Yaroslav the Wise built Saint Sophia Cathedral in the eleventh century to proclaim that Kyiv was the equal of Constantinople, and he named it after Hagia Sophia — the great church of the Byzantine capital. The cathedral became the coronation site of Kyivan princes and the burial place of its founder, whose marble sarcophagus still stands inside. Today it is a museum, and its original eleventh-century mosaics and frescoes — including the six-metre Oranta Virgin — cover over three thousand square metres of wall. It was the first heritage site in Ukraine inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Audio guide Kyiv
Tella is a free audio guide for any place on Earth. Here are 30 places in Kyiv worth a story. Open one on the map and hear it read aloud in English, or take the Android app on a walk and let it narrate whatever you pass.
Places worth a story
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
public university in Kyiv, Ukraine
Orthodox Church of Ukraine
autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in Ukraine (2018-)
Photo: Haidamac · CC BY-SA 4.0
Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex
stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine
National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
university in Ukraine
St Volodymyr's Cathedral
Orthodox Christian cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine
Photo: Роман Наумов · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mother Ukraine Monument
monument in Ukraine
Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine
national library in Kyiv, Ukraine
Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi railway station
central railway station in Kyiv, Ukraine
St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church, Kyiv
Catholic church in Kyiv, Ukraine
Palace of Sports
sport-concert complex situated in the center of Kyiv, Ukraine
Photo: Anon13131313 · CC0
Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute
university in Kyiv, Ukraine
Photo: Lypovision · CC BY-SA 4.0
Independence Monument
victory column in Kyiv, Ukraine
National Historical Museum of Ukraine
historical museum in Kyiv, Ukraine
Ukrainian National Chornobyl Museum
museum in Kyiv, Ukraine
Photo: Vincent de Groot - http://www.videgro.net · CC BY-SA 4.0
Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ
Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine
Stories are written by an AI from public map and encyclopaedia data and may contain mistakes.