Kiev funicular opening hours. Kiev funicular is the most famous transport in Podil

Kiev funicular Is a funicular from Podil to the Upper Town in Kiev.

The funicular in Kiev is one of the oldest in the former USSR and in 1905 after the Kremlin and Pokhvalinsky elevators in Nizhny Novgorod (1896) and the Odessa funicular (1902).

The history of the funicular

The funicular in Kiev was built from 1903 to 1905. The concessionaire of the Belgian Joint Stock Company (City Railroad Society), which owned the city tram, cost 230 thousand rubles for the construction. The project provided for a lift length of 250 meters, but due to the impossibility of demolishing one lower private house, the route was reduced. The wagons and equipment were ordered in Switzerland, which had extensive experience in the creation of cable cars. Two electric motors of direct current with a voltage of 500 volts and a power of 65 horsepower each ensured reliable operation of the funicular.

Operation of the system began in May 1905.

In the summer of 1928, during the repair of the rope, an accident occurred and the upper carriage fell and collided with the lower one, as a result of which the cars were completely destroyed. They had to be restored from scratch with the help of workers of the Dombal plant (now KZET named after Dzerzhinsky).

During the renovation in 1929, the funicular route was extended by another 40 meters, to Pochtovaya Square and Sagaidachny Street (then this street was called Revolution Street).

In the mid-1980s, the funicular was reconstructed by the architect Janos Vig et al.

Funicular technical characteristics

• Vertical drop: 75 meters
• Track length: 222 meters
• Slope: 18-20 °
• Track width: 1200 mm.
• Carriage capacity: 100 people
• Seats: 30 people
• Voltage: 440V DC
• Speed: 2 m / s.
• Movement time: 2-3 minutes.

Stations of the Kiev funicular

The upper station of the Kiev funicular has an exit to the upper terrace of Vladimirskaya Gorka.
The lower station of the funicular at its present location was opened in 1929 when it was extended. Nearby is the Pochtovaya Ploshchad metro station and the River Station.

Fare

The fare in the Kiev funicular for 2017 is 4.00 hryvnia.

The capital funicular has recently celebrated its 100th birthday. And the war saved him from death

The unique relief of Kiev is sung in legends, epics, odes, poems and other literary works. He was compared now with small Switzerland, then with mountainous Italy, then with azure Venice, then with the mythical Arcadia. And Nechuya-Levitsky was lucky enough to once see in the Kiev landscapes and "ridges of the Alps", and "mountains near Lucerne", and "resorts over the Rhine", and even "golden palaces" of the princess Parizada from the fairy tales "A Thousand and One Nights". Everything in the surrounding nature was beautiful, only there was one small problem - it was still necessary to move between the Kiev mountains. And that already meant something. The local toponymy still retains the names: Mount Vzdyhalnitsa, Steep Descent, Dolgaya Niva, Dog Trail, Devil's Beremishche ...

The upper station of the funicular (Vladimirskaya Gorka, Mikhailovskaya Square)

FUNICULER WAS BORN FROM THE MOUNTAINS

In ancient times, bridges and viaducts were built between the heights. But this only partially eased the situation. True, the horses saved. Noble animals came to the rescue of people even when Kiev began to acquire its own transport. This is how the "Office of Stagecoaches" (1835) appeared, and then the first Horse-drawn Railway (1891), but the "four-legged friend" could not withstand such loads. And then the city fathers once again turned for advice to General Struve, who began his career in Kiev with the rank of engineer-captain. During this time, Amand Yegorovich built a railway bridge across the Dnieper, a water supply and a gas lighting system in the city.

Struve's brainchild was the first electric tram, launched in Kiev in the summer of 1892. It seemed that the transport system was established, and everyone can use it. But here the townspeople have already started talking about saving time: is it worth it to go around any hill for half an hour, if you can go directly to the intended goal, and not on your own two, but in a comfortable car of public transport. So the idea was born to build a funicular in Kiev.

