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Показаны сообщения с ярлыком Ukraine. Показать все сообщения
Показаны сообщения с ярлыком Ukraine. Показать все сообщения
UA-203838 395 - ая открытка
Country: Ukraine
Distance: 1,051 km
Travel time: 20 days
On postcard: Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly 1,500 km (932 mi) long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe (after the Scandinavian Mountains, 1,700 km (1,056 mi)). They provide the habitat for the largest European populations of brown bears, wolves, chamois and lynxes, with the highest concentration in Romania,[2][3][4] as well as over one third of all European plant species. The Carpathians and their piedmont also concentrate many thermal and mineral waters, with Romania home to over one-third of the European total. Romania is likewise home to the largest surface of virgin forests in Europe (except Russia), totaling 250,000 hectares (65%), most of them in the Carpathians, with the Southern Carpathians constituting Europe’s largest unfragmented forested area.
The Carpathians consist of a chain of mountain ranges that stretch in an arc from the Czech Republic (3%) in the northwest through Slovakia (17%), Poland (10%), Hungary (4%) and Ukraine (11%) to Romania (53%) in the east and on to the Iron Gates on the River Danube between Romania and Serbia (2%) in the south. The highest range within the Carpathians is the Tatras, on the border of Poland and Slovakia, where the highest peaks exceed 2,600 m (8,530 ft). The second-highest range is the Eastern Carpathians in Romania, where the highest peaks exceed 2,500 m (8,202 ft).
The Carpathians are usually divided into three major parts: the Western Carpathians (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia), the Central Carpathians (southeastern Poland, eastern Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania), and the Eastern Carpathians (Romania, Serbia).
The most important cities in or near the Carpathians are: Bratislava and Košice in Slovakia; Kraków in Poland; Cluj-Napoca, Sibiu and Braşov in Romania; and Miskolc in Hungary.
Name
This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (March 2011)
The word "Carpathian" is derived from Thracian Greek Καρπάτῆς όρος (Karpates oros), meaning "rocky mountain", probably via German Karpathen and Latin Carpatus. Its earlier origins are unclear.
The range is called Karpaty in Czech, Polish, Russian, Slovak and Ukrainian, Karpaten in German and Dutch, Kárpátok in Hungarian, Carpați pronounced [karˈpat͡sʲ] in Romanian, and Karpati (Карпати) in Serbian.
The name Karpates may ultimately be from the Proto Indo-European root *sker-/*ker-, from which comes the Albanian word karpë (rock), and the Slavic word skála (rock, cliff), perhaps via a Dacian cognate which meant mountain, rock, or rugged (cf. Germanic root *skerp-, Old Norse harfr "harrow", Middle Low German scharf "potsherd" and Modern High German Scherbe "shard", Old English scearp and English sharp, Lithuanian kar~pas "cut, hack, notch", Latvian cìrpt "to shear, clip"). The archaic Polish word karpa meant "rugged irregularities, underwater obstacles/rocks, rugged roots or trunks". The more common word skarpa means a sharp cliff or other vertical terrain. Otherwise, the name may instead come from Indo-European *kwerp "to turn", akin to Old English hweorfan "to turn, change" (English warp) and Greek καρπός karpós "wrist", perhaps referring to the way the mountain range bends or veers in an L-shape. Also car means "king" and pati "road" so carpati is possibly the king's way.
In late Roman documents, the Eastern Carpathian Mountains were referred to as Montes Sarmatici (meanining Sarmatian Mountains]]). The Western Carpathians were called Carpates, a name that is first recorded in Ptolemy's Geographia (2nd century AD).
The name of the Carpi, a Dacian tribe, may have been derived from the name of the Carpathian Mountains. According to Zosimus, this tribe lived until 381 on the eastern Carpathian slopes. Alternatively the mountain range's name may be derived from the Dacian tribe's name.
In the Scandinavian Hervarar saga, which describes ancient Germanic legends about battles between Goths and Huns, the name Karpates appears in the predictable Germanic form as Harvaða fjöllum (see Grimm's law).
13th-15th century Hungarian documents named the mountains Thorchal, Tarczal or less frequently Montes Nivium.
