Interesting facts about Kyiv

The official founding date of Kyiv is 482 AD. People often call it the “jubilee date” because it was officially recognized to celebrate Kyiv’s 1500th anniversary in 1982.

In the 11th century, Kyiv was the largest city in Europe — 50 times bigger than London and 10 times bigger than Paris.

The Zoloti Vorota metro station ranks among the 15 most beautiful metro stations in Europe.

The Arsenalna metro station — the third deepest metro station in the world, at about 105.5 meters deep.

Kyiv’s longest street — Brovarskyi Avenue, stretching nearly 14 km.

The oldest street — Volodymyrska Street, which is over 1,000 years old.

The most visited museum — Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, which welcomed around 1 million tourists annually before the full-scale invasion.

According to an ancient legend, Kyiv was founded in the 5th–6th centuries by three brothers — Kyi, Shchek, and Khoryv — and their sister Lybid. The city took its name from the eldest brother, Kyi. Streets and neighborhoods bear the names of Shchek and Khoryv, while a small river is named after their sister.

The tallest structure — the television tower in the historic Syrets district, standing 380 meters high.

Kyiv’s most popular souvenir — the Kyiv cake, produced since 1956.

The oldest monument — the Magdeburg Rights Monument, built between 1802 and 1808, located on the Dnipro River slopes near Naberezhne Highway.

Khreshchatyk, at 1,300 meters long — the shortest main street among European capitals.

The tallest monument — the Motherland Monument, a 102-meter-tall sculpture, ranking among the top five tallest statues in the world — even taller than New York’s Statue of Liberty.

In a small courtyard at 43 Volodymyrska Street, in a basement room, lies Kyiv’s smallest functioning church — the Church of Mary Magdalene.

Kyiv doesn’t have just a river — it also has a “sea”, a reservoir on the Dnipro covering 922 square meters.

The oldest tree — the linden of Feodosiy Pechersky, growing near the Far Caves of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. It is over 700 years old, with a trunk circumference of 6.5 meters and a height of 18 meters.

The third most visited McDonald’s in the world is located near the central railway station.

The city’s symbol — the chestnut tree, which blooms in May.