The Golden Gate of Kyiv (Zoloti Vorota) is one of the city's most iconic landmarks and a symbol of its rich medieval past. Originally built in 1037 during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, the gate was part of the fortifications of Kyiv, serving as the main entrance to the city. Its construction was inspired by the Golden Gate of Constantinople, reflecting Kyiv's aspirations to emulate the grandeur of the Byzantine Empire.

The structure is a testament to the grandeur of Kyivan Rus', the...

In the middle ages Kiev was the capital of the Kievan Rus’, a federation of Slavic states that stretched from the Black Sea to the Baltic.

In that time there stood a humungous gate at the southern entrance to the city, but it was pulled down in the 13th century and remained a ruin until the 1980s.

In 1982, on Kiev’s 1500th anniversary the gate was reconstructed, even though nobody could agree exactly how it looked in its 11th-century heyday.

So even if the design is open to question the...

This is famed in story and song, being the most beautiful gate of the early medieval city. The composer Modest Mussorgsky wrote a beautiful piece of music inspired by a picture of the gate, which was later arranged for a full orchestra by Ravel.

The gate itself is a reconstruction, as the original gate is long destroyed. A statue of Yaroslav the Wise is beside the gate and the reconstructed gate gives some idea of what the outer walls and fortress of the city would have looked like in the...