Photo1. Golden Gate, Kiev.	Photo2. Golden Gate, Kiev. Photo taken in 1960s.	Photo3. Golden Gate before its reconstruction.

Address: 40-A, Vladimirskay Street, Kiev.
Phone: +38 (044) 2286919.
Opening Hours: Wednesday - Sunday: 10:00 - 18:00 Tuesday: 10:00 - 17:00
Closed on Monday.
The museum is open to the public only in the warm season.

The Golden Gate is one of the symbols of Kiev. It was known as the main gate of the ancient Kiev for centuries. Now the Golden Gate is one of the main attractions of the Ukrainian capital.

The Golden Gate was incorporated into earthwork fortification that encircled the City of Yaroslav the Wise. There the natural landscape could not be used for the defense of the old Russian capital. That is why high ramparts were made from this side. The ramparts were topped with wooden walls. The site of the main entrance to the city was chosen there. The highest fortification was to ensure that visitors would be amazed seeing Kiev City greatness and inaccessibility. Actually no enemy broke to Kiev through the Golden Gate.

The "Golden Gate" name was obtained by the analogy with the main entrance to Constantinople. There in its turn the name was brought from Jerusalem. The ceremonial entrance to the ancient Jewish capital was known as the Golden Gate. The tradition of calling the main entrance to city as golden gate was introduced in order to stress the continuity of the Christianity. The Old Russia’s capital rulers’ ambitions were underlined that way too. The Golden Gate was topped with the Annunciation Church. The dome of the Annunciation Church was gilded giving additional evidence the correct form of the gate name.

For centuries merchants and ambassadors entered the city through the Golden Gate. The Grand Prince’s troops used to leave Kiev through the Golden Gate in order to start new military campaign. Kiev Grand Prince’s daughters used to leave Kiev through the Golden Gate in order to go to Europe if they were married by European kings. In 1654 Bogdan Khmelnitsky entered the city triumphantly through the Golden Gate.

Mongol-Tatars entered the city of Kiev when they broke the city wall near the southern city gate. But Mongol-Tatars destroyed the Golden Gate considerably in order to humiliate Kievans. The half-ruined Golden Gate fell into decay. By the 18th century there were ruins only. It was decided to fill up the ruins with soil. In 1832 during the demolition of city walls remains the ruins of Golden Gate were unearthed. And the archaeological research was started.

The Golden Gate remains were fixed several times. But the old brickwork fell into decay. About 150 years later it was decided to recreate the Golden Gate in its original appearance. The original 11th century brickwork was covered with a special pavilion imitating the ancient structure. While reconstructing the Golden Gate modern builders tried to reproduce technology used a thousand years ago.

Now there is a museum in the three-tier pavilion over the proper gate. The exposition is dedicated to the history of this outstanding structure and to fortifications of ancient Kiev. The fragments of the original brickwork of the gate are the center point of the exposition. It is possible to climb to the observation deck as well as to visit the Church of the Annunciation. You can understand Old Russian style of the architectural design and the way the ancient fortification was constructed. Concerts and dramatic performances are conducted in the doorway too. The audience can enjoy the excellent acoustics. Temporary exhibitions on ancient Russia topics are often organized in the halls of the museum.