UNMATCHED PROJECTS

There were a lot of points for the funicular. Back in the days of Kievan Rus, the route of the current Andreevsky Spusk posed a threat to horse-drawn transport. The carts on the bumpy rise shook so much that the lost cargo had to be collected for hours. This is where the proverb came from: "What fell from the cart is gone" - the items dropped from the merchant carts, according to the prince's decree, began to enter the treasury of the city ruler. A thousand years later, the road from the Upper Town to Podil still dragged out the same miserable state.

In 1899, a group of engineers proposed to the provincial administration to install an electric cable lift on Andreevsky descent. The project was sent for consideration to St. Petersburg and got lost there. The same fate befell the work of the engineer Teofil Brusnitsky, who proposed in 1895 to connect the Borichev current with the St.Andrew's Church by an electric "cable car", and the proposal of the inventor Zeiliger, who in the same year developed a continuously operating "lifting path" from Pochtovaya to Tsarskaya ) squares are the prototype of the modern escalator.

Already in Soviet times, in 1932, engineer Podhaets came up with a proposal to build in Kiev a whole network of mechanical lifts at points: the Bosch-Pechersk bridge; Life Bazaar - Hay Bazaar (along Voznesensky Spusk); Dnieper crossing - Proletarian (now - Khreshchaty) garden; Bessarabka - Engels Street (now - Lutheran); Kirillovskaya street (Frunze) - Boggovutovskaya.

In general, these transport transformations were adopted at a meeting of the City Council, but in connection with the transfer of the capital of Soviet Ukraine from Kharkov to Kiev, they turned out to be "old-fashioned". The new general plan of the city development provided for more radical perspectives.

The lower station of the funicular (Pochtovaya pl.)

THE CHOICE FALL ON THE HELL

In fact, all the ideas to conquer the Kiev steeps collapsed, with the exception of one. It was nurtured for years by Arthur Abragamson, a leading railway engineer, and after the development of technical documentation by engineers Pyatnitsky and Baryshnikov, it found its practical application. The place chosen by the creators of the project was historical. Literally until the middle of the last century, most researchers in Kiev believed that the chronicle Borichev descent ran in ancient times along the line of the current funicular, as evidenced by the name of the parallel street - Borichev descent. It is possible that Perun was dragged this way and thrown into the waters of the Dnieper. The people of Kiev called the tract the Devil's Beremishche, and medieval chronicles tell about witches who flocked here in the middle of the 17th century to the walls of the Dominican monastery. At the beginning of the 19th century, the area was built up, and no one recalled past fears.

The construction of the Mikhailovsky Lift (as the funicular was first called) lasted from 1902 to 1905. Finally, on May 7, 1905, the grand opening of the first inclined cableway in Kiev took place. The length of the rail track was then 200 meters. Two cars, connected by a cable with a special mechanism, were set in motion using a 500 volt current and a 65 horsepower motor. The capacity of wagons plying towards each other was 65-70 passengers each. The flight lasted up to 3 minutes.

The people of Kiev were very proud of their cable car. The press wrote about her excitedly. And in the guidebook, published by Semyon Boguslavsky in 1909, one could read the following lines: "The Mikhailovsky rise is a miracle of modern technology. The upper station seems to hang in the air. It looks like a toy gazebo ... Everything is done not only elegantly, but also firmly. While one carriage with passengers, like a balloon, "takes off" up, the second - smoothly descends ... "

In the late 1920s, it was decided to extend the route from Mikhailovskaya Square to Borichev Toka by 38 meters to the current Sagaidachny Street. True, there were some extraordinary incidents. During the replacement of the rope in the summer of 1928, the upper carriage with passengers unexpectedly fell down, where it collided with its "colleague", as a result of which both were deformed beyond recognition. Fortunately, people were not hurt.

The funicular had to undergo a long overhaul. However, if at the opening of the cable car all mechanical equipment and carriages were manufactured in Switzerland, now, in connection with the abolition of private property, it was necessary to manage on our own. And the workers of the Dombal plant (now - KZET named after Dzerzhinsky) did not disappoint. They made the new carriages more beautiful and comfortable, while retaining the original mechanics.

