From the opposite
side of the Palace you will find City (Tsars'kyi
- Tsar) Park, built in 1743 on the site of the
former "Old Regular Park" which was founded by Peter "I".
It's layout is in the classical style, with a network of
straight alleys, which cross prependicularly.
Adjoining the
building of the Verkhovna
Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine, the Palace is the official residence of the President of
Ukraine for ceremonial purposes.
After
being burnt to the ground in 1819, Alexander II of Russia had the Palace
reconstructed in 1870 by the architect Konstantin Mayevsky from old drawings and watercolours. The
Interior
was made in the Classical style including elements of
Baroque and Renassance.
The
Palace was then renamed
after the reign of Empress Maria Alexandrovna and used as a
residence for visiting members of the imperial family up until 1917. During
World War II it was badly damaged after a bomb found it's target in the center
of the building. From 1945-to 1949 it was again
reconstructed and later restored
from 1979 to 1982.
The
fountains and green plantations retain a traditional 18th century character. Fountains
are decorated by twin sculptures - being copies
of sculptures taken from the 18th century, which are held
at the museums around the country. Marble
steps lead from the vestibule of the Palace to the
second floor, where ceremonial halls are located.
The important elements of the artistic decoration
of the Palace are furniture, chandeliers, and pictures
of paintings' of the well-known masters.
The remarkable
parquet floor of the Palace was restored during the
last restoration. The wood is comprised of the most
valuable species
of tree, and strikes with a beauty of figure and
perfection in craftsmanship and performance.
Babi
Yar
To reach this park, take the metro Green
Line to the Dorohozhychi station.
Babi Yar is the name of a ravine situated just outside Kiev.
The
name, which roughly translates as "Ravine
of Women", refers to the proprietress of the
property, the woman, who had sold it to the Dominican
monastery in 1401.
Today it's
a
memorial park denoting a horrible tragedy
in Ukrainian history. Babi Yar was the site of a massacre of Jews and other civilians by the Nazis,
during World War II. The Nazi forces captured the city in mid-September. Within less than a
fortnight, on the 29th and 30th, nearly 34,000 Jews of the ghetto were brought
to the suburban ravine known as Babi Yar, near the Jewish Cemetary, where men,
women, and children were systematically machine-gunned in a two-day orgy of
execution. In subsequent months, most of the remaining population was
exterminated. As many as 60,000 more people,
including Roma and Soviet
POWs were later shot at the site.
For the next two years the Nazis continued
to use the site as a mass killing ground. A total
of over 100,000 victims, including partisans
and members of the underground, but mostly Jews,
were murdered here.
Beginning in July of
1943 SS personnel were given the task of eliminating all
evidence of the massacre. No trace, apparently, was left, with the exception of fifteen prisoners who knew what their ultimate fate was
likely to be, escaped the concentration camp. Inmates who had carried
out the concealment work were executed by the SS.
On
the site you'll see a
large bronze composition with numerous figures of
people, reflecting both-Soviet and Jewish victims in general.
A smaller Jewish monument in the shape of the
Jewish symbol Menorah was erected in 1991. Another
monument remembers the children who were killed here.
Jewish
groups are currently planning to build a museum
and peace center near the site.
The Eternal Flame
and Park Vichnoyi Slavy (Eternal Glory Park)
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