Ostroh, first mentioned in 1100, is a town with a population of about 15 thousand people located in the south of Rivne Oblast. The main attraction of the town is its old castle located on the top of the hill.

In the 14th-16th centuries, this was the ancestral nest of the Ostrogski family – one of the greatest Polish-Ruthenian families of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Ostroh Castle on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

fly over the Ostroh Castle

Tags: fortress · Rivne oblast

Kharkiv, founded in 1654, is a large city located in the north-east of Ukraine. Together with nearby towns and districts, it forms the Kharkiv agglomeration with a population of more than 2 million people.

From December 19, 1919 to June 24, 1934, Kharkiv was the first capital of Soviet Ukraine. That’s why this city is also called “the first capital”. Today, it is a very important scientific, cultural, industrial, and transportation center of Ukraine.

Tags: Kharkov city

May 25, 2019, in Kyiv, a new pedestrian-bicycle bridge connecting the People’s Friendship Arch and Saint Volodymyr Hill was officially opened.

The bridge offers impressive views of the center of the Ukrainian capital and the Dnieper River. The length of this bridge made of concrete, iron and glass is 212 meters, the width ranges from 6 meters in regular zones to 14 meters in observation zones. Photos by Aleksandr Goncharov for Apostrophe.

new sight of Kyiv

Tags: Kiev city

Uzhhorod is a city with a population of about 113 thousand people standing on the banks of the Uzh River at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains. Located about 813 km south-west of Kyiv, on the border with Slovakia, it is the administrative center of the Zakarpattia region.

The smallest regional center of Ukraine, Uzhhorod has a rich and long history, significant architectural heritage. The city looks especially colorful in late April – early May, when sakura, magnolia, tulips, and lilac are flowering. Photos by: uzh_city.

colors of spring in Uzhhorod

Tags: Uzhgorod city · Zakarpattia oblast

Kharkiv is the second largest city in Ukraine located in the northeast of the country, near the border with Russia. From December 19, 1919 to June 24, 1934, Kharkiv was the first capital of Soviet Ukraine, hence the name “first capital”.

Today, it is a large scientific, cultural, industrial, and transport center of Ukraine. It was the third largest industrial center of the USSR.

Tags: Kharkov city

Brody is a city with a population of about 23 thousand people located in the north-east of the Lviv region. In the past, it was one of the largest trade centers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. There are a lot of preserved architectural monuments here.

The Palace of the Counts Tyszkiewicz, built in the style of English neoclassicism in 1909-1912, is one of these monuments. The palace is surrounded by a park with a pond. In Soviet times, the building began to be used as the Brody Leshoz, a forestry organization engaged in accounting, reproduction, protection of forests. Tyszkiewicz Palace in Brody on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

picturesque mini-palace

Tags: Brody city · Lviv oblast

“The Golden Gate” (1018-1024), the main gate of old Kyiv, is a monument of defense architecture and one of the oldest buildings of Eastern Europe, one of the symbols of the capital of Ukraine. The gate was named by analogy with the Golden Gate in Constantinople.

This building remained the gateway to Kyiv until the 18th century, although over time it fell into disrepair. In 1832, the first measures were taken to preserve the Golden Gate. In 1982, to celebrate the 1500th anniversary of Kyiv, the Golden Gate was completely reconstructed. In 2007, the latest reconstruction was completed. The Golden Gate of Kyiv on Google Maps. Photos by: Maxim Ritus.

the gate to medieval Kyiv

Tags: Kiev city

Uzhhorod, the capital of the Zakarpattia region, is located in the very west of Ukraine. This city at the foot of the Carpathians is the smallest regional center of the country, but has a rich and long history.

Winter in Uzhhorod is usually mild with an average temperature of about zero degrees Celsius. This winter, the first heavy snow fell in Uzhhorod only in January and the streets of the city decorated by the New Year and Christmas illumination became very picturesque. Photos by: uzh_city.

snowfall in Uzhhorod

Tags: Uzhgorod city · Zakarpattia oblast

Dnipro (the former Yekaterinoslav and Dnipropetrovsk), located in south-eastern Ukraine, is the administrative center of the Dnipropetrovsk region, the fourth most populous city in the country after Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odessa.

It was one of the key centers of the Soviet metallurgical, nuclear, defense, and space industries. Today, Dnipro remains one of the most important political, industrial, financial, scientific, and cultural centers of Ukraine. Photos by: Alexander Belenkiy.

Twin Towers – a residential complex (106 meters), which is the main symbol of Dnipro.

unique cityscape of Dnipro

Tags: Dnepropetrovsk oblast · Dnipro city

Let’s walk through the main streets of Kyiv and see how they looked in 1985. After the Second World War, Kyiv became the third largest city in the Soviet Union after Moscow and Leningrad, the capital of the second largest Soviet republic.

The photos were taken one year before the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which caused a significant deterioration in the environmental situation in the city, and 6 years before Kyiv became the capital of an independent Ukraine. Source

back to the past of Ukraine

Tags: Kiev city