It is interesting that the idea of \u200b\u200bdirectly connecting Mikhailovskaya and Pochtovaya squares was expressed at the end of the 19th century by the authors of the project, Pyatnitsky and Baryshnikov. But the owner of the estate, through which it was planned to run the cable car line, as compensation "bent" such a price that she had to confine herself to the deaf Borichev current. Under socialism, such "overlays" were excluded. In 1929, the line was continued, but here a new problem arose - the barrier of houses along Revolution Street (now Sagaidachny). Without hesitation, the authorities arranged a lobby for the lower station in one of the buildings, cutting through an exit towards the Dnieper. In such an unusual combination of architectural styles, the Kiev funicular has existed for half a century.

THE FUNICULER SAVED ... THE WAR

Today, residents of the capital cannot imagine the work of city transport without an old and good friend - a funicular. Its romantic silhouette blended so brightly with the local landscape that it has forever become an irreplaceable attribute of the Kiev panorama. But there was a time when the fate of the funicular "hung in the balance" and saved it from destruction, as it sounds paradoxical, the war ...

In the summer of 1934, the capital of Ukraine, as you know, moved from Kharkov to Kiev. The government moved here in full force. By and large, the ancient patriarchal city was not ready for such an honorable mission - vast areas were required for the construction of party and government institutions, and difficulties arose with the provision of housing for a large army of officials. A closed competition for the design of the Government Center was urgently announced, in which the leading architects of the country took part.

As a result, the project was taken as a basis for the construction of elite buildings in the Old City, between the current Mikhailovskaya and Sofievskaya squares. To implement the innovative ideas of the designers, it was required: to demolish the quarter of the Public Places and the building of the Real School, transfer the monument to Bogdan Khmelnitsky to Bessarabka and get rid of religious institutions forever, that is, liquidate the Mikhailovsky Golden-Domed Monastery, the Three Saints and Tithes Churches, the churches of St. George and the Nativity of Christ at the Postal Square. There was little left - to dismantle the St. Sophia Cathedral ... But here the French opposed. They recalled that, after all, Anna Yaroslavna, Queen of France, was the daughter of the founder of this legendary monastery.

The authorities became thoughtful and decided to confine themselves to "truncating" the main bell tower of the cathedral into two tiers and to extend Sretenskaya Street to the monastery courtyard. As for the funicular, it should have been moved to another place, since it was along this route that the main staircase, crowned with a giant monument to Lenin, was supposed to be located (the dimensions were planned from 20 to 100 meters).

In 1939, a bulky building of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (b) U (now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) was erected on the site of the destroyed Church of the Three Saints. The same fate awaited the "decapitated" territory of the Golden-Domed Monastery. They didn't reach the funicular: it was 1941.

"THE WAGON LIKE A CROCODILE ..."

After the war, the funicular was again at the "zenith of glory". “Every day,” the newspapers wrote, “thousands of Kyivans go up to the upper part of the city or from the center down to Podol, to their place of work - to enterprises and institutions. In summer, for many thousands of Kyivans, this is the most convenient way to quickly get to the Dnieper ferry to the beach. .. "

Scientists, designers, and public figures spoke about the prospects for improving mechanical lifting. In the Kiev guidebook for 1954 one could read: “Further reconstruction of the funicular is planned - new all-metal carriages, comfortable and beautiful, will run here. The compartments are equipped with soft chairs. The carriages are designed for 90 passengers each. The equipment of the turbine hall is also being replaced. new, powerful motors ".

In 1958, new equipment was installed in the funicular's engine room. The carriages have changed their design, the lobbies have been prettier. In 1984 (on the eve of the 80th anniversary) a large-scale reconstruction of the lift was carried out with a complete re-equipment of the lower station. The architectural appearance of the funicular from the Dnieper side has become unique.

