The best walks and hikes around the Desna

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The church is 46 meters high, 30 meters long and 23 meters wide. It is cross-shaped, with one main dome and four small towers topped with smaller domes. The entrance to the church leads through a fourteen-meter staircase. On all sides, the building is decorated with rows of Corinthian pilasters and gilded reliefs with floral motifs. The windows of the church are round or semicircular (at the level of the main dome). The church iconostasis was made in 1754–1761 by Antropov and Wyszniakow. The temple was built on the initiative of Empress Elizabeth in 1744–1753 according to the design of Bartolomeo Rastrelli on the site of the former Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. According to legend, this hill was passed by St. Andrew and pointed them out as a place where, thanks to God, a city and a wonderful temple will be created. The construction works were managed by Iwan Miczurin, the rococo interior decorations were made by O. Antropow, H. Lewicki, I. Wyszniakow and P. Borispolec according to Rastrelli's ideas. A total of twenty-three and a half thousand bricks were used to build the facility. The tsarina laid the cornerstone herself. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerkiew_%C5%9Bw._Andrzeja_w_Kijowie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3nf23aJ6-s

Mother Motherland (Ukrainian: Батьківщина-Мати, Russian: Родина-мать) - a monumental monument standing in Kiev, in the Pechersk district. It is part of the Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II. The statue is made of stainless steel, its height is 62 m, while the whole including the pedestal is 102 m high. The weight of the sculpture is 560 tons. The sword held in the right hand of the sculpture is 16 meters long and weighs 9 tons, while the left hand holds a shield measuring 13x8 meters with the emblem of the USSR. Inside the pedestal there is a memorial hall, lined with marble slabs with the names of more than 11,000 soldiers and 200 workers who received the titles of Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of Socialist Labor. In the hills around the museum, flowers and wreaths are traditionally laid. In the 1950s, in the area now occupied by the monument, it was planned to build monuments to Włodzimierz Lenin and Józef Stalin, each 200 m high. Ultimately, however, these plans were not implemented [2]. A local legend has it that in the 1970s, the sculpture designer Yevgeny Vuczetich was on a cruise with a group of Kiev communist dignitaries who decided that the high slopes of the Transnistrian region were a perfect place to build a war memorial. In addition, the tall building was to overshadow the nearby Pechersk Lavra. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matka_Ojczyzna https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8rgMXByR9k

Independence Square (Ukrainian: Майдан Незалежності, trb. Maidan Nezalezhnosti) - the main square in the capital of Ukraine, Kiev, located in the Shevchenkiv region, a place of important state ceremonies and cultural events. The present appearance of the square is the result of a thorough reconstruction in 2002. The earlier socialist realist style, with a large number of fountains, was replaced with a more modern one. History: 1151 - the first mention of the Lacki Gate and Lacki Słoboda that exist in this place 1240 - The Mongols attack the Padole Gate as the first 1516 - King Zygmunt I privileges the largest Kiev fair, the so-called Krszczeński, lasting from January 6 for 20 days 1604 - the name Biskupie appears in the document of King Sigismund III around 1730 - the first wooden buildings appear, around 1850, made of brick until 1871 - there is a market on the then Chreszczatycki square, and games are held 1876 - the newly built building becomes the seat of the city council, the square is named "Dumski" 1913 - the monument to Piotr Stolypin was officially unveiled, demolished in 1917 1919 - the name was changed to Plac Radziecki 1922 - the statue of Karl Marx stands on the square, dismantled in the 1930s 1935 - the square is named after Kalinina 1977 - Kalinina Square was renamed the October Revolution Square after a major renovation 1977 - a monument to the October Revolution erected on the square, knocked down in 1991 1991 - the square receives its present name 2004-2005 - Independence Square becomes the scene of the Orange Revolution 2007 - demonstrations related to the political crisis 2013-2014 - protests against the failure to sign an association agreement with the European Union https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plac_Niepodleg%C5%82o%C5%9Bci_w_Kijowie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxBtpXnsVJk

Even without a ticket there is a lot to see here. Sculptures and memorials in the area under the Motherland Statue, where the entrance to the museum is, tanks and military equipment in the near area around the square.

This is a place where history was made.

The Mother Homeland Statue (Ukrainian Батьківщина-Мати Batkivshchyna-Maty, Russian Родина-мать Rodina-mat) in the Ukrainian capital Kiev is a colossal statue that was erected in the Soviet Union to commemorate the victory of the Soviet armed forces in the Great Father . The first model of the statue was made by the sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich. After his death in 1974, the Ukrainian sculptor Wassyl Borodaj (1917-2010) continued the project. The artist Halyna Kaltschenko, who died in 1975, served him as a model for the monumental sculpture. [1] The statue is made of stainless steel, has a height of 62 meters and stands on a 40-meter high pedestal on the mountainside above the Dnieper. The total height of the monument is 102 meters, the weight is 500 tons. [2] To ensure stability, there is a special mechanical construction inside. The monument forms the center of a memorial that commemorates the victory of the Red Army in World War II. The shield, on which the coat of arms of the Soviet Union is depicted, is 36 square meters and weighs 13 tons. The sword is 16 meters long and weighs nine tons. The figure was to be inaugurated on May 9, 1980, the 35th anniversary of Victory. However, there were problems with the attachment of the platform and the use of a special crane was required to erect the figure. The inauguration took place on May 9, 1981 by party leader Leonid Brezhnev. It is possible to reach a small, barred viewing platform through an arm behind the shield. To do this, you have to climb a safety rope through a narrow shaft.

Nice view of Kiev. From here you can take a very romantic walk past the monument to Vladimir to Andreevsky descent. Evenings are most beautiful. Street musicians usually perform as well.