A monument to the founders of Kiev (authors – sculptor V. Boroday, architect N. Feshchenko) in the form of a boat was installed on the Dnieper embankment (Navodnitsky Park) in 1982 in honor of the founders of Kiev and this event was timed to coincide with the 1500th anniversary of the city. Khoriv, Kiy, Shchek and their sister Lybid, according to the chronicles, were princes in the tribal association of glades and the founders of three settlements, which later turned into the city of Kyiv. When the brothers saw the area of the future city, they were amazed by the beauty of the Dnieper hills and decided to settle here. Kiy lived on Mount Borycheva, Schek on Mount Schekovitsa, and Khoriv on the third mountain, which later became known as Horivitsa. The city was named after the eldest of the brothers – Kiya. From the annalistic founders of the city in Kyiv, in our time, there is Kyyanitsa Hill, Khoriva Street, Mount Schekavitsa and the once large Lybid River.
That’s interesting!
1. The newlyweds of Kyiv have a tradition: on the day of the wedding, they come to the monument and throw flowers on the boat for good luck. There is a sign that the couple should stand with their backs to the monument and throw the bouquet over their heads into the boat. If the hit is successful, then family life will develop.
2. The monument to the founders of Kyiv is depicted on Ukrainian coupons in denominations from 100 to 5000, which were in circulation on the territory of Ukraine from 1991 to 1996.
3. In the early 70s, the sculptor Borodai, known for the monument-museum “Motherland”, presented desktop versions of his work of a boat with the founders of Kiev, Leonid Brezhnev and Vladimir Shcherbitsky. The officials liked the figurine so much that an unexpected decree followed from them – to install a copy of it on the pylon of the Moscow Bridge. But this extravagant idea was not destined to come true. The pylon of the bridge turned out to be a completely unsuitable place: constant winds would simply bring down the sculpture, and it was very difficult to see it from below, and while driving it went completely unnoticed.
On February 23, 2010, the monument was dismantled for reconstruction (the base of the sculpture collapsed from constant exposure to moisture) and solemnly opened on May 20 of the same year on the Day of Kyiv.