Things to Do at Motherland Monument

The Motherland Monument towers 102 meters above the Pechersk district, a stainless steel figure weighing 560 tons that you can spot from nearly anywhere in Kyiv. Built in 1981, she holds a 16-meter sword and a shield that until 2023 bore the Soviet hammer and sickle, now replaced with Ukraine's trident. The museum complex beneath charges 100 UAH (about $2.50 USD) for adults, with the elevator ride up to viewing platforms inside the shield costing an additional 300 UAH, available spring through fall when weather permits. The outdoor military park surrounding the base displays Soviet-era tanks, artillery pieces, and a MiG-29 fighter jet that kids climb on freely, while the indoor galleries walk you through Ukraine's wartime history with personal letters, photographs, and a hall where an eternal flame burns under a vaulted ceiling. From the shield viewing platform at 91 meters, the Dnipro River stretches south like hammered tin and the golden domes of the Lavra monastery cluster on the next hill over. The wind up there is serious, so grip the railing. Walk here from Arsenalna metro station through 15 minutes of pleasant parkland, or take a taxi directly to save the steep return climb.

The monument sits in Pechersk district. You can reach it by metro to Arsenalna station (the world's deepest) followed by a 15-20 minute walk through parkland. Marshrutka buses work too. Taxis go directly there. Walking from the city center takes 30 minutes downhill through decent neighborhoods-though you'll want transport back up. The uphill return is brutal.