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Despite numerous invasions and devastating destruction, the Ukrainian capital of Kiev is still one of the most beautiful cities of Eastern Europe. The Communist period, which lasted barely seventy years, did it little harm. On the contrary, the new potentates of the post-WW-II era built parks and created green spaces, along with the inevitable television tower found in every former Soviet city.

Cradle of the Slays.
The earliest mention of Kiev dates to the early sixth century. Three brothers founded it as a fortress, naming it the “City of Kyi” (Kyjiw) after the eldest brother. Over the course of many centuries Kiev has been the administrative, political and religious centre for numerous different rulers and empires One of these was the medieval state Kievan Rus, which included parts of what are now Russia, the Ukraine and Belarus. In light of this, Kiev has justifiably been called the cradle of the Slays.

A Russian culture.
Kiev was one of the great centres of medieval Europe in its ninth, and tenth-century golden age under the leadership of the grand dukes Sviatoslav, Vladimir and Yaroslay. Through its valuable commercial agreements with Constantinople, Kiev was always in close contact with the Byzantine Empire. This led, in 988, to the conversion of Kievan Rus to the Orthodox faith. This brought not only new sacred structures, but also an influx of Russian culture.

This influence continued during the Middle Ages when nearly all of south-eastern Europe was under the yoke of the Mongol invasion (12401569). In 1667, Russia annexed Kiev, the “mother city of Russia”, which in the meantime had been reduced to a simple provincial capital. Following its annexation, Kiev quickly made up for lost time, becoming the commercial and cultural centre of the Ukraine and, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. in 1991, the capital city of an independent Ukrainian state.

The cave cloister.
Currently, Kiev is the undisputed centre of Ukrainian life, with its theatres and museums defining the cultural landscape. Kiev is also home to a number of sites that relate to its long history. The old city includes buildings and other structures built over a period of 1,500 years.

The greatest of these is probably the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (Monastery of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin), built in the year 1050 by immigrant monks who dug caves into the Dneiper escarpments. Eventually, the monastery was expanded to include a complex of churches and cloisters both above and below ground.

This spiritual and cultural centre of the early Kieven Rus Empire is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In 1991, St. Sophia Cathedral was also added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. Begun in the eleventh century, the expansion and decoration of this exceptionally ornate church with its opulent frescoes and mosaics was completed in the seventeenth century. The cathedral was a focal point of cultural and political life during the early years of the Russian State.

Kreschatik.
In comparison to Kiev’s many magnificently decorated historical facades, those along Kiev’s main thoroughfare, the Khreschatyk, are no less impressive despite their more recent vintage. Completely destroyed during World War II and rebuilt since, many of the newer buildings, while conspicuously Stalinist in style, are somehow less staid, and perhaps more southern, than buildings from this period elsewhere in Eastern Europe. The street is lined with sidewalk cafes where young and old gather to share a drink and some conversation. Kiev’s own particular variety of joie de vivre is most palpable along the Khreschatyk, and one even runs into the occasional tourist.

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Located in the centre of Europe, Vienna is both a lively modern city and a city known for its coffee houses, historic areas, beautiful parks, elegant squares and romantic courtyards.

Vienna means cafe culture, music and wine. Where else can one so happily spend all day sitting in a cafe, reading the newspaper, sipping a Viennese coffee or quaffing a glass or two of vino?

Roman Vindobona, founded in the year 15 CE, was completely levelled by the Germanic migrations of the fourth and fifth centuries. With the Roman legions long gone, only a small settlement remained. The name Vindobona is likely a version of the Celtic “Vedunia”, which means “torrent”, a reference to the settlement’s position on the banks of the famous Danube River.

Vienna was a city of doubtful repute at the end of the twelfth century. Its ruler, Duke Leopold V, was involved in the abduction of the English king, Richard Lionheart, on his way back from the Crusades. The two noblemen had clashed during the Third Crusade.

Forced to stop in Vienna, Richard was recognised and jailed. A huge ransom was paid for his freedom, roughly twenty five tons of silver, an enormous sum for those days. The duke used the silver to start a mint, the vast profits from which enabled him to grow the city and build new fortification walls. Although Emperor Henry VI had given his blessing to the duke’s illegal activities, the pope had not, and in 1194 Leopold V was excommunicated.

The first version of Vienna’s cathedral was completed in 1147 as a small parish church, and was far too large for the tiny population of Vienna at that time. The city would not become important for another ten years, after it was named capital of the Duchy of Austria. A hundred years later, the original church was replaced by one built in the Romanesque style. Its facade, known as the Roman Towers, was preserved when construction of a Gothic church began in 1340.

In 1359, Duke Rudolf IV laid the cornerstone for the soaring Gothic nave, which was completed in 1474. Vienna’s early dukes had not been successful in elevating the town to a bishop’s see, which was necessary for St. Stephen’s to be declared a cathedral; it had always been simply a church within the diocese of Passau. It did not become the seat of a bishop, and thus formally a cathedral, until 1469. St. Stephen’s has undergone many changes since then. As tastes changed, the interior and exterior were mofified to reflect the times. Recent restoration has uncovered traces of older versions of Vienna’s beloved “Steffl”, as the church is known locally.

The sixteenth century was very much focused on rebuilding Vienna’s fortifications, which had been damaged during the Turkish siege of 1529. Work was not quite finished when the Turks returned in 1684. They were stopped just outside Vienna, the gateway to Europe, and never got that far again. Bombardment from Turkish positions in what is today the Wienerwald (”Vienna Woods”) left the city badly damaged in the wake of the Turkish retreat.

Rebuilding Vienna brought a large number of baroque architects to the city. The most outstanding buildings from that time are noble and royal residences, including the Schonbrunn, Liechtenstein, Schwarzenberg and Belvedere Palaces.
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