The Maryinskiy Park
The Maryinskiy Park is one of the oldest parks in Kiev located on the Dnepr river hills. It was founded in 1743 on the territory of the “Regular garden”, which in its turn had been founded by tsar Peter I.
The architect O. G. Nedzelskiy designed this park. It was called in honor of the empress Maria Aleksandrovna – the wife of the Russian emperor Alexander II. In the process of time the territory was planted by decorative species of trees, bushes, which can be seen there until now.
The territory of the park is about 10 hectares of land. Here you can visit “The museum of water”, the puppet theater, the Dynamo Kiev stadium, see the “Arch of friendship between nations”, the monument of general Vatutin, of Maria Zamkovetska the monument to participants of the january uprising. But the genuine jewel to see in the Maryinskiy Park is, undoubtedly, the masterpiece of Bartolomeo Rastrelli the Maryinsliy Palace. This baroque Palace was built in 1744 on order of the empress Elisabeth. However the empress didn’t ever visit her residence in Kiev. Today the palace is the ceremonial residence of the president of Ukraine. A big square is located in front of the palace, which stretches from Hrushevskiy str. to the observation site –the place from which you can view the city from elevation. A bit further the so-called “lovers bridge” can be found. It connects the Maryinskiy and the Khreshatiy Parks. This bridge is probably the most romantic place in Kiev. Hundreds of locks are hung on it symbolizing sanctity of love and matrimonial alliance.
