ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

History of Kyiv

Okay, so you know how cities can be really old, right? Kyiv is one of those cities that has been around for a really, really long time.

A loooong time ago, about 1500 years ago, there were a bunch of people living near the Dnieper River. They decided to build a city on some really high hills overlooking the river. They called this city Kyiv.

There were a lot of different things that happened to Kyiv over the years. Sometimes people from other places came and tried to take over the city, but the people who lived in Kyiv were tough and fought back. They made sure Kyiv stayed an important city for a long time.

In the early 900s, a guy named Volodymyr became the leader of Kyiv. He was really important because he helped bring Christianity to the city and made it an even more important place. Lots of beautiful churches and other buildings were built during this time, some of which people can still visit today!

Later on, Kyiv became part of different countries and empires, like the Mongol Empire and the Russian Empire. But even then, the people who lived in Kyiv still held onto their own traditions and culture.

In 1991, Kyiv became the capital city of a new country called Ukraine. Since then, it has continued to grow and become an even more important city. People from all over the world come to visit and see all of the amazing history and culture that Kyiv has to offer!