People’s Friendship Arch, Kiev 360 VR

Click button below to view 360° VR interactive panorama
SD Standard definition suitable for users with slow internet connections or mobile devices or HD High definition suitable for users with fast internet connections

360° VR panorama under the Friendship Arch in Khreschatyk Park, Kiev. The Friendship Arch (Арка Дружби Народів) is dedicated to the friendship of Ukraine and Russia. Construction work started in 1978, and the arch opened on November 7th 1982, commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the USSR and the 1500th Anniversary of Kiev.

The arch was devised by sculptor A. Skoblikov and architects I. Ivanov, S.M. Mirgorodskii and K. Sidorov. Constructed from titanium alloy, the arch spans a diameter of 50 metres.

Underneath the arch are two smaller monuments. Centred under the arch is a 6.2 metre high bronze statue depicting Russian and Ukrainian workers holding up the Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples.

To the right (south-east) of this is a granite stele depicting the Pereyaslav Council of 1654 where the Ukrainian Cossacks pledged allegiance to the Russian Tsar. At the centre of the stele are depicted Cossack Hetman Bogdan Khmelnitsky and the Russian ambassador Vasiliy Buturlin.

Behind the Friendship Arch are a number of fairground-style attractions, such as a bumper cars arena. Further behind these are a viewpoint area that provides good views across the Dnipro river. In the distance to the south-west can be seen the Ukrainian House, which was opened as the Lenin Museum at the same time as the Friendship Arch.