What would the great master of the word Nechui-Levitsky say today about mechanical lifting? Once he surprised his fellow citizens by describing a technical novelty in rather unconventional and even fantastic forms of verbal presentation. Here is this fragment: "I go to the station of the tram descent and go out to the mountains with the monastery, to the edge of the steep, to which a glass covered corridor clings obliquely and stretched out like a crab hung by its neck and hangs, propped up from the bottom of the steep cliff with iron pillars. Soon it leaned out from there. a heavy red carriage, like a crocodile ... A picture caresses my eyes: two obliquely made carriages pull each other up and down, as if the lads were playing some wonderful tugs or swinging on a swing somewhere in the village above Zelenaya Beam .. . "(" Evening on Vladimirskaya Hill ", 1910).

Dmitry LAVROV for "Today"

The Kiev funicular is one of the most important symbols of the city with a long history. This is an unusual means of transportation - a simple carriage that goes up and down a steep descent using a rope pull. Actually, the word "funicular" is translated from Latin as a cable car, and the first name of the Kiev funicular is "Mikhailovsky electric cable car."

Today the funicular is very popular among the guests of the capital, but initially this type of transport had nothing to do with an "attraction". One can only guess how many difficulties the steep climb from Podil created for the local residents. At first, they climbed up the winding paths, but the appearance of wooden stairs did not particularly simplify the difficult route to Mikhailovskaya Square - it was necessary to climb about 500 steps, passing 36 staircases.

The only way to get to the Upper Town, after passing the steep ascent, was the tram, which passed along the Vladimirsky descent. As for the Andreevsky Spusk, which was even steeper, the construction of the tram track was not even stipulated. First of all, it would become quite difficult from an engineering point of view. So, over time, designing a funicular, even though it was expensive to operate, was simply inevitable; it was not only the only possible vehicle for traveling on a steep slope, but also the most reliable.

By the way, the funicular, built over 100 years ago, has become a real gift for modern skiers and snowboarders. Fans of winter sports actively use it as a cheap ski lift while skiing along the nearby territory of Vladimirskaya Gorka.

The design and construction of the funicular took 3 years

The need to build a funicular for the transport connection between Podol and the Upper Town was thought back in 1883. This idea was proposed by Artur Adolfovich Abragamson (1854 - 1924), who in professional circles was called "the engineer in the square". In fact, he was not only the author of a number of ideas on railway construction issues, but also held leading positions, for example, he was the director of the board of the Moscow-Kazan railway.

The city government gave its final consent to the construction of the funicular only in 1902. Abrahamson was appointed the project manager and the ideological inspirer of the construction, the engineer Nikolai Pyatnitsky was entrusted with the development of track structures, and the architect Alexander Baryshnikov was entrusted with the design of stationary pavilions.

Design work was carried out until 1904, and the construction of the long-awaited "cable car" was completed in May 1905. The general contractor for the work was the City Railway Company, and the main investor was a Belgian joint-stock company, which owned a monopoly on a tram and a horse-drawn city railway in Kiev. Everything was at the highest level - the equipment and even the funicular carriages were made in Switzerland, which had vast experience in the construction of cable cars. The viaduct (a bridge-type structure erected over a ravine) was built according to the advanced technology for that time - using reinforced concrete.

According to rumors, the construction of the funicular resulted in a fairly substantial amount of 172 thousand rubles for the Kiev treasury, and according to others, the Belgian joint-stock company spent 230 thousand rubles.

Opening of the second funicular in the Russian Empire in 1905

On May 7, 1905, the grand opening of the Mikhailovsky mechanical lift, as it was called until 1926, took place. On this day, a test descent took place, and the very next day anyone could use it. Each carriage could freely accommodate about 70 people, and the speed of its movement from top to bottom was quite impressive - 2 meters per second.

The lower station was located on one of the oldest streets in Kiev - Borichev Tok, and the upper one - on Mikhailovskaya Square, not far from the entrance to the Mikhailovsky Golden Domed Cathedral. True, the distance should have been different. It was planned to build a track with a length of 250 meters, but in the end it was 200 meters. The fact is that the owner of one of the estates located on Borichev tok on the way of the "cable car", which opposed the plans, became an obstacle. The amount of compensation claimed for the demolition of her house and the construction of a new one was simply exorbitant, moreover, the state laws of the empire were on the side of private property.

