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Yaroslav the Wise built Saint Sophia Cathedral in the early 1000s, naming it after Hagia Sophia in Constantinople — the clearest claim Kyiv could make that it belonged to the Christian world. But the real marvel is what happened later. In the 18th century, when baroque was fashionable, the cathedral was given a grand facelift: gilded domes, stucco, extra towers. Original 11th-century mosaics and frescoes survived underneath, including the famous Oranta — the Virgin with raised hands — one of the largest mosaics of its kind in the world. UNESCO calls the whole ensemble a masterpiece. The cathedral grounds hold the tombs of several Kyivan princes, and the bell tower, added in the 18th century, became one of the defining shapes of the city.
Kyiv audio guide
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
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
historic Orthodox Christian monastery in Kyiv
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
public university in Kyiv, Ukraine
Orthodox Church of Ukraine
autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in Ukraine (2018-)
Maidan Nezalezhnosti
main square of Kyiv, Ukraine
Listen on the map → Photo: Juan Antonio Segal · CC BY-SA 4.0
Saint Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery
monastery in Kyiv, Ukraine
National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
university in Ukraine
Listen on the map → Photo: Silin2005 at English Wikipedia · Public domain
Saint Andrew's Church
Baroque church located in Kyiv, Ukraine
National Art Museum of Ukraine
art museum in Ukraine
Kyiv TV Tower
385 m-high (1,263 ft) lattice steel tower
St Volodymyr's Cathedral
Orthodox Christian cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine
Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine
national library in Kyiv, Ukraine
Khreshchatyk
central street in Kyiv, Ukraine
Kyiv-Pasazhyrskyi railway station
central railway station in Kyiv, Ukraine
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Stories are written by an AI from public map and encyclopaedia data and may contain mistakes.