Ukraine Travel and Tourism Specialists

Entertainment and Places to Visit in Kiev's Suburbs

Svyato-Troitskaya Kitaevskaya Pustin

During the time of the Kiev Rus empire, big monasteries were built in deserts, or pustin, to provide monks with the best environment for isolation and reflection. One of the best known of these monasteries was Kitaevskaya Pustin.
The word "Kitay," which in Russian and Ukrainian means China, has in the case of Kitaevskaya Pustin nothing to do with China. The name of the monastery likely originated from the Turk word for fortress.
In Soviet times, the monastery was closed, but in 1992 the main temple was restored and the monastery reopened.
The buildings of the Kitaevaskaya Pustin complex that still stand today include the five-cupola Church of Saint Troitsa (Holy Trinity), which was finished in 1767; a Refectory; the Temple of 12 Apostles; the monk cells of the early 19th century; and the community corpus of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The most famous local saints at Kitaev were Dorisfey and Teofil, both of whom are buried near the Troitskaya Church. Dorisfey, who left from home when she was a child, lived for 26 years in a self-made cave at the monastery complex.

Archaeologists have discovered a kurgan-type cemetery used during the 9th through 12th centuries on the monastery grounds.Even more exiting, they discovered a cave complex that the monastery used between the 16th and 18th centuries. The caves have yet to be well investigated. Although they are mysterious, they are known to be connected with the famous caves of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Monastery.

The Museum of Rural Architecture (Pirogovo)

The open-air museum was created in 1969. It consists of more than 300 rural buildings from around Ukraine. Those who selected the structures chose them from buildings in more than 4,000 towns. The structures were built from the 16th to the early 20th centuries.
They are organised by regions of the country: Naddnepryanschina, Poltavschina, Slobozhanschina, Polesie, Podoliya, Karpathy and Southern Ukraine. In each regional grouping, you can see churches, huts, houses, schools and commercial buildings. There are separate groupings dealing with meals and rural life in the period 1960 - 1970.
Traditional Ukrainian folk celebrations are held at the museum - and are very popular. You can see folk art from all over Ukraine. A restaurant offers you traditional dishes from around the country.

Lots of open space and fresh air will make your visit relaxing. For good measure, you can ride horses and have a barbecue. A visit to the open-air museum will not only acquaint you with rural Ukraine from medieval times until now, but will be restful for you. Come when the weather is good, and you will always have fond memories of your visit.

Vidubitskiy Monastery is in a southern suburb of Kiev. The original monastery was around long before Prince Vladimir christened the Kiev Rus empire in 988. The monks had no buildings, however. They lived in caves in Mount Zverinets.
In 988, they decided to build an above-ground monastery. Over time, the caves were turned into an underground cemetery. The caves also contain a church where the names of the monastery's seven hygumens are carved.
The first above-ground monastery was wooden, so fires destroyed it several times. In 1054 Prince Yaroslav the Wise gave Vidubichi to his son, Prince Vsevolod, who decided to build a church of stone. The church was devoted to the Archangel Michael.
In the 12th century the Vidubitskiy Monastery became famous as a centre of chronicle writing. Between the late 17th and early 18th centuries, a number of wonderful buildings went up on the site.

St. Michael Church was finished in 1088 after 17 years of construction.
Originally, it was a six-column, cross-formed temple only 19 meters long by 13 meters wide. Its walls, arches and pillars were frescoed.
The frescoes were lost, however, when the cathedral's eastern wall was destroyed.
In the 17th century, glue paints were used on the wall of the southern vestibule to ensure the survival of some frescoes.
The walls of the cathedral still contain graffiti that was applied during the 11th and 12th centuries. There are people's names, initials, crosses of different kinds, depictions of people and depictions of mythical animals.

St. George's Church - Colonel Michael Miklashevsky put up the money to build the cathedral, which was completed in 1701.
The unknown architect made five towers the centrepiece of the building, which is located in the middle of the monastery.
The central dome is surrounded by four small domes with crosses. Paintings of tempera hang above the three temple entrances. "The Wonder of St. Michael" is above the western entrance, "The Annunciation" above the northern one, and "The Archangels Council" above the south one.
The cathedral's interior was painted in Baroque style. A special adornment of the temple is a five-tiered gilded icon of lime that Anna, the wife of hetman Daniel Apostol, presented to the monastery.

