According to legend a man walked up the hill, erected a cross and prophesied: 'A great city will stand on this spot'. That man was the Apostle Andrew, hence the name of Kyiv's quaintest thoroughfare, a steep cobbled street that winds its way up from Kontraktova pl to vul Volodymyrska. Its vague Monparnasse feel has attracted Ukraine's lowbrow rich, but despite gentrification it still retains an atmosphere unique for Kyiv as well as its multiple stalls selling junk souvenirs and dubious art.
The highlight of the Uzviz is the stunning gold and blue sight shining at the top is St Andrew's Church . Built in 1754 by Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who also designed the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, this is a magnificent interpretation of the traditional Ukrainian five-domed, cross-shaped church.
There are other diversions galore along Andriyivsky uzviz, including a few wonderful cafes, restaurants, galleries, craft shops and museums. At the foot of the uzviz, the individual histories of the Descent's buildings are laid out in the Museum of One Street . The sheer jumble-sale eclecticism of the collection – showcasing the lives of dressmakers, soldiers, a rabbi, a Syrian-born orientalist and more – exudes bags of charm.
A little way up on the left, the early home of the much-loved author of The Master and Margarita has become the strange and memorable Bulgakov Museum designed as an alternative universe populated by the author's memories and characters. Mikhail Bulgakov lived here long before writing the novel, between 1906 and 1919, but this building was the model for the Turbin family home in The White Guard, his first full-length novel. A restaurant just down the street has a bolder reference to The Master and Margarita, with the figure of a smug, fat black cat – the devil's mischievous sidekick, Behemoth – adorning its facade.
Continuing up Andriyivsky uzviz past St Andrew's Church, look for a dense cluster of vendors selling Dynamo Kyiv and other sports paraphernalia on the right. The fenced-off archaeological site behind them covers the foundations of the Desyatynna Church ruins (Десятинна церка). Prince Volodymyr ordered the church built in 989 and devoted 10% of his income to it, hence the name (desyatyna means 'one-tenth'). The church collapsed under the weight of the people who took refuge on its roof during the Mongol sacking of Kyiv in 1240. Today the Moscow and Kyiv patriarchates of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church are fighting over the fate of the site – the latter wants to rebuild the church.
The huge Stalinist building behind that is the National Museum of Ukrainian History. It has exhibits of archaeological and recent historical interest, including books and coins. To the left of the museum begins Peyzazhna Alley, an uncrowded promenade with excellent views of Podil. It skirts the ravine and abuts vul Velyka Zhytomyrska.