Geography
This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2011)
The Carpathians begin on the Góra Świętego Marcina 384 m. in Tarnów - northern edge of Pogórze Ciężkowickie. They surround Transcarpathia and Transylvania in a large semicircle, sweeping towards the southeast, and end on the Danube near Orşova in Romania. The total length of the Carpathians is over 1,500 km (932 mi) and the mountain chain's width varies between 12 and 500 km (7 and 311 mi). The highest altitudes of the Carpathians occur where they are widest. The system attains its greatest breadth in the Transylvanian plateau and in the meridian of the Tatra group – the highest range, in which Gerlachovský štít in Slovakia is the highest peak at 2,655 m (8,711 ft) above sea level. The Carpathians cover an area of 190,000 km2 (73,359 sq mi) and, after the Alps, form the next most extensive mountain system in Europe.
Although commonly referred to as a mountain chain, the Carpathians do not actually form an uninterrupted chain of mountains. Rather, they consist of several orographically and geologically distinctive groups, presenting as great a structural variety as the Alps. The Carpathians, which attain an altitude of over 2,500 m (8,202 ft) in only a few places, lack the bold peaks, extensive snowfields, large glaciers, high waterfalls, and numerous large lakes that are common in the Alps. No area of the Carpathian range is covered in snow all year round and there are no glaciers. The Carpathians at their highest altitude are only as high as the middle region of the Alps, with which they share a common appearance, climate, and flora.
The Carpathians are separated from the Alps by the Danube. The two ranges meet at only one point: the Leitha Mountains at Bratislava. The river also separates them from the Balkan Mountains at Orşova in Romania. The valley of the March and Oder separates the Carpathians from the Silesian and Moravian chains, which belong to the middle wing of the great Central Mountain System of Europe. Unlike the other wings of the system, the Carpathians, which form the watershed between the northern seas and the Black Sea, are surrounded on all sides by plains, namely the Pannonian plain to the southwest, the plain of the Lower Danube (Romania) to the south, and the Galician plain to the northeast.
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Country: Ukraine
Distance: 1,226 km
Travel time: 365 days
On postcard: Odessa Cathedral
The Odessa Orthodox Cathedral is dedicated to the Saviour's Transfiguration and belongs to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate).
The first and foremost church in the city of Odessa, the cathedral was founded in 1794 by Gavril Bănulescu-Bodoni. Construction lagged several years behind schedule when the newly appointed governor of New Russia, Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu, employed the Italian architect Francesco Frappoli to complete the edifice.
The cathedral was designated the main church of New Russia in 1808 and was continuously expanded throughout the 19th century. The belltower was built between 1825 and 1837, and the refectory connecting it to the main church several years later. The interior was lined with polychrome marble, and the icon screen also was of marble.
Several churches in the region, including the Nativity Cathedral in Chişinău, were built in conscious imitation of the Odessa church. The cathedral was the burial place of the bishops of Tauride (including Saint Innocent of Kherson) and Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov, the famous governor of New Russia.
The original structure was demolished by the Soviets in 1936. It was rebuilt starting from 1999. The new cathedral was consecrated in 2003. The remains of Vorontsov and his wife were subsequently reburied in the cathedral. There is a statue of him on the cathedral square. The cathedral bells are controlled by an electronic device capable of playing 99 melodies.
UA-206415 380 - ая открытка
Country: Ukraine
Distance: 859 km
Travel time: 7 days
On postcard: Mariyinsky Palace
Mariyinsky Palace (Ukrainian: Маріїнський палац, Mariyins'kyi palats) is an official ceremonial residence of the President of Ukraine in Kiev and adjoins the neo-classical building of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) of Ukraine. It is a picturesque Baroque palace on the hilly bank of the Dnieper River.
The palace was requested to be constructed in 1744 by the Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, and was designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the most famous architect working in the Russian empire at that time. One of the students of Rastrelli, Ivan Michurin, together with a group of other architects, completed the palace in 1752. Empress Elizabeth, however, did not live long enough to see the palace. The first royal figure to stay in the palace was Empress Catherine II, who visited Kiev in 1787. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the palace was the main residence of Governors-General.
