Founding of Kiev

The name Kiev comes from a medieval legend about three brothers, Kie, Shchek and Khoriv, and their sister Lebid. By tradition they founded the city in the 5th century A.D. and in May 1982 the 1,500th anniversary of Kiev was celebrated. It was named Kiev in honor of the oldest brother, King Kie (Kyi, pronounced kiy, in Ukrainian). According to church tradition, the founding of a great city on that location had been predicted by the patron saint of Ukraine, Saint Andrew the Apostle, after he visited this land about 50 A.D. We found out that "Kiev" was the spelling used by all Ukrainian writers into the nineteenth century and by Taras Shevchenko, the greatest of Ukrainian poets and writers. (Also spelled, "Kyiv")

Today we went to say goodbye to Kie, Shchek, Khoriv and Lebid!