It is interesting that the first funicular opened quite shortly before the Kiev one in Odessa - in 1902, so that the capital lift became the second in the Russian Empire.

Fatal reconstruction with unpredictable consequences

In 2015, the Kiev funicular celebrated a solid anniversary - 110 years. He managed to survive the revolution, devastation and civil war, but in 1928 the wear of the cable exceeded the permissible norm. Everything would be fine, but during the repair, the top carriage fell off the clamping blocks and flew down, smashing the second carriage to smithereens. Fortunately, no one was hurt during this incident. At the same time, this was the reason for the major reconstruction of the Kiev funicular.

At the Kiev Electric Transport Plant, new cars were manufactured, the design of band brakes was improved, but, most importantly, the length of the route was lengthened by 38 meters, having built a lower station on Revolution Street (now Sagaidachny Street). In short, the Soviet government embodied the original idea into reality.

During the reconstruction in 1958, machinery and wagons were replaced, and the stations were rebuilt. And during the last major overhaul in 1984-1986, an arch was added to the appearance of the lower station and the upper station was lengthened by 5 meters. The traction pulley was also replaced, which served for almost 80 years.

Kiev funicular today: interesting facts

• Today the length of the Kiev funicular is 222 meters. It passes this path at an incline of 18-20 ° in just 3 minutes, developing a speed of 7.2 km / h (2 m / s).
• The difference in height between the upper and lower stations is 75 m.
• The cable car gauge is 1.2 m, while the railway gauge is 1.5 m.
• The upper part of the funicular route is located on a reinforced concrete overpass.
• The cars are marked with the letters "L" (left) and "P" (right) relative to the upper station.
• The capacity of each carriage is about 100 people, with 30 seating places.
• The weight of one carriage without passengers is about 10 tons.
• The funicular carries about 10-15 thousand passengers per day.
• On weekends and holidays, long queues are often lined up at the funicular, as it is actively used both as a city transport and as a tourist attraction.
• The Kiev funicular carries more than 4 million passengers annually, although the load has increased to 7.7 million passengers.
• The Kiev funicular uses a pendulum (the most common) scheme of work: two non-motorized cars are rigidly connected by a rope thrown over a pulley located at the upper station. Moving one of the carriages downward leads to a symmetrical movement of the other carriage upward, and the carriages disperse at the central point of the track. In such a system, the engine driving the pulley spends energy only to move the difference in weight between two differently filled carriages, as well as to overcome the friction force.
• The appearance and location of the lower station have changed several times during the existence of the funicular, but the forms of the upper station have not changed at all.
• At the entrance of the upper station, there is a small diorama showing the history of the development of the funicular and the surrounding area.

The route from Kontraktova Square to the Golden Gate is considered one of the most beautiful and popular in Kiev. The secret is simple - this is a historical area with beautiful architecture, along the road there are several parks, many public gardens. You can also admire the Dnieper embankment and the River Port. See the Mikhailovsky and Sophia Cathedrals. Have a bite to eat in the canteens of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice, where prices are sooooo affordable and the dishes are delicious. But there is one BUT.

The road runs over the hill. And then you choose whether to climb the paths and steps of the Vladimirskaya Gorka park, which is 500 steps and 36 spans, or walk along the cobblestone of the Andreevsky descent, not to mention the fact that the road is steep enough and slippery in winter, or ride the Funicular ...

Kiev funicular - funicular system from Podil to the Upper Town in Kiev (Ukraine). One of the first funiculars in the former Russian Empire, opened in 1905.

