Description of the attraction
This monument is also one of the most recognizable Kiev monuments. It was opened in 1982, in the midst of celebrating the 1500th anniversary of Kiev. The composition of the monument is rather unusual - it is made in the form of a boat, in which the brothers Kiy, Shchek, Khoriv, as well as their sister Lybid float. The monument was erected from forged copper, the pedestal was made of granite. There is a small swimming pool at the foot of the monument. The monument itself is so fond of the people of Kiev that the original tradition is associated with it: newlyweds who come to the monument turn their backs to it and throw a wedding bouquet over themselves - getting into the boat, according to legend, promises a strong family life.
At first, it was planned to place the monument on the pylon of the Moscow Bridge. Back in the 70s, the author of the monument V. Borodai (who created it together with N. Fereshchenko) demonstrated small tabletop versions of his brainchild to the country's top leadership, and the party bosses liked it so much that it was decided to install a full-fledged sculpture. However, later it turned out that placing the monument on the pylon of the bridge was inappropriate, since constant strong winds could easily break the pedestal, and it was bad to see the sculpture from below. An experiment was even carried out to install a plywood dummy of the monument, which only confirmed these guesses. For these reasons, the monument, officially bearing the name “Flying Lybid”, was erected on May 22, 1982 in a park near the Paton Bridge. In 2007, work was carried out to improve the territory adjacent to the monument and to clear the area in front of it. However, in February 2010, for unknown reasons, the back of the boat collapsed, as well as the figures of Shchek and Khoriv, so the monument to the founders of Kiev had to be restored.