In the early 19th century, the palace burned down in a series of fires. Roughly half a century later, in 1870, Alexander II of Russia had the palace reconstructed by the architect Konstantin Mayevsky, using old drawings and watercolours as guide. It was then renamed after the reigning Empress Maria Alexandrovna. By her wish, a large park was established off the southern side of the palace. The palace was used as a residence for visiting members of the imperial family until 1917.
During the years of the Russian Civil War in 1917-20, the palace was used as the Kiev revkom headquarters, particularly during the Kiev Bolshevik Uprising. In the 1920s the building belonged to an agricultural school, soon after which it became a museum. The Mariyinsky was badly damaged in World War II, and restored at the end of the 1940s. Another major restoration was completed in the early 1980s.
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UA-189942 344 - ая открытка
Country: Ukraine
Distance: 859 km
Travel time: 6 days
On postcard: The Monument to the Founders of Kyiv
Kiev has many symbols, starting from St. Sophia`s Cathedral and St. Andre`s Church to the bell tower of Kiev Pechersk Lavra and the Motherland Mother monument. “Ladya” — the monument to the founders of Kiev: brothers Kiy, Schek, Khoriv and their sister Lybid — has been on this list for three decades. This monuments doesn`t just embody the old legend. It holds its special place in the capital – it is especially attractive for newly-married couples. Thousands of couples have thrown flowers into “Ladya” over their shoulders, without turning round. If flowers fall into “Ladya”, the marriage is likely to be long-lasting and happy. The so-called “love tree”, decorated with numerous ribbons, has bloomed by “Ladya” as the sign of respect and continuation of this tradition. The tree made the park even more romantic.
Saga about Kiy
There was a word at first… It was the word of the chronicler, who wrote down the legend about foundation of Kiev over a thousand years ago. It was then that the first scientific –historical argument with political implication burst out in Russian chronicles. Chroniclers of Novgorod dated foundation of Kiev only 854, turning it into not even a peer, but a younger brother of the Great Novgorod. Prince Kiy was proclaimed a simple hunter or a boatman across the Dnieper. Like there was no prince at all. The “PR – specialists” of that time gave as good as they got and developed their own theory in the local chronicle. The first answer to “enemy voices” was formulated in the ceremonial form by the author of the chronicle of 1093: “There was king Romul in old days and Rome was named after him. There was Antioch and the city of Antioch, Alexandr the Macedonian and the city Alexandria named after him. And many other cities in different regions were named after kings and princes. Our country was not an exception – the great city of Kiev was named after Kiy.
Кий, Щек, Хорив и сестра их Лыбедь
Two decades later the famous chronicler Nestor searched the archives to find more accurate information about Kiy. “Advocacy from the North” must have bothered descendants of Yaroslav Mudriy, for whom it was important to fix the status of the city as the true capital of Rus, founded not by a commoner, but a prince once and for all. The following record became the result of Nestor`s historical research.
According to Nestor, if Kiy were a boatman, he couldn`t go to Tsargrad. But Kiy was a prince among his people and visited the Emperor, whose name is unknown to us, but who is known to have welcomed Kiy with honor, when the prince visited him. On his way back Kiy built a small town on Danube and offered his congeners to settle down there, but local population opposed. Population of the Danube region still calls this place “Kiyevets settlement”. Kiy returned to his native city, where eventually died. After his and his brothers` death, his dynasty ruled over Polyany land.
Nestor didn’t mention the name of the Emperor, whom the founder of the city visited. But the city didn`t become younger because of that. Relying on archeological data, historians of the 19th - 20th centuries have determined exactly – there was a settlement with active trade on the highland, which has turned into the mountains of the right bank , starting from the times of Roman Emperor Trayan (98 – 117 AD). When the Slavs started to move from forest and forest-steppe regions to Balkans, they moved along the most usual way of that time — along rivers. And the ruler, who possessed the powerful line of riverside hills to the south from the Desna confluence, bore the bag on the huge territory of the whole Dnieper basin. That’s the way the tribal center of Polyany was founded and quickly strengthened. We are not likely to get to know exactly the name of the first prince, who “locked” one of the hills in a wooden fortress. It is quite possible that there were three of them – the three owners of the neighboring fortresses on the hills. They could be brothers. And their sister Lybid could also exist. The romantic name of the main Kiev inflow of the Dnieper definitely appeals to comparison-image of a beautiful girl and a swan.
