Andriyivskyy Descent Walk (Self Guided), Kiev

Andriyivskyy (Andrew's) Descent is a historic cobblestone street, running 720 meters (2,360 ft) downhill from the Upper (Old) Town of Kiev to the once commercial neighborhood of Podil (Lower Town), ending at Kontraktova Square.

According to a legend, there was once a sea where the Dnieper River now flows. When Saint Andrew, the Apostle came to Kiev and erected a cross on the spot where St Andrew's Church stands today, the sea retreated, partially remaining underneath the mountain on which Kiev sits. Back in the 18th century, when the church was erected, a spring opened beneath the altar. St Andrew's has no bells, because, as the legend has it, at the first strike of a bell the water shall come back and flood the left bank of the city.

Often advertised as the "Montmartre of Kiev", the Descent is a major tourist site – part of the national historic reserve "Ancient Kiev". It is also home to a number of landmarks. These include, other than the baroque-style St Andrew's Church, created by the imperial architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, the Castle of Richard the Lionheart – built in the early 1900s and originally supposed to be called Orlov House after the architect Dmitry Orlov; the famed Kiev-born Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov's house-museum – in which he and his family lived in the early-20th century; and the Museum of One Street – recounting history of the Andriyivskyy Descent; to mention but a few.

For a more detailed acquaintance with these and other prominent attractions on the Andriyivskyy Descent in Kiev, take this self-guided walking tour.