Khreshchatyk Street

Khreshchatyk Street
Вулиця Хрещатик

Khreshchatyk, closed to traffic during the weekends, becomes a pedestrian zone.
Former name(s)	Wacław Worowski Street (1923-1937), Eichhornstraße (1941-1943)
Length	1,200 m (3,900 ft)
Location	Kiev, Ukraine
Postal code	01001
Coordinates	50°26′50.32″N 30°31′19.1″E / 50.4473111°N 30.521972°E / 50.4473111; 30.521972
From	European Square
Major junctions	Maidan Nezalezhnosti
To	Bessarabska Square

Khreshchatyk (Ukrainian: Хрещатик, Khreshchatyk;) is the main street of Kyiv, Ukraine. The street has a length of 1.3 km (0.81 mi). It stretches from the European Square (northeast) through the Maidan and to Bessarabska Square (southwest) where the Besarabsky Market is located. Along the street are the offices of the Kiev City Council which contains both the city's council and the state administration, the Main Post Office, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, the State Committee of Television and Radio Broadcasting, the Central Department Store (TsUM), the Besarabka Market, the Ukrainian House, and others.

The entire street was completely destroyed during World War II by the retreating Red Army troops and rebuilt in the neo-classical style of post-war Stalinist architecture. Among prominent buildings that did not survive were the Kiev City Duma, the Kiev Stock Exchange, Hotel Natsional, and the Ginzburg House. The street has been significantly renovated during the modern period of Ukraine's independence. Today, the street is still significant to administrative and business city organizations, as well as a popular tourist attraction.

As of 2010, Khreshchatyk is included in the Top 20 of most expensive shopping streets in Europe.

The name of Khreshchatyk is believed to be derived from the Slavic word krest or khrest (cross). It lies in a valley that is crossed by several ravines. When looked at from above, the valley resembles a cross. A small river, the Khreshchatyk River, a tributary of Kiev's Lybid River, ran along much of the valley, and still runs underground along much of the street.