The Refectory. Colonel Miklashevsky put up the money for the Savoir Refectory at the same time he funded the church. The colonel's taste in art affected the refectory's appearance. The plaster around cornices and friezes has been shaped to look like plants -- a decorative touch that conjures up peasants' huts. The exterior of the refectory is exactly as it was originally. But the interior has been partially converted into a nice restaurant. You can try special "monastery cuisine" in there. By the way, the wine that the monks make is fantastic!

The Bell Tower. The tower was completed in 1733.

The building is square and has baroque floors. On the ground floor are steps leading to St. Daniel's Church.
Originally, bells were suspended from oak beams on the second floor. In 1778 the bells were removed because the building began sloping.
In 1833 the building's foundation was fixed and the architect Melenskiy built the third floor in classicist style.
A two-story annex was added to the side of the entrance in 1913.
The first floor contains a small shop where candles and other ritual accessories are sold. The second floor was equipped as a vestry and library.
Since the late 18th century, many famous cultural figures, scientists and military leaders have been buried in the monastery cemetery.
Besides the attractions of the monastery itself, another reason to visit is the nearby Central Botanical Garden of the Ukrainian Academy of Science. It has a superb collection of plants.

Rancho Bolivar is an entertainment place for those who love nature, sports (horseback riding, fishing, hunting) and good food.

It is situated in a picturesque southern suburb of Kiev, surrounded by forests and fields.

Here you can spend a couple of days without doing the same thing twice.

If you have never tried riding horses, but would like to, experienced coaches will give you your first lessons. Beautiful, well-bred, gentle horses are available. You start by riding in a corral, to get used to a horse. After that, you can go on guided tours of nearby fields or forest.

Rancho Bolivar also offers tennis, billiards and pool.

But if you are ready for something extraordinary, consider a multi-day, guided hunting trip in the forest. In the evening you'll pitch your tent in a meadow or on the banks of a stream and enjoy food and friendship over a fire. All this trip is very popular with men, both men and women are welcome.
While you're hunting, you'll enjoy the silence and isolation of the forest, and the flowers and berries and birds.
Experienced hunting guides will accompany you. And, if you'd like, your travel guides -- Katya and Natasha -- also are available.
The hunting guides provide you with well-maintained hunting and riding equipment.
If you are a fishing fan, you'll love Rancho Bolivar. Some of the fishing that is done is in a cave near a beautiful lake. Fishing gear is provided, and any fish you catch can be cooked on the spot. And red wine is available -- a touch that Ernest Hemingway would have appreciated.

You can spend the night at Rancho Bolivar in a hotel built in the style of a medieval castle. Each of the units has a hunting motif. And -- what a great touch! -- each also has a fireplace.

In the evening, if you'd like, you can order barbeque (shashlik). Then you can sit down and watch it being cooked as the sun sets.

If you get really tired -- you definitely will if you try everything Rancho Bolivar has to offer -- you can then have a Russian sauna prepared for you. The friendly and helpful staff working there will give you a traditional 'switching' with a birch broom to relax you and then an even more intense and relaxing massage.

The Restaurant - If you don't have the time to stay for long, you should at least have lunch or dinner at Rancho Bolivar. You will never forget the warm, wood interior of the restaurant. It offers tasty cuisine from Ukraine and other places in Europe. Or you can try your imagination and order any dish that comes to your mind - and it will be cooked for you. There is also a bar with a wide choice of drinks.

Forget about your everyday troubles and escape from the ordinary. Come to Rancho Bolivar. For a couple of days, you can play that cowboy you saw in the movies or the hunter you've read about in books. Or just relax. You won't forget the experience.

About Us | Services | Contact Us | Site Map | Testimonials | Currency & Exchange Rates
Photo Slide Show | Map of Ukraine | Weather | Links | Forum

FunTravel. Ukraine Travel and Tourism Specialists