The “Hovering Lybid” by Vasiliy Boroday
When it was decided to celebrate the 1500th anniversary of Kiev in state in 1982, the city got a great number of attractions, timed to this date. Now it is impossible to imagine the capital without them. The reconstructed Golden Gate, for example. According to the initial project, the “Ladya” boat, that was to be constructed on the occasion of the jubilee, was supposed to stand on the top of the pylon of Moskovskiy Bridge that connects new residential communities in the north of the city. However, it was decided that the composition on the top of the huge 100 – meter high pylon would not be noticed and might not be able to stand strong wind load. So it was decided to set in “overland”. A small park at the foot of the most southern Pechersk hill was chosen for this purpose.
So, in May 1982 four figures, made of hammered copper, symbolizing the four legendary founders of Kiev, appeared in the park, which was named after the revolutionary figure G. Pyatakov. There is a pool with fountains at the bottom of the sculpture. By the monument there is a symbolic stone with a quotation from the chronicle, informing about foundation of Kiev. The sculpture Vasiliy Boroday and the architect Nikolay Feshenko became the authors of the composition. By the way, the monument is officially called “Hovering Lybid”.
It is high time we told about the person, who granted this monument to us. The “father” of the monument Vasiliy Boroday worked much and fruitfully during his life. He was born in Dnepropetrovsk (Ekaterinoslav) and was the son of a postman. Boroday entered an art school in 1936. He graduated with honors and got the right to enter Leningrad Art Academy. But his studies were interrupted by the war. He headed a reconnaissance company. After returning from the front as a senior lieutenant, he became a student of Kiev Art Institute. There were many of them at that time – 30 year-old front-line soldiers, who started to study peaceful professions. It was only at the age of 36 that he finally defended his diploma project.
The figure of Lybid was taken by Boroday from the image of his daughter Galina, who was a talented painter and died at young age. To immortalize her, Vasiliy embodied his sorrow and pain in the figure of the beautiful princess. Maybe that was the reason why this most favorite and gained through much suffering figure, remained intact at that frosty February night…
For almost twenty years Boroday headed the Union of Painters of Ukraine, was in charge of the workshop at the National Academy of Applied Arts and Architecture. The famous statue of the Motherland-Mother in Kiev Great Patriotic War Museum is considered his main composition. Boroday finished this monument, embodying the idea of the brilliant Yevgeniy Vuchetich. Other metropolitan Boroday`s works are also famous and recognizable – the monument to Schors on Shevchenko Boulevard and Lesya Ukrainka in Mariinskiy Park, and it his monument to Taras Shevchenko, that was set I New York.
Like many other objects, which were finished in a frantic rush timed to the City day in 1982, “Ladya” was constructed with substantial imperfections. Figures of the Princes were made of copper, but not bronze, as the sculptor wished, and poured with glasscrete. And only “Lybid” remained hollow. All these facts predetermined the dramatic accident, which happened to the monument during the severe winter of 2010. At the night between 23d and 24th of February the figures of Schek and Khoriv crashed down together with a piece of the boat and the figure of Kiy remained by miracle. The concrete didn`t bear the frost. Vasiliy Boroday, who was almost 94 then, never saw the monument restored – he died 55 days later, in April. Maybe because post factum he was criticized for constructional defects of the monument. He didn`t live a month till the opening of the restored monuments, which took place on May 20…
Monument to love
Navodnitskiy Park, where “Ladya” is placed, is remarkable not only because of it. Its area is 11 hectares. There is a “round hall” here, surrounded by high green walls of Lombardy poplars with a flowerbed with coniferous trees in the center of it. Landscape designers of the 1980th did great job.
Let`s walk around the park. A wooden church in honor of St. Vladimir and a big white cross of unusual form, set near it, have appeared lately. The UNO Alley was laid in the park in 2005, timed to the 60th anniversary of foundation of the organization. Respective memorable mark informs about it.
