavilion with a
Golgotha panorama was opened, though this was destroyed in 1935 by the Soviet regime.
A street which passes through the park's hilly landscape on the eastern side is the
cobblestone Saint Volodymyr Descent. At the park's northern end, the
Kyiv Funicular serves (mostly for tourists) as a transport connection between Kyiv's Upper Town neighborhood and the historic commercial district of
Podil
Podil ( uk, Поділ) or the Lower cityIvankin, H., Vortman, D. Podil (ПОДІЛ)'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine. is a historic neighborhood in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is located on a floodplain terrace over the Dnieper betwe ...
. As an alternative to the funicular, and adjoining it, is a long staircase. Across the funicular tracks to the north a park zone extends onto the Old Kyiv Hill which separates the Upper city (Old Kyiv) from the Lower city (Podil).
Ukrainian House
The International Convention Center "Ukrainian House" ( uk, Український дім. Міжнародний конгрес-центр) is the largest international exhibition and convention center in Kyiv, Ukraine. Popularly referred to a ...
is located near the park's southern border by the Three Saints Street (vulytsia Tryokhsvyatytelska). In the same vicinity is located the Institute of Philosophy.
A feature of the park is a
wrought-iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" t ...
gazebo which was installed in 1899 through the sponsorship of a rich Moscow merchant and oil magnate
Vasily Kokorev, who was very much impressed by Kyiv's beauty.
This gazebo soon became the favorite spot of meetings and rendezvous.
Since 2019, a
glass pedestrian bridge has connected the park with
Khreshchatyi Park.
Gallery
Kiev - park 01.jpg, The Kokorev gazebo
Volodymyrska girka Gazebo.JPG, Gazebo in the central part of Volodymyrska Hill
Володимирська гірка - 02.jpg,
Вид з Хрещатого парку на пішохідний міст.JPG,
2013. Kiev 055.jpg,
Володимирська гірка 03.jpg,
Володимирська гірка 02.jpg,
Володимирська гірка 38.jpg,
Володимирська гірка, вересень.JPG,
Володимирська гірка 0.jpg,
Парк Володимирська гірка 02.jpg,
Володимирська гірка 24.jpg,
See also
*
Andriyivskyy Descent
Andrew's Descent ( uk, Андріївський узвіз, ) is a historic descent connecting Kyiv's Upper Town neighborhood and the historically commercial Podil neighborhood. The street, often advertised by tour guides and operators as the "Mo ...
*
Monument to Prince Volodymyr
Monument to Prince Volodymyr, is a monument in Kyiv, dedicated to the Grand Prince of Kyiv Vladimir the Great, Volodymyr the Great, built in 1853. It is located on Saint Volodymyr Hill, Volodymyrska Hill, the steep right bank of the Dnieper, Dnipr ...
*
Saint Volodymyr Descent
References
{{Reflist, refs=
[{{cite web , title=Володимирська гірка , url=http://shev.gov.ua/index.php?Itemid=41&id=615&option=com_content&task=view , publisher= Shevchenko Raion Government Administration , accessdate=26 May 2015 , language=Ukrainian , trans-title=Volodymyr's Hill]
[{{cite web, title=Volodymyr Hill, url=http://www.oldkyiv.org.ua/data/vol_mnmnt.php?lang=ua, work=Kiev History Site, publisher=oldkyiv.org.ua, access-date=26 May 2015, url-status=dead, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140623070719/http://oldkyiv.org.ua/data/vol_mnmnt.php?lang=ua, archive-date=23 June 2014]
[{{cite encyclopedia , url=http://wek.kiev.ua/uk/Володимирська_гірка , title=Володимирська гірка , encyclopedia=WWW Encyclopedia of Kyiv , accessdate=26 May 2015 , language=Ukrainian , trans-title=Volodymyr's Hill]
[{{cite encyclopedia , url=http://wek.kiev.ua/uk/%D0%86%D0%B7%D1%8F%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D0%BC%D1%96%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE , title=Ізяслава місто , encyclopedia=WWW Encyclopedia of Kyiv , accessdate=26 May 2015 , language=Ukrainian , trans-title=The City of Iziaslav]
[{{cite encyclopedia , url=http://wek.kiev.ua/uk/%D0%9C%D0%B8%D1%85%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%B2%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0 , title=Михайлівська гора , encyclopedia=WWW Encyclopedia of Kyiv , accessdate=26 May 2015 , language=Ukrainian , trans-title=St. Michael's Hill]
[St. Volodymyr's Monument, Volodymyr's Hill](_blank)
accessdate: July 12, 2022
Tourist attractions in Kyiv
Parks in Kyiv
Shevchenkivskyi District, Kyiv
Vladimir the Great