1. Interesting facts about ukraine
Ukraine is the continent’s largest county at 603,628 square kilometres,
stretching from Russia in the east to Poland in the west, and
sandwiched between the Black Sea in the south and fellow former
Soviet state Belarus in the north. France is next at 551,695 square
kilometres.
2. And boasts seven wonders
Within its large borders, Ukraine has seven World Heritage
Sites, including the 11th century Saint-Sophia Cathedral in Kiev,
the ancient city of Chersonesus, and the primeval beech forests
of the Carpathians. Another is the Struve Geodetic Arc, a chain
of survey triangulations linking Hammerfest in Norway to the
Black Sea in Ukraine. It “helped to establish the exact size and
shape of the planet and marked an important step in the
development of earth sciences and topographic mapping,”
according to Unesco. Beyond its World Heritage Sites it has a
wealth of majestic Orthodox cathedrals, including St Michael's
in Kiev, pictured below.
3. It loves Mcdonald's
Ukraine is not all about booze. The McDonald’s next to the
main train station in Kiev, the country’s capital, is claimed to be
the third busiest in the world.
4. It gets deep
Arsenalna, a station on Kiev’s Sviatoshynsko-Brovarska line, is
the world’s deepest at 105.5 metres below ground.
5. You can ski there
It’s no French Alps, but Ukraine has about four or five ski
resorts to shout about, including Bukovel in the Carpathian
mountains, with 55km of slopes and 15 lifts.
6. It is big on easter eggs
Ukrainians are pretty big on easter eggs. Less so, stuffing their
faces with low-quality chocolate: they favour more intricate
designs using wax on ornaments known as pysankas. Different
regions of the country have different styles and methods of
decoration. The practice was banished by the Soviet Union, but
continued in North and South America by Ukrainian
immigrants.
7. Recognise this?
The Tunnel of Love, excellent Instagram fodder, is found in the
forests near the town of Kleven. The rail road is for a private
train that provides wood for a local factory.
8. It has a mighty Soviet relic
Armed with a 16-metre sword and a great slab of a shield,
Mother Motherland clearly isn’t to be messed with. While
Communist symbols and street names were outlawed from
Ukraine in 2015, Second World War monuments – like this
titanium statue in Kiev – were allowed to remain.
Mother Motherland, a suitably imposing 62 metres tall, was
built in the 1970s – and now forms part of the Museum of the
History of Ukraine in World War II (catchy title). The
monument’s fire pit is supposed to hold an eternal flame, but
due to funding issues it now only burns on the biggest national
holidays.
9. Speaking of Kiev...
No, chicken Kiev does not come from Kiev. It is thought to be a
19th-century French recipe, brought to the east by Russian
aristocracy fascinated by French cuisine.
Kiev's centre, and not a chicken in sight