Maybe the monument to the revolutionary Pyatakov, still standing on one of the loans, is not worth our attention, but the Tree of Happiness is much more interesting. It has become an addition to the “wedding” reputation of “Ladya”. Leaves and apples are hanging on the branches of this small nice tree. It may be the author`s humorous comparison with the “tree of cognition of good and evil”. Anyway, newly-married couples diligently stick to the touching ritual: first they tie a ribbon round the tree, then touch a leaf on it – a sign of happy family life, and finally – touch the fruit to make fruits of their love – their children – healthy and happy.
So, this moment attracts newly-married couples not without reason: young generations of Kiev residents express their respect for the founders of the city, where they are going to live and raise their children.
So, the monument, built on the occasion of Kiev 1500th anniversary, can be legally called the monument to love, including love for the native city.
The wonderful Dnieper view has opened from the bottom of the sculpture for many decades. Feels like “Ladya” swims along an eternal river and the mighty brothers examine the range of riverside hills, where they will eventually set the first fortifications, with mute delight. And their sister Lybid meets the wind, spreading out her arms…
UA-174184 315- ая открытка
Country: Ukraine
Distance: 682 km
Travel time: 12 days
On postcard: Lviv
Lviv (Ukrainian: Львів L’viv, Polish: Lwów; Russian: Львов, L'vov; German: Lemberg; Latin: Leopolis; see also other names) is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following Holocaust and Polish population transfers (1944–1946). The historical heart of Lviv with its old buildings and cobblestone roads has survived World War II and ensuing Soviet presence largely unscathed. The city has many industries and institutions of higher education such as the Lviv University and the Lviv Polytechnic. Lviv is also a home to many world-class cultural institutions, including a philharmonic orchestra and the famous Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet. The historic city centre is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Lviv celebrated its 750th anniversary with a son et lumière in the city centre in September 2006.
Lviv was founded in 1256 in Red Ruthenia by King Danylo Halytskyi of the Ruthenian principality of Halych-Volhynia, and named in honour of his son, Lev. Together with the rest of Red Ruthenia, Lviv was captured by the Kingdom of Poland in 1349 during the reign ofPolish king Casimir III the Great. Lviv belonged to the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland 1349–1772, the Austrian Empire 1772–1918 and the Second Polish Republic 1918–1939. With the Invasion of Poland at the outbreak of the second World War, the city of Lviv with adjacent land were annexed and incorporated into the Soviet Union, becoming part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1939 to 1941. Between July 1941 and July 1944 Lviv was under German occupation and was located in the General Government. In July 1944 it was captured by the Soviet Red Army and the Polish Home Army. According to the agreements of the Yalta Conference, Lviv was again integrated into the Ukrainian SSR. Most of the Poles living in Lviv were resettled into Polish territories annexed from Germany.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the city remained a part of the now independent Ukraine, for which it currently serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast, and is designated as its own raion (district) within that oblast.
On 12 June 2009 the Ukrainian magazine Focus assessed Lviv as the best Ukrainian city to live in. Its more Western European flavor lends it the nickname the "Little Paris of Ukraine".
The city is expecting a sharp increase in the number of foreign visitors next summer for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, and as a result a major new airport terminal is being built. Lviv is one of 8 Polish and Ukrainian cities that is co-hosting the group stages of the tournament.
Location
Lviv is located on the edge of the Roztochia Upland, approximately 70 km from the Polish border and 160 km (99 mi) from the eastern Carpathian Mountains. The average altitude of Lviv is 296 m (971.13 ft) above sea level. Its highest point is the Vysokyi Zamok (High Castle), 409 m (1,341.86 ft) above sea level. This castle has a commanding view of the historic city centre with its distinctive green-domed churches and intricate architecture.
The old walled city was at the foothills of the High Castle on the banks of the river Poltva. In the 13th century, the river was used to transport goods. In the early 20th century, the Poltva was covered over in areas where it flows through the city. The river flows directly beneath the central street of Lviv, Freedom Avenue (Prospect Svobody) and the renowned Lviv Opera House.
