Volodymyrska Hill

Saint Volodymyr Hill
Володимирська гірка
View of Volodymyr Hill and the monument to St. Volodymyr, erected in 1853
Type	public park
Location	Shevchenko Raion, Kyiv, Ukraine
Coordinates	Coordinates: 50°27′24.38″N 30°31′34.68″E / 50.4567722°N 30.5263000°E / 50.4567722; 30.5263000
Area	10.6 hectares (26 acres)
Created	1850s

Volodymyrska Hill or Saint Volodymyr Hill (Ukrainian: Володимирська гірка, "Volodymyrska hirka", Russian: Влади́мирская горка, Vladimirskaya gorka) is a large 10.6 hectares (0.106 km²) park located on the steep right-bank of the Dnipro River in central Kiev (Kyiv), the capital of Ukraine. Its most famous and prominent landmark is the monument to St. Volodymyr of Kiev. The monument, with its prominent location and overlooking the scenic panorama of the left-bank of Kiev, has since become one of the symbols of Kiev, often depicted in paintings and photographic works of the city.

The first historical reference to Volodymyr Hill was in the Primary Chronicles of Kyivan Rus, where it describes Sviatopolk II of Kiev building the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral in 1108. The hill, on which the cathedral was built, was a citadel within the ancient part of Kiev, built by and named after Iziaslav I of Kiev.

Volodymyrska Hill park was established in the mid-19th century, its name reflecting the monument to St. Volodymyr of Kiev which was erected in 1853 in the park.

Volodymyrska Hill originally only referred to a park located at the highest and middle terraces of the historic St. Michael's Hill, which was named after St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral and Monastery. However, the name "St. Michael's Hill" went into decline after destruction of the cathedral and the renaming of local streets by the Soviet regime in the 1930s.

Construction of the terraces as they appear today started in the 1840s. Volodymyrska Hill park became the first free-of-charge public park in Kiev.