 Khreshchatyk in 2021 | |
 | |
| Former name(s) | Wacław Worowski Street (1923–1937),Eichhornstraße (1941–1943) |
|---|---|
| Length | 1.2 km (0.75 mi) |
| Location | Kyiv, Ukraine |
| Nearest metro station | Maidan Nezalezhnosti /Khreschchatyk ( / )Teatralna /Zoloti Vorota ( / ) |
| Coordinates | 50°26′50″N30°31′19″E / 50.44722°N 30.52194°E /50.44722; 30.52194 |
| From | European Square |
| Major junctions | Maidan Nezalezhnosti |
| To | Bessarabska Square |
| Other | |
| Status | pedestrianised during weekends and public holidays |
| Official name | Вулиця Хрещатик (Khreshchatyk Street) |
| Type | Urban Planning |
| Reference no. | 927-Кв |
Khreshchatyk (Ukrainian:Хрещатик,pronounced[xreˈʃtʃɑtɪk]) is the main street ofKyiv, the capital city of Ukraine. The street is 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) long, and runs in a northeast-southwest direction fromEuropean Square through theMaidan toBessarabska Square and theBesarabsky Market. The offices of theKyiv City Council, thePost Office, theMinistry of Agrarian Policy and Food, theState Committee of Television and Radio Broadcasting, theTsUM department store, and theUkrainian House, are all located on Khreshchatyk.
Khreshchatyk was deliberately destroyed during World War II by retreatingRed Army troops. Among the notable buildings that weredynamited were theKyiv City Duma, the Kyiv Stock Exchange, theNational Hotel [uk], and theGinsburg Skyscraper. The street was rebuilt in aStalinist neo-classical style after the end of the war, and has been renovated since Ukraine's independence.
The area ofKyiv now occupied by Khreshchatyk was originally a forest-covered valley with a stream flowing through it. In ancient times, it was a hunting place where Kyiv residents hung out nets to catch wild animals,which gave the ancient name of the area,Perevesishte. The nameKhreshchatyk is believed to be derived from theSlavic wordkrest orkhrest (cross), as it lies in a valley that is crossed by severalravines.[1] A small river, the Khreshchatyk River, a tributary of theLybid River, ran along much of the valley.[2] A road ran beside the stream.[1]
In 1770, the doctor and diarist John Lerche described the landscape:"At the end of the Pechersk suburb, there is a narrow road (Khreshchatytskaya) due to a deep gulley or valley; but it cannot be avoided, because it connects all three cities."[3]
InKievan Rus' times, the fortifications of the Upper Town existed acrossOld Kyiv Hill [uk] above the ravine. These had been reduced to ruins by the early 19th century, when they were removed, leaving a square at the foot the hill at the modernMaidan Nezalezhnosti.[4] Construction of the street started at the end of the 18th century, when the ravine began to be filled in. The first houses, built in 1797, were wooden, with the earliest recorded building being the late 18th-century mansion of a landowner called Golovinsky.[1][5]
In 1804–1806, the first theatre in Kyiv was built at one end of the street. It was a wooden structure that was later demolished and replaced by the three-storeyEuropean Hotel [uk].[1]
Khreshchatyk began to be developed in the 1830s and 1840s, beginning from theEuropean Square end. Its current design emerged in 1837 when it was planned as Kyiv's principal street by architects that included the city architect,Ludvik Stanzani [uk].[6] From 1868 banks started to be located on Khreshchatyk. The Kyiv Stock Exchange was built in 1869. The thoroughfare became one of the most famous in theRussian Empire.[7] The newCity Hall [uk] was built on the street in 1874–1876. Other notable buildings constructed during this period were the Merchants' Hall, the concert hall, theCentral Post Office, and the Club for Polish Noblemen. During the 1880s, its wooden-built restaurants and taverns were being replaced by stone-built multi-storey houses and shops. The street, with its departmental stores and hotels, was called "the only real street in Kiev," and, along with the city’s larger churches, became its central modern attraction for visitors.[5]
TheBrotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius met at the apartment of 19th-century Ukrainian historianMykola Kostomarov on Khreshchatyk.[5]
The street waslit by gas in 1872, and by electricity in the 1890s. In 1897 it was still the only street in the city with electric lights.[5] Horse-drawntrams had first appeared in the city in 1869, and steam-powered trams a few years later; but the terrain was too hilly for them, and they sometimes ran out of control downhill.[5] In 1892, the first electrictram line in the empire ran in Kyiv, and the Russian Empire's first electric tram was extended from Khreshchatyk to Podol. In 1904, the pavement was laid withgranite cobbles,[8] having been first provided with a hard surface in 1888,[5]
Revolutionary rallies and demonstrations took place on the street in 1901, 1902, 1905, and in June 1917.[8]
During the period of chaos after theRussian Revolution of 1917, theUkrainian,German,Polish, and RussianBolshevik forces all controlled Kyiv at various times.[9] On 9 May 1920, thePolish army under GeneralRydz-Smigly celebrated theircapture of Kyiv by avictory parade on Khreshchatyk.[10] They were driven out by the RussianBolshevik counter-offensive within weeks.[9]
After the establishment of the Soviet authorities, Khreshchatyk became a place where celebrations, labour demonstrations, and military parades took place.[8]