UA-121441 182 - ая открытка
Country: Ukraine
Distance: 1,196 km
Travel time: 5 days
On postcard: 6th Postcrossing anniversary bonus card!
UA-115808 170 - ая открытка
Country: Ukraine
Distance: 1,226 km
Travel time: 10 days
On postcard: Monument “To Sailor's Wife” in Odessa
September 2, 2002, within the celebration of the day of the city, there was opened the monument “To Sailor’s Wife” in Odessa Sea Port. The monument depicts a woman standing on the balcony floor, holding a baby in her arms and gazing into the sea further, waiting for the arrival of the ship. The author of the modest monument was the famous Odessa sculptor Alexander Tokarev.
Odessa was originally built as the port city, so the work of the half of its inhabitants in any way is associated with the sea. Once upon a time there was a phrase from Odessa citizens: "One half of the Odessa citizens goes to the seas, and other, better one, waits for them, staring intensely into the distance". That's why it was decided to erect the monument of loyalty, love and patience to those city residents, whose husbands furrowed sea space, to those, who saw off the leaving the warships of Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol in the autumn 1941, to those, who waited for the return of “Nakhimov” and failed to wait for it, to those, who has been expecting for the arrival of the tanker “Tuapse” for decades, which sank at the native berth, and to those, who waited for whalers of the fleets “Slava” (Glory) and “Sovetskaya Ukraina” (Soviet Ukraine).
The sculpture of the woman is very beautiful: in all her shape there is shown the unspent tenderness. She is modest, with big sad eyes, and looks like a living: there is a feeling that the wife and child suddenly come alive. At the foot of the monument there is a small speaker, which plays the song by L. Utesov about the wives of seafarers.
The monument symbolizes also the fact that at the present time in all corners of the globe the thousands of wives and children are awaiting for the arrival of the head of their family, but not all of them can meet the husband or father again.
UA-109284 155 - aя открыткa
Country: Ukraine
Distance: 859 km
Travel time: 5 days
On postcard: Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev is an outstanding architectural monument of Kievan Rus'. Today, it is one of the city's best known landmarks and the first Ukrainian patrimony to be inscribed on the World Heritage List along with the Kiev Cave Monastery complex. The cathedral beside its main building includes an ensemble of supporting structures such as a bell tower, a house of metropolitan, and others. In 2011 the historic site was reassigned from the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Regional Development of Ukraine to the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. One of the reason for that move was the fact that both "Sofia Kyivska" and Kiev Pechersk Lavra is recognized by the UNESCO World Heritage Program as one complex site, while in Ukraine their were governed by different government entities.
In Ukrainian the cathedral is known as Sobor Sviatoyi Sofiyi (Собор Святої Софії) or Sofiyskyi sobor (Софійський собор). In Russian it is known as Sobor Svyatoi Sofii (Собор Святой Софии) or Sofiyskiy sobor (Софийский собор).
The complex of the Cathedral is the main component and museum of the National Preserve "Sophia of Kiev" which is the state institution responsible for the preservation of the Cathedral complex as well as four other historic landmarks across the nation.
History
The cathedral's name comes from the 6th-century Hagia Sophia cathedral in Constantinople (meaning Holy Wisdom, and dedicated to the Holy Wisdom rather than a specific saint named Sophia). According to a less popular theory, its model was the 13-domed oaken Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod (ca. 989), which Yaroslav I the Wise determined to imitate in stone as a sign of gratitude to the citizens of Novgorod who had helped him secure the Kievan throne in 1019.
The first foundations were laid out in 1037 (or 1011), but the cathedral took two decades to complete. The structure has 5 naves, 5 apses, and (quite surprisingly for Byzantine architecture) 13 cupolas. It is surrounded by two-tier galleries from three sides. Measuring 37 to 55 m (121 to 180 ft), the exterior used to be faced with plinths. On the inside, it retains mosaics and frescos from the eleventh century, including a dilapidated representation of Yaroslav's family, and the Orans.
Originally the cathedral was a burial place of the Kievan rulers including Vladimir Monomakh, Vsevolod Yaroslavich and of course the cathedral's founder Yaroslav I the Wise, although only the latter's grave survived to our days (see picture).
