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Golden Gate
One of the most popular historical places in Kiev. You can get there by subway - "Golden Gate" station or by taxi. Golden Gate is situated in Old Town (Stare Misto) in a little green zone between streets Vladymyrska, Lysenko, Yaroslaviv Val and Zolotovoritska (Golden Gate street, which goes straight to Sofiivska church).
The height of the gate itself is 12 m, the width - 6.4 m.
In the first half of the 11th century, the nomadic Pecheneg tribe began to attack the Ukrainian populace living in the border regions of the Ukrainian state of Kyivan Rus. And, in the year 1036, the Pechenegs approached Kyiv itself, stopping just before the city ramparts. It is said that the Ukrainian sovereign of Kyivan Rus at that time, King Yaroslav the Wise, was extremely distressed at seeing this enemy encampment just outside his great city. Knowing it would not be an easy task to rout the Pechenegs, it is said that he prayed fervently to the Blessed Virgin Mary, promising her that he would build a church in her honor if he obtained victory in the difficult battle ahead. There was indeed a fierce battle for possession of the city of Kyiv; but, though the military might of the Pechenegs was great, King Yaroslav inflicted a devastating blow upon the army of the Pechenegs and virtually drove them off Ukrainian soil.
Since it would also be necessary to protect this new part of the city with walls and ramparts, King Yaroslav ordered the construction of new fortifications. And, through these new walls and ramparts, he also ordered the construction of a strong main gateway - the Golden Gates. The church was ornamented with frescos, ceramics and woodcarvings. The gate itself was reinforced and decorated with metal. The entranceway could be closed off with heavy doors of oak panels bound together with sheets of gilded copper. The arch itself was crowned with notches and semicircular niches, an architectural feature peculiar to the architecture of Kyivan Rus. Outside, the structure was girded by a deep moat spanned by a drawbridge.
The golden gate was one of the main structures built by Yaroslav in 1037. Cut into the rampart, it measured 6.4 meters, which was wide enough for a triumphal entry. The "golden" part of its name emphasized the triumphal character of the gate and also referred to the golden cupola of the Church of the Annunciation which was built over it.
The gate, destroyed during Batyi Khan's invasion was not reconstructed, but travellers who visited Kyiv in the 16th-17th centuries left descriptions and sketches of the ruins with the remains of the church. A century later what remained of the gate was levelled to the ground, and it was only in 1832 that archaeologists unearthed it, and it became a sensation. The gate was put in order, reinforced and opened to view. Its picturesque ruins could be seen up until recently.
For the preparations for the celebration of Kyiv's 1500th anniversary a group of specialists reconstructed it in its original for-the way it looked nearly a millennium ago. In 1983 the Golden Gate became a museum. Now, in 2004, the reconstruction is goijng on, thus the view is somewhat marred.
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Golden Gate
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