Funicular opening hoursfrom 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Travel8 UAH or 0.29 USD, the price is standard for Kiev city transport, the same as in a bus, trolleybus, metro, only the duration of the trip is much shorter

Trip about 3 minutes, but worth it)))

At the bottom there is the Pochtovaya Ploshchad metro station and the River Station

Stations (Upper and Lower) covered, as if by a dome, but ventilated

By the way, the trailers are made with steps, so you can admire the view not only through the side windows

But we must admit that the most interesting thing is in the first trailer, since the entire road, the River Port, and the square are visible. Also on the upper platform there is a balcony, which I love very much, as the view there is gorgeous, especially in the evening.

Interesting Facts:

• Today the length of the Kiev funicular is 222 meters. It passes this path at an incline of 18-20 ° in just 3 minutes, developing a speed of 7.2 km / h (2 m / s).
• The difference in height between the upper and lower stations is 75 m.
• The cable car gauge is 1.2 m, while the railway gauge is -1.5 m.
• The upper part of the funicular route is located on a reinforced concrete overpass.
• The cars are marked with the letters "L" (left) and "P" (right) relative to the upper station.
• The capacity of each carriage is about 100 people, with 30 seating places.

Due to its peculiar exoticism and location, the Funicular has long become not just a means of transportation, but also a tourist attraction. There are always a lot of foreigners, couples in love walking around.

Such an interesting attraction as a funicular can be found only in some cities, therefore, if you are in Kiev, you should definitely take a ride on this unusual type of transport. Especially considering the fact that the Kiev funicular is a historical phenomenon. It is one of the first three erected in Ukraine, including, by the way, the very popular Odessa. No matter what time of the year you decide to ride the funicular in the capital, the city's panoramas will always amaze you with their beauty, be it lush green tree crowns, falling golden foliage or a city covered in snow. In general, Pochtovaya Square in its current form, in fact, the very place where the funicular is located, deserves separate eloquent words, because exactly the way it looks now turns it into a real magnet for guests of the metropolis. However, locals are also not averse to strolling along the cozy embankment, admiring the unshakable tranquility and beauty of the Dnieper, and to end their walk (as well as start it) by riding a funicular is a nice thing.

The history of the funicular in Kiev

Have you ever thought about what Kiev looked like, say, a hundred years ago? Well, let's take roads, for example. Now almost every second person is ready to express their opinion on the quality of the road surface in the capital. What was it like before? How did people move around the city, which was already far from small ?! History lovers and those who simply adore Kiev and everything connected with it, simply must know how everything was before. And one of the attractions of the metropolis, which really deserves the attention of both locals and guests, is, in fact, the same funicular on Pochtovaya. It should definitely be included in the list of must-see places. And you definitely need to do this if:

• You are walking around the city with young children. Believe me, there will be no limit to their delight. And although skiing will not take much time, there will be a lot of impressions, you can be sure.
• Do you live in Kiev and have never ridden a funicular? Is this even possible? It's like not walking along Khreshchatyk when the central road is blocked. Well, come on;) Pack up and go.
• You are arranging a "romantic" with a loved one. There are a lot of cool places in Kiev "in the subject", but this is one of them.

Returning to history: the funicular appeared in Kiev in 1905. Previously, wooden stairs were used instead, which did not facilitate the ascent to the Upper City. At that time, trams were already running on the streets of Kiev, but due to the narrowness and steepness of the Andreevsky descent, which connects the upper and lower points of the city, it was not possible to lay tram lines there. By the way, the first tram appeared on the streets of Kiev in 1892, and it also became the first tram in the vast empire.

In view of the difficulties described, it was decided to build a funicular, which at that time was called the Mikhailovsky mechanical lift or an electric cable car. The author of the idea was Artur Adolfovich Abragamson - a brilliant engineer, according to his contemporaries, who dealt with issues of railway construction. The project was brought to life by Nikolai Konstantinovich Pyatnitsky and Alexander Alexandrovich Baryshnikov. All three engineers were graduates of the St. Petersburg University of Railways in different years - 1879, 1895 and 1898, respectively. NK Pyatnitsky at that time had already created the first funicular in Odessa, in 1902. The permission to build the Kiev funicular was obtained thanks to Abrahamson's connections. It should be noted that the idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a funicular in Kiev is an excellent constructive solution, which to this day is being actively implemented in areas with difficult terrain.

