There are many places in the capital with intriguing histories that few people know about
Kiev is made up of ten administrative units—districts. Each of these districts is about the size of a small town. They have their own histories, traditions, and interesting places.
Kashtan NEWS shares and reminds us of fascinating facts about the districts of Kiev. Last time, we discussed areas called Mysholovka, Zvyrynets, Batyeva Gora, Lyssa Gora, Chorna Gora, Cherepanova Gora, Korchuvate, Feofaniya, Hipodrom, “ExpoCenter”, Ice Stadium, and the museum in Pirogovo.
Today, we will talk about Teremky.
Location
The residential microdistrict of Teremky is a historical area located on the southwestern outskirts of Kiev, between Feofaniya, Holosiiv, and Zhulyany. The microdistrict consists of two parts—Teremky I and Teremky II. It is home to a student campus—predominantly dormitories of Taras Shevchenko National University, with both high-rise and low-rise buildings dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
5 History
The origin of the name of the area has not been definitively established, but scholars tend to believe it arose from the specific nature of the ancient architecture—small wooden houses known as teremky that once existed here.
For the first time, Teremky is mentioned as a separate locality in the Ipatiev Chronicle of 1150. The name referred to the Teremets area.
Later, in old documents from the 17th to 20th centuries, Teremky is mentioned as the property of the Kyiv Metropolitans. Throughout the Middle Ages, ownership of Teremky frequently changed hands, alternating between the Sophia Monastery and the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. A genuine legal battle over the lands of Kyiv, including Teremky, occurred between these religious institutions.
Documents from 1860 indicate that 17 houses stood in the Teremky hamlet, housing 126 souls who served the residence of the metropolitan.
6 The architecture of the residences built in Teremky was quite modest: wooden two-story houses constructed in the shade of gardens. The second floor of these buildings traditionally housed a domestic church. Kitchens and servant quarters were also included in the houses.
Unique Features
It is worth noting that the lands of Teremky are quite special! According to experts, the soil there is unique and among the best in the entire modern Kyiv region.
Another interesting feature of old Teremky was… hemp. The economic records contain detailed descriptions of hemp plantations. This product was also cultivated by monks. Thus, Teremky can be considered a kind of hemp capital of the region, as this plant, from which oil was produced, was cultivated here for centuries. It should be noted that this business was quite profitable.
City-Forming Institution
Interestingly, the development of modern Teremky was spurred by the Cybernetics Institute of the Ukrainian SSR, which was established in these areas in the post-war years.
This institute is linked to the subsequent settlement of Teremky I. It was predicted that the district would become the epicenter of intellectual habitation. Residential new buildings began to be erected right in the middle of the fields.
7 The new buildings rose so quickly that the city’s transport infrastructure struggled to keep pace with their development. Credit must be given to Soviet architects: while designing the Teremky I project, they did not overlook private transport, providing parking for 1900 vehicles. At that time, the designers based their calculations on a ratio of 100 cars per thousand residents.
By the way, back then, there were plans for a metro line to be constructed here. However, these plans were not realized due to the challenging hydrogeological conditions of the soil after the “Lybidska” metro station. It was only in the early 21st century that underground metro lines were finally extended to the microdistrict. Starting in 2004, planning and construction began for the new Teremky III microdistrict covering 272 hectares, which will be “inserted” from the southeast into Academician Hlushkov Avenue and from the northeast into the Ring Road. Speaking of the road, special attention was given to the design of the buildings in the Teremky-2 residential area: noise-reduction technologies were employed during their construction, as the new district was situated very close to the Ring Road.
Continuous Buildings
Another characteristic feature of Teremky is the so-called continuous buildings, which are not found anywhere else in the capital. This construction approach created a unified architectural ensemble of cascading development, forming a multi-story structure of buildings. This is achieved through just two massive complexes consisting of interconnected building sections. The largest of these is located at Academician Zabolotny Street, 2-122. These buildings were erected in the mid-1980s to the 1990s. This is the longest residential complex in Kyiv, consisting of 61 sections. From a bird's-eye view, this residential complex somewhat resembles honeycombs, from which rays diverge.
8 An interesting detail: the total area of this building reaches 375 square kilometers. This means that the residential building is larger than the territories of such European countries as Monaco, Liechtenstein, and San Marino!
In terms of length, this building ranks second in Ukraine and fifth in the world. It houses over 12,000 people. But that’s not all: the building has over 60 postal addresses, and when calling a taxi here, one must always specify the entrance number, as there are sixty-eight of them.
Additionally, the first floors of the new Teremky I buildings were allocated for the elderly and individuals with disabilities. This amounts to 220 apartments.
As one of the designers noted, “Teremky illustrates a fundamentally new approach to residential construction: in this district, unlike the traditional approach, all housing is gathered into a single, continuous, and multi-story development.”
9 According to the architects’ plan, a large community center for local residents was to be established in Teremky, featuring a cinema, supermarkets, public laundries, ateliers, hairdressers, household workshops, libraries, and family celebration halls, as well as health complexes with swimming pools and sports sections. Moreover, it was planned that residents of the new homes would be able to order deliveries of essential food products.
However, there were insufficient funds to establish such infrastructure: the Soviet economy had cracked significantly and was rapidly sinking.
The Oldest in Kyiv
Despite its small territory, Teremky is home to seven cult structures: the Church of the Holy Martyrs Boris and Gleb, the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral, the Temple of St. Savva the Serbian, the Church of the Presentation of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, and the Church of Evangelical Christian Baptists. Additionally, Teremky features the Church of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica.
The last of the listed “Teremky” religious institutions deserves special attention, as it is the oldest wooden church in Kyiv.
The Church of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica was built in 1715 in the village of Zhulyany by monks from the Sophia Monastery, which owned this village until 1787. At that time, a chapel dedicated to St. Demetrius of Thessalonica was constructed. However, by the mid-19th century, the church, which resembled a chapel, could no longer accommodate all the parishioners, leading to its dismantling in 1847 and the construction of a new one funded by the local treasury. This new structure was also wooden but included a dome. However, on June 21, 1859, the church met with misfortune—it was completely burned down by a lightning strike. The church that has survived to this day was built in 1862.
0 In August 1941, the cult structure suffered again—a shell hit the altar. However, after Kyiv was occupied by German fascist invaders, services resumed in the church, which continue to this day.
Notably, the modern temple houses the relics of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica, the holy martyr Macarius of Kaniv, St. Luke of Crimea, the holy Illya Muromets, and the holy Elena Florovska. Additionally, the church contains two myrrh-streaming icons: of the Holy Trinity and of the Protection of the