After the pillaging of Kiev by Andrei Bogolyubsky of Vladimir-Suzdal in 1169, followed by Mongolian Tatars in 1240, the cathedral fell into disrepair. Following the 1595-96 Union of Brest, the cathedral of Saint Sophia belonged to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church until it was claimed by the Moldavian Orthodox metropolitan Peter Mogila (Mohyla) in 1633. Mogila commissioned the repair work and the upper part of the building was thoroughly rebuilt, modeled by the Italian architect Octaviano Mancini in the distinct Ukrainian Baroque style, while preserving the Byzantine interior, keeping its splendor intact. The work continued under the Cossack Hetman Ivan Mazepa, and in 1740 the Cathedral was completed to its present form.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917 and during the Soviet antireligious campaign of the 1920s, the government plan called for the cathedral's destruction and transformation of the grounds into a park "Heroes of Perekop" (after a Red Army victory in theRussian Civil War in Crimea). The cathedral was saved from destruction primarily with the effort of many scientists and historians. Nevertheless, in 1934, Soviet authorities confiscated the structure from the church, including the surrounding seventeenth–eighteenth century architectural complex and designated it as an architectural and historical museum.
Since the late 1980s Soviet, and later Ukrainian, politicians promised to return the building to the Orthodox Church. Due to various schisms and factions within the Church the return was postponed as all Orthodox and the Greek-Catholic Churches lay claim to it. Although all of the Orthodox churches have been allowed to conduct services at different dates, other times they are denied access. Most memorable was the funeral of Patriarch Volodymyr of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchy in 1995, when riot police were forced to prevent the burial on the premises of the museum and a bloody clash took place. After events such as those no religious body has yet been given the rights for regular services. The complex now remains a museum of Ukraine's Christianity, with most of its visitors being tourists.
On 21 August 2007, the Saint Sophia Cathedral was named one of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine, based on a voting by experts and the internet community.
Ласточкино гнездо, Крым, Украина
Swallow's Nest (Ukrainian: Ластівчине гніздо, translit. Lastivchýne hnizdó; Russian: Ласточкино гнездо, translit. Lástochkino gnezdó; Crimean Tatar: Qarılğaç yuvası) is a decorative castle near Yalta on the Crimean shore in southern Ukraine. It was built between 1911 and 1912 near Gaspra, on top of 40-metre (130 ft) high Aurora Cliff, to a Neo-Gothic design by the Russian architect Leonid Sherwood. The castle overlooks Ai-Todor cape of the Black Sea and is located near the remnants of the Roman castrum of Charax. Swallow's Nest is one of the most popular visitor attractions in Crimea.
The original wooden Swallow's Nest.
The first building on the Aurora Cliff was constructed for a Russian general circa 1895. The first structure he built was a wooden cottage romantically named the "Love Castle." Later on, the ownership of the cottage passed to A. K. Tobin, a court doctor to the Russian Tsar.
In 1911, Baron von Steingel, a Baltic German noble who had made a fortune extracting oil in Baku, acquired the timber cottage and within a year had it replaced by the current building. The Scottish baronial and Neo-Moorish styles had been introduced in the Crimea in the 1820s byEdward Blore, the architect of the Alupka Palace (1828-46). Compared to Alupka and Koreiz, Swallow's Nest is closer in style to German architectural follies, such as Neuschwanstein, Babelsberg, and Stolzenfels, although its precarious setting on the cliffs by the sea-side may also suggest the Belém Tower.
In 1914, von Steinheil sold the building to P. G. Shelaputin to be used as a restaurant. For a short time after the Russian Revolution of 1917, the building was used only as a tourist attraction. In the 1930s, the building was used by a reading club of the nearby Zhemchuzhina ("Pearl") resort.
In 1927, Swallow's Nest survived a serious earthquake rated at 6 to 7 on the Richter scale. The building was not damaged, except for some small decorative items that were thrown into the sea along with a small portion of the cliff. However, the cliff itself developed a huge crack. For a long time, Swallow's Nest was closed to the public due to the damage it suffered in that quake. The building would remain closed for the next forty years.
Overlooking the cape of Ai–Todor, the romantic Swallow's Nest castle is situated on top of a 40-metre (130 ft) high Aurora Cliff.
