Dead city | Elite district Vozdvizhenka | Walking tour

In the Ukrainian capital, there is a district where you might easily think you are in the center of some European town. Bright, multicolored houses no higher than five stories surround you. All the buildings are designed in a unified style popular in Europe in the past centuries. But there’s something strange and suspicious – it’s very quiet and sparsely populated here. It’s a city within a city. A dead city. You might ask: which district in Kyiv is unlike any other? Which places in the capital of Ukraine resemble the streets of Western Europe? Where is the coziest spot in Kyiv? The answer is simple. It’s ’Vozdvizhenka’, a neighborhood located in the Podil district and surrounded by heights on all sides. For a foreign tourist, it’s not so easy to find, and in this video, we’ll show you how to find it. Additionally, we’ll take a stroll through its picturesque narrow streets and experience the relaxing atmosphere of an old city. Watch the video until the end, and you’ll discover a lot of interesting and useful information. The terrain of the area is not suitable for tall or capital buildings. Therefore, after the infamous fire of 1811 when the entire Podil burned down, the new development plan for Vozdvizhenka envisaged houses no higher than two or three floors. Starting from 1975, the few residents of Vozdvizhenka began to be evacuated due to the emergency condition of the buildings. The area quickly deteriorated, becoming inhabited by many homeless people, fires became more frequent, and eventually, the area turned into a wasteland. In the second half of the last century, there were plans to create the ’Ancient Kiev’ park-museum on the site of ’Vozdvizhenka’, a project that was developed from 1967 to 1986. However, it was never implemented. The revival of ’Vozdvizhenka’ began only in the early 2000s when the idea emerged to build residential houses in the area. In 2003, the construction of residential buildings and mansions began. Today, ’Vozdvizhenka’ refers to the area located between ’Landscape Alley’, Andriyivsky Descent, and Castle Hill. Currently, elite and fashionable real estate construction is being completed here. The design of all new houses is done in a ’vintage’ style. They come in various colors, creating a visually striking and unexpected ensemble. It seems that even though the area was initially planned as a ’millionaire’s town’, it has turned into a ’dead city’ due to two main reasons. Firstly, the houses are priced too high, reaching into the millions of dollars. Secondly, and perhaps more critically, there are issues with infrastructure and utilities. Over the three decades of the area being vacant, all the connections linking the district to the city deteriorated and became unusable. But we want to show you ’Vozdvizhenka’ from its best side. Its architecture continues to delight the eyes of Kyiv residents and city guests. Get ready to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the mysterious ’city within a city’... . . . Timecode: 00:00 - Intro 00:29 - Farmers’ Market in a Soviet-era building 01:10 - It’s interesting! 01:50 - ’Verkhnii Val’ Street 02:40 - A bit of history 03:42 - The starting point of the ’Vozdvizhenka’ neighborhood 04:03 - Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross 04:59 - Vozdvyzhens’ka Street 05:18 - ’Lyubchyk’ Restaurant 05:35 - ’Vozdvizhenka’ neighborhood 06:04 - ’MaNNa’ Boutique Hotel 07:02 - Relaxing ride through ‘Vozdvizhenka’ 11:44 - The secret entrance to ’Andriyivsky Descent’ 11:57 - ’Andriyivsky Descent’ 12:19 - ‘Solomyanska Brovarnia’ Brewery 13:16 - St. Andrew’s Church 13:55 - Hidden arch leading to ’Landscape Alley’ 14:18 - Link to the previous video with the most scenic route 15:11 - The ’Terrace’ restaurant 16:19 - Observation point 16:47 - A beautiful green stretch of the park road 18:08 - The staircase to ’Vozdvizhenka’ 19:55 - Back to the ’Vozdvizhenka’ neighborhood 21:45 - Funny moments 22:01 - ’Umami’ Montessori Kindergarten 22:48 - Castle Hill 23:20 - Back to Vozdvyzhens’ka Street 25:02 - ’Maydan Mystetstv’ Art Square 25:52 - Dehtiarna St 28:16 - Kozhumiatska St 32:44 - ’Oxota na Ovets’ Restaurant 33:14 - ’Lyubchyk’ Restaurant, backyard . . . Location: _____________________________________________________ #walkingtour #ambience #kyiv