I'm admittedly fascinated by the legends of Vikings in this part of the world. I say legend because I don't know of any real proof that they really were here. The one historian, Nestor, who wrote of those times seemed to record the stories as he heard them, but I don't know how accurate they were.
There is a story about two Vikings, Askold and Dir,
or was it one man by the name of Askoldidir? It seems that nobody knows for sure. They were rulers of Kyiv in the late 800's
There are some traces of their possible existence:
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| Askold alley |
When my brother and his wife were here we looked for the grave of Askold which has been marked by a church in later years; we searched fruitlessly along the right bank of the Dniepr, and all the time it was just up the hill from us, we'd have found it easily if they'd just stayed another week!
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| The Grave of Askold |
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| the barefooted guardian of the temple |
I tramped around plenty before I found my way, all the time glad not to be a tour guide, and afterwards got in line for a half liter of cold kvas.
How to get there:
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I actually took a short cut, 'A' is the Arsenalna Metro, I went around the east side of it and followed the road which leads to a trail through the woods then I crossed the street and walked through the park to find the church which marks the site.
