Boryspil

Boryspil is a city of regional significance located in the Kyiv region of Ukraine, about 35 km south-east of Kyiv. The international airport “Boryspil”, the main and largest passenger international airport in Ukraine, is located about 6 km from the city center.

History of Boryspil

Boryspil is one of the oldest settlements of the Kyiv region known in the chronicles as Letch, Lto, Olto. The first written mention of it refers to the beginning of the 11th century, when during the fratricidal war (1015-1019) between the sons of Grand Prince Vladimir of Kiev, Prince Boris was killed on the Alta River.

In 1072, he was canonized and became one of the first saints of Kievan Rus. The present name of the city is directly connected with the name of Boris (Borys in Ukrainian). In 1117, on the site of the death of Boris, Prince Vladimir Monomakh built a stone church.

In 1154, Letch was mentioned to as a fortified settlement, which stood on a hill between the two arms of the Alta River. The terrain was marshy and wooded. During the time of Kievan Rus, Letch was not only a fortification on the border of Kiev and Pereyaslav principality, but also a place for changing horses and resting place for various embassies, messengers, princes’ squads, and princes.

In 1239, during the Mongol invasion, Letch was completely destroyed. In the 13th century, these lands came under the control of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1508, the territory of Boryspil passed into the possession of the Desert-Nicholas Monastery, which owned it until the end of the 16th century. Most likely, Boryspil got its present name in this period.

Boryspil International Airport

Boryspil International Airport (IATA: KBP, ICAO: UKBB) is the main and largest passenger international airport of Ukraine, which provides about 60% of all air passenger traffic in the country. It is the only airport in Ukraine, which has a transcontinental status. Boryspil International Airport serves more than 12 million national and foreign passengers annually.

The airport is located about 29 km south-east of Kyiv and 6 km from the center of Boryspil. Passenger terminals and the railway station “Boryspil-airport” are located on the territory of the city of Boryspil, and the runways are located within the Boryspil district of the Kyiv region.

Boryspil is conveniently located at the intersection of a lot of air routes connecting Asia with Europe and America. More than 40 national and foreign airlines carry out passenger and cargo transportation from Boryspil International Airport.

Boryspil International Airport has two runways (4,000 m and 3,500 m) and four passenger terminals (among which only two new ones, “D” and “F” are in operation). The technical capabilities of this airport are unique not only for Ukraine, but also for other countries of the former USSR and Eastern Europe. The main runway is capable of receiving aircraft of all types around the clock even in conditions of limited visibility during bad weather and ice.

The high-speed express train Kyiv-Boryspil Airport runs around the clock and stops at the following stations: Boryspil Airport, Darnitsa, Kyiv-Passenger. You can reach the airport in 35 minutes. Also there are regular buses available.

Boryspil - Features

Boryspil is located in the center of the left-bank part of the Kyiv region. In the past, it was the marshland of the Alta River valley. The climate is temperate continental. The average temperature in January is minus 6.3 degrees Celsius, in July - plus 19.6 degrees Celsius.

This city has a favorable economic and geographical position near Kyiv. Boryspil is the eastern transport gateway of the capital of Ukraine. The city is located on the highway of national importance Kyiv-Kharkiv and the railway Kyiv-Poltava.

The coat of arms of Boryspil looks like a part of the city wall with a gate. The plane flying through the city gates painted in the colors of the flag of Ukraine is a symbol of the country’s air gates.

Pavlo Chubynsky (1839-1884), a Ukrainian poet and ethnographer, was born in Boryspil. His poem “Shche ne vmerla Ukraina” (“Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished”) was set to music and adapted as the Ukrainian national anthem.

In Boryspil, there are few interesting objects of the historical past and architecture, attractions in general.

Boryspil State Historical Museum. The museum is located in a building of original architecture built specifically for the museum in the 1980s. The exhibition presents a fairly large number of exhibits. The diorama of old Boryspil looks quite realistic. There are a lot of paintings.

Church of Boris and Gleb (1989) - a magnificent church named after the destroyed church of princely times.

Knyshov Park. The Knyshov Memorial Park Complex in Boryspil was created on the territory of the historic cemetery in 2007. A lot of famous people were buried here: Decembrist V. Lukashevich, ethnographer, folklorist, and author of the words of the Ukrainian anthem P. Chubynsky, hero of the Soviet Union M. Babkin. In 1934, the Knyshovaya church and the tomb of Chubynsky were destroyed. Today, the park and its monuments are restored.