Bohdan Khmelnytsky Monument, Kiev

The Bohdan Khmelnytsky Monument is dedicated to Bohdan Khmelnytsky, the first Hetman of Zaporizhian Host. It was built in 1888 - it is one of the oldest sculptural monuments, a dominating feature of Sophia Square and one of the city's symbols.

The monument is located almost in the middle of the Sophia Square (formerly the main city's square) on the axis that unites both belltowers of the Sophia Cathedral and the St.Michael's Monastery.

Here on 23 December 1648 residents of Kyiv met Khmelnytsky leading his Cossacks' regiments by entering the city through the Golden Gates soon after the victory over Polish Army at the battle of Pyliavtsi.

History of creating the monument appeared in public on initiative of Nikolay Kostomarov, a historian and professor of the Kyiv University in the 1840s. However, the construction was postponed due to the Crimean War. In 1863 the establishment of the monument was postponed again due to the 1863 January Uprising.

In 1877 there was created a gypsum model of the monument. In 1879 at the Saint Petersburg Baird Works was cast a statue that was materialized in metal on a Mikeshin's draft by Pius Weloński and Artemiy Ober and for which the Naval department donated 1,600 poodi (25.6 t) of scrap metal.

In 1879 the statue was brought to Kyiv, however due to lack of funding for the construction of the pedestal, the works on installation of it were ceased until the mid 1880s and the statue for several years was being holdover in the courtyard of the Kyiv Government Office Building. The city architect Vladimir Nikolayev designed a simpler pedestal and supervised its construction as well as the installation of the monument. The Kyiv Fortress administration donated for the pedestal granite blocks that were left after the construction of the Nicholas Chain Bridge over Dnieper. On 23 June 1888 there took place a grand opening and consecration of the monument.

Since 2001 the monument is included in State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine as the monument of national importance.