Between the wars, Khreshchatyk underwent major development and reconstruction.[8] Between 1923 and 1937, it was renamedVorovsky Street, afterVatslav Vorovsky, an early Bolshevik diplomat who had been assassinated in Switzerland.[11] In 1934–1935 the street was re-paved, the tram line was removed and atrolleybus service began.[8]
_%25C3%25A1ruh%25C3%25A1z_romjai._Fortepan_14033.jpg)
During World War II, almost every building on Khreshchatyk was laid with explosives by the retreatingRed Army troops. On 24 September 1941, five days afterGerman troops had occupied the city,[12] radio-controlled explosions were set off from over 400 kilometres (250 mi) away. The demolition of Khreshchatyk became the first operation in history where the long-distance radio-controlled explosions were used for military purposes. This unprecedented method of warfare caused panic and brought heavy casualties among both the occupiers and city's remaining civilian population.[citation needed]
Under German occupation, the street was renamedEichhornstrasse, afterHermann von Eichhorn, afield marshal and the supreme commander ofArmy Group Kyiv and simultaneously military governor of Ukraine during the previous German occupation, who in 1918 had been assassinated on Khreshchatyk by the social revolutionaryBoris Donskoy.[13]
In 1944, the Soviet authorities planned to enlarge Khreschatyk when it was rebuilt. After the end of the war, 30 damaged buildings that could have been restored were demolished.[14] The thoroughfare was rebuilt in the 1950s and 1960s. It was widened to become 75–100 metres (246–328 ft) wide, and new buildings were erected in the NeoclassicalStalinist architectural style.[8] Important buildings of the new ensemble include the headquarters ofKyiv City Council (Kyivrada), the Central Post Office (Poshtamt) andTrade Unions Building (Budynok Profspilok).[citation needed] The picturesque quality of Khreshchatyk was enhanced by the street being replanted withchestnut trees.[8]
The street was used for demonstrations and parades in honour of 1 May (until 1969),Victory Day (9 May) and theOctober Revolution.
The street was one of the first parts of the city to be serviced by theKyiv Metro, when theKhreshchatyk station was opened in 1960, and became the system's first transfer station upon the opening of a second line in 1976.
A few days after theChernobyl nuclear accident, the Soviet authorities held the1986 May Day parade on Khreshchatyk [uk], to "calm people" and "prevent panic" caused by the disaster. Thousands of Kyivans, including many children, were exposed to dangerous doses ofradiation as a result.
In 1989, part of theKyiv Central Post Office building collapsed [uk] during heavy rain, killing a dozen people and injuring others.[15]
On 24 July 1990, the first ceremonial raising of theUkrainian national flag took place on Khreshchatyk, at the Kyiv City Council building.[16] In 2010, Khreshchatyk was listed as one of Europe's most expensive streets for renting commercial space.[17] TheKyiv Independence Day Parades, passing through Khreshchatyk, have been held since 1994.[18]
In 2000/2001, Khreshchatyk and Maidan Nezalezhnosti became the centre of the mass protest campaignUkraine without Kuchma. To keep the protesters out, the city mayorOleksandr Omelchenko ordered the area to be fenced off as a construction site.[19] In the winter of 2004, Khreshchatyk and Maidan Nezalezhnosti became the centre of the main public protests of theOrange Revolution. The protesters' main tent encampment was situated in the street. At its peak, over a million people from all around Ukraine attended the rally.[20][21] In late 2013, Khreshchatyk became one of the centres of theRevolution of Dignity.[22]
Following the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the annual Kyiv parade was cancelled, and in its place there was adisplay of the burnt remains of Russian military vehicles.[23] It was reported that Russian forces were expecting to parade down Khreshchatyk within three days of the start of the invasion, and that some soldiers had been issuedceremonial uniforms for that purpose.[24]
Kyiv City Council,Kyiv City State Administration, theMinistry of Agrarian Policy and Food, theState Committee for Television and Radio-broadcasting, and a number of cinemas and hotels, are all located on the street.[25]
Khreshchatyk is a popular attraction for visitors to the city and residents. During weekends, the street isclosed to road traffic.[26] It is a traditional setting for outdoor concerts and festivals, and is frequented by street musicians.[27]
Points of interest include the 19th-centuryBesarabsky indoor Market, the shops, offices andPinchukArtCentre in the Besarabsky Quarter, theMetrohrad underground shopping centre,TSUM Kyiv,Kyiv Passage (a small narrow commercial and residential street), and the City Council building.
Major parades and celebrations are held onKyiv Day (the last Sunday of May),Victory Day (9 May), and Independence Day (24 August).
Four of the stations of the Kyiv Metro, the city'srapid transit system, serve the street. Passengers are able to transfer by foot fromMaidan Nezalezhnosti to Khreshchatyk, as well as fromTeatralna toZoloti Vorota.[28][29]
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Euromaidan and theRevolution of Dignity | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
21 November 2013 – 23 February 2014 | |||||
| Main topics | .svg) | ||||
| Main events |
| ||||
| Aftermath | |||||
| Elections | |||||
| Main places | |||||
| European integration | |||||
| Protest figures |
| ||||
| Anti-protest figures |
| ||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
50°26′50″N30°31′19″E / 50.44722°N 30.52194°E /50.44722; 30.52194
