Did you know? · Kyiv
Kyiv fun facts
Things you might not know about Kyiv. Every fact comes from an official or primary source, named alongside it.
Updated November 2026
A World Heritage site since 1990
UNESCO inscribed “Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” in 1990, and added it to the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2023. UNESCO describes St Sophia’s as designed to rival Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.
144 monuments and two underground complexes
The National Kyiv-Pechersk Preserve calls the Lavra the largest museum complex in Ukraine, with 144 monuments of history and culture, among them two underground complexes.
Up the hill since 1905
The funicular between Poshtova Square in Podil and the Upper Town by St Michael’s opened in 1905.
A soup on UNESCO’s list
In 2022 UNESCO inscribed the culture of Ukrainian borshch cooking on its List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.
Questions and answers
What are the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Kyiv?
St Sophia’s Cathedral with its related monastic buildings, and the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, inscribed together in 1990.