Ancient Kiev

What is special?   Kiev was founded in 5 century AD. It was the capital of great Medieval State - Kievan Rus - since 9th till 13th century. A lot of monuments survived which depicts the glory of Rus. Golden Gate was the main entrance to the city built in 1037 during the reign of grand prince Yaroslav the Wise. It was the part of strong fortification system. You will visit St. Sophia Cathedral, which was the main Cathedral of the city; it is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, as the largest collection of 11-th century mosaics and frescoes are preserved there. Description Kiev is considered to be one of the oldest cities in Europe, what is proved by the great quantity of invaluable historical monuments (more than 2000), dating back to 10th 11th centuries and preserved for the descendants.   Together with a professional guide \ interpreter you will start your excursion from Old Kiev Hill (Volodimir's Hill), the place, where the first settlements were established (482 A. D.). You will see the duplicate of the basement of Desyatinnaya Church (the 10th century), the oldest Christian Church, founded by Prince Volodimir. From the epoch of Prince Volodimir you will immerse into the atmosphere of the 11th century, the time of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, Volodimir's son. A splendid specimen of the architecture of the 11th century, which has survived during the tatar-mongol invasion and all following wars, is considered to be St. Sophia's Cathedral. One can really be impressed by the interior of the Cathedral, decorated with mosaics and frescos of the 11th century.   You will be able to contemplate the famous Golden Gates not far from St. Sophia's Cathedral. They were demolished in 1240 and later rebuilt. This beautiful and mighty construction inspired a famous composer Musorgsky for writing a musical composition "Pictures from the exhibition"