Askold's Grave (Аскольдова могила) | |
National Landmark of History, Local Park-Landmark of Gardening Design | |
Main entrance to the park
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Official name: Park Askold's Grave | |
Country | Ukraine |
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Region–City | Kiev |
Coordinates | 50°26′38″N 30°33′5″E / 50.44389°N 30.55139°ECoordinates: 50°26′38″N 30°33′5″E / 50.44389°N 30.55139°E |
For public | open |
Easiest access | Parkova Doroha (Park's Road) |
Reference No. | 260036-N |
Askold's Grave (Ukrainian: Аскольдова могила, Askoldova Mohyla) is a historical park on the steep right bank of the Dnieper River in Kiev. The park is located along the Dnieper right bank between Mariinsky Park and Kiev Pechersk Lavra complex.
The park was created by the Soviets in the mid-1930s in place of an old graveyard around the Church of St. Nicholas, which, as the story goes, marks the place where Prince Askold of Kiev was buried in the 9th century.
In the Middle Ages, Askold's Grave was known as the Uhorske ("locality", "tract"). According to the Primary Chronicle, it was the place where the Magyars crossed the Dnieper on the way from the Russian steppes to Pannonia. Archeological excavations have revealed a 9th-century dirham hoard and some remains of Izyaslav II's wooden palace. There's a modern stele commemorating the Magyar migration.
Back in the 15th and 16th centuries, Askold's Grave was settled by the Orthodox monks of St. Nicholas's Monastery. Hetman Mazepa had the monastery moved to a nearby hill where a new Baroque penticupolar cathedral was then erected. The existing is a modest Neoclassical rotunda designed by local architect Andrey Melensky in 1810.