Technical features that characterize the Kiev funicular

In just a year and a half, the project was completed and in May 1905 the lift was first launched. The cable car was 198 meters long, although it was originally supposed to be 50 meters longer. The reason for this was a private house in Podol, the builders failed to agree on the demolition of which.

The construction was attended by representatives of the Belgian joint stock company, which was then a monopoly in the construction of railways and horse trams. The components for the funicular system were ordered in Switzerland, the steel cable was delivered from Germany. An interesting feature that now distinguishes the Kiev funicular is that reinforced concrete was used for the first time in the construction, which was actively introduced into construction by A.A. Baryshnikov. In 1905, the funicular system consisted of two cars. Each of them accommodated about 70 passengers.

The car covered the track in just three minutes, despite the height difference of almost 70 meters and a twenty-degree slope. The road was single-track with the ability to pass in the middle of the road; a pedestrian bridge was erected over the junction, which was very popular among city residents. The funicular was operated by a power plant with several 65 horsepower engines. Since then, the cable car has been modernized many times, but in general it has retained its original features laid down by its creators.

Ready to go to Kiev? The funicular is a must! A little about the current state.

Today the funicular connects Podil and the Upper Town. Both locations are worthy of the guests' attention. Many of the attractions concentrated in these areas are key, of particular importance from the point of view of historicism. The station at the top overlooks Vladimirskaya Gorka, nearby is the St. Michael's Cathedral - one of the most famous sights of Kiev, the popularity of which is equated to the majestic Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. The Upper City is unusually beautiful and even those who consider themselves indifferent to Kiev will not undertake to argue with this fact. The funicular will only add to the experience of walking around the city.

The lower station - to the River Station and Pochtovaya Square, from where you can admire the waters of the Dnieper. This station appeared only 25 years after the opening of the cable car, when it was being extended.

The path is now about 220 meters. The capacity of the wagons has been expanded to 100 people, 30 of which are seated. Travel time has been reduced to 2.5 minutes, and the interval between the appearance of wagons is from 2 minutes in the morning to 15 minutes closer to closing time, so there is no need to wait long for transport during rush hour. Information about the interval of movement can be found at the stations of the funicular, where there are special signs. The current funicular has several drawbacks, which are noted by both city residents and tourists - the lack of a transparent panoramic roof in the trailers, which would allow better viewing of the panoramic views and the lack of air conditioning, which makes it rather stuffy in summer.

Opening hours of the Kiev funicular and interesting facts

The funicular runs daily from 7 am to 10 pm. If any significant events take place in Kiev, the opening hours are extended. The fare can be paid either in cash or by card, which is very convenient. The flow of people is quite large, but there are practically no large-scale queues here. All very quickly disperse. In winter, the funicular is actively used by skiers and snowboarders. He delivers them to Vladimirskaya Gorka, from where they carry out the descent, if there is enough snow.

How to visit the funicular in Kiev

The Kiev funicular is both a way of movement for citizens, and a fascinating attraction, as well as a city landmark, in a word, is very popular. While driving, you can see in detail the entire central part of Kiev and this causes a special feeling of delight. When visiting the Ukrainian capital, be sure to include the funicular in the list of places worth visiting - on your own or as part of an excursion. True, it should be said that there may be too many people who want to ride and enjoy the views of the city, especially in the summer season. You should choose such a time that the funicular carriage, which is densely loaded with people, does not prevent you from enjoying the funicular ride in Kiev.

An audio guide is a great solution for those who prefer independent walks. To use it, you just need to download any of the files to your device with which you plan to go for a walk. It can be a smartphone, or maybe a tablet - it will be more convenient that way. And as soon as you get to the funicular - feel free to take out the headphones, put them on and start the audio track. Now is the time to listen to a fascinating story (and watch photos), so that your imagination can put the puzzle together and realize how it was.