Andreevsky Descent in Kyiv is one of the ancient roads connecting Upper Kyiv, its central part, with Podol, which was traded at that time. The road goes from Kontraktova Square to Desyatinnaya and Vladimirskaya streets. Andreevsky Descent got its name thanks to the Andreevsky Church built almost at the end of the street, which is located on the mountain of the same name.
The well-known Ukrainian historian Mykola Zakrevsky writes in his notes that the road, which later became Andreevsky Spusk, was dug in a hilly lintel between the mountains Vozdykhalnitsa and Zamkovaya. According to archival documents, this descent was at first too narrow, uneven and uncomfortable. Andreevsky Spusk began to be built up in the 18th century, and most of all was built on the border of the 19th and 20th centuries.
This is interesting!
According to legend, the saying “what fell is lost” came from the events on Andreevsky Descent. In the old days, at the end of the street there was a customs office and merchants who wanted to go down to Podol had to pay a tax for this, which was assigned not for the amount of goods, but for one wagon. Merchants, determined to pay as little taxes as possible, stacked goods from several wagons into one. Often this “economy” played a very cruel joke with them, since Andreevsky Descent has a very strong slope, overloaded carts turned over, and the goods that fell out of the road were confiscated in favor of the Kiev treasury. The merchants, of course, tried to complain about this, to which the customs officers answered: “There is nothing to cheat! What has fallen is gone!”.
At the moment, Andreevsky Spusk is a museum street and is rightfully considered one of the most important and interesting tourist attractions in Kyiv. Many famous figures of science and culture lived and worked here: scientists, writers, composers, artists, sculptors.
Sights of Andreevsky Descent
1. Museum of One Street (Andreevsky Spusk)
2. Museum of writer Mikhail Bulgakov (House of Turbins)
3. Monument to Pronya Prokopovna and Golokhvastov (film “Chasing Two Hares”)
4. Memorial house-museum of Kavaleridze
5. Kokorevskaya pavilion
6. Wheel Theatre
7. Richard the Lionheart Castle
8. St. Andrew’s Church
Periodically, holidays, art exhibitions, and art festivals are held on the street. People come here to listen to street musicians and watch a costume performance in the open air. Art galleries, exhibitions, theaters and art workshops operate in the buildings along the entire Andreevsky Spusk. In the open air there are numerous souvenir shops where you can buy almost everything – from a knick-knack that will fit in your pocket to a large oil painting on canvas.