Renovation and restoration on the building was started in only 1968. The project involved the restoration of a small portion of the castle and the addition of a monolithic console concrete plate to strengthen the cliff. Since 1975, an Italian restaurant has operated within the building. Swallow's Nest was also featured in several Soviet films. It was used as the setting of Desyat Negrityat, the Soviet screen version of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. The Swallow's Nest Castle and the surrounding landmarks such as the Massandra palace were also shortly featured in a Jackie Chan film.
Architecture
The building is compact in size (20 m long by 10 m wide; 65 ft by 33 ft). Its original design envisioned a foyer, guest room, stairway to the tower, and two bedrooms on two different levels within the tower. The interior of the guest room is decorated with wooden panels; the walls of the rest of the rooms are stuccoed and painted. An observation deck rings the building, providing a view of the sea, and Yalta's distant shoreline.
Михайлівський золотоверхий монастир, Київ, Україна
Миха́йловский Златове́рхий монасты́рь — один из древнейших монастырей в Киеве. Включает разрушенный в 1930-егоды и заново построенный в средине 1990-х годов соборный храм в честь Архангела Михаила в стиле украинского барокко, а также трапезную с церковью Иоанна Богослова (1713 год) и колокольню (1716—1719 годы).
Предполагается, что Михайловский собор был первым храмом с позолоченным верхом, откуда на Руси пошла эта своеобразная традиция.
Собор святої Софії, Київ, Україна
Собо́р Свято́й Софи́и (укр. Собор святої Софії; Софи́йский собо́р, укр. Софійський собор) был построен в XI веке в центре Киева по приказу Ярослава Мудрого. На рубеже XVII-XVIII веков был внешне перестроен в стиле украинского барокко. Внутри Собора сохранилось множество древних фресок и мозаик, в том числе знаменитая мозаика Богоматерь Оранта.
Софийский собор стал первым внесённым в список Всемирного наследия ЮНЕСКО памятником архитектуры на территории Украины.
Поскольку Собор святой Софии является государственным музеем-заповедником и внесён в список Всемирного наследия ЮНЕСКО, его запрещено передавать любой религиозной организации и проводить там богослужения. Исключение составляет день 24 августа — День независимости Украины, когда представители религиозных организаций совершают молитву об Украине (была введена с 2005 года), 22 ноября 2006 года Украинская православная церковь Московского Патриархата отказалась участвовать в будущем в этом мероприятии: согласно заявлению Синода УПЦ МП, молитва вместе с «отлученными от церкви» противоречит Апостольским Правилам.
Синеви́р, Закарпа́тська о́бласть, Міжгірський район, Україна
Озеро Синевир возникло вследствие завала в Межгорном районе Закарпатской области вблизи села Синевирская Поляна. Оно расположено на южных спусках Горган в ущелье, образованном горами Озерная (1495 м) и Сленизир (1235 м) и отрогом Водоотделяющего хребта на высоте 987 м. над уровнем моря. Площадь озера 7 га. средняя глубина - 16-17 м., максимальная - 24 м. Углубление сформировалось в результате обвала скал и перекрытия долины горного потока и имеет продолговато-округлую форму. Питается озеро поверхностными и атмосферными водами, из озера вытекет небольшой ручеек (басейн Теребли). Вода в озере слабоминерализованная, чистая, прозрачная, имеет постоянную температуру (+11 С).
В народе же существует легенда, которая гласит, что в давние времена у одного графа была дочь Синь. Однажды она встретила пастуха Вира. Они начали тайно встречаться и полюбили друг друга. Однако граф не позволил дочери встречаться с Виром. Он приказал своим слугам убить пастуха. Они сбросили его с высокой скалы на камни. Синь, узнав об этом, долго плакала. Из ее слез и образовалось озеро. С тех пор озеро называется Синевир. Сейчас на берегу озера установлены, вырезанные из дерева, фигуры Сини и Вира. Сюда приезжают праздновать свадьбы из многих уголков Карпат. Говорят, что если люди познакомились и полюбили друг друга на озере, то их ждет крепкая любовь.
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