Our nation is much more attractive than you think! We present to you interesting facts about Ukraine that you may not have known.
- Arsenalna metro station in Kyiv is the deepest in the world. It passes underground at a depth of 105 m. The station near the parliament building was built in 1960, one of the first. According to some reports, there are secret hiding places for the political elite in the tunnels near Arsenal.
- The third most visited McDonald’s in the world is located in Kyiv near the railway station. This institution consistently ranks among the top five busiest McDonald’s in the world.
- Ukraine ranks fourth in the world in terms of the number of citizens with higher education. The population of Ukraine is among the most educated, and the number of people with higher education per capita is higher than the average European level.
- One of the most famous Christmas carols in the world is Shchedryk, a folk song written by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych. The world knows it as Carol of the Bells or Ring Christmas Bells. On You tube, various performances of “Schedryk” are gaining millions of views. The song was featured in many foreign films. For example, in everyone’s favorite movie “Home Alone” it is one of the main soundtracks. In addition, numerous covers of “Schedryka” gain an incredible number of views.
- At the Dnipropetrovsk plant Pivdenmash produces the most environmentally friendly rocket launchers in the world – Zenit 3SL. Thanks to which Ukraine is a co-owner of the “Sea Start” project (together with the USA, Russia and Norway).
- Oleshkiv sands are often called the Ukrainian “Sahara”. The area of sands, which are spread over the territory of several districts of the Kherson region, is more than 160 thousand hectares, which makes them the largest desert in Europe. Oleshkiv sands are clearly visible from space.
- At the language beauty contest in Paris in 1934, the Ukrainian language took third place after French and Persian according to such criteria as phonetics, vocabulary, phraseology, sentence structure. And in terms of melodiousness, the Ukrainian language took second place, after Italian.
- The author of the world’s first Constitution is Ukrainian Pylyp Orlyk. On April 5, 1710, he was elected hetman of the Zaporozhian army. On the same day, he announced the “Constitution of the Rights and Freedoms of the Zaporizhzhya Army.” In the USA, the Constitution was adopted in 1787, in France and Poland only in 1791.
- The longest musical instrument in the world is the Ukrainian trembita. Its length can reach four meters, and its sounds can be heard more than ten kilometers away.
- 1/4 of all chernozem reserves on the planet are concentrated on the territory of Ukraine. Black earth soils with proper processing give the largest amount of harvest. During the Second World War, the Germans even transported chernozem on trains.
- Among the bright achievements of the Ukrainian aircraft industry is the world’s largest AN-225 “Mriya” aircraft, as well as the most powerful AN-124 “Ruslan” aircraft. In 2001, the “Mriya” plane, taking on board a cargo of 253 tons, set 124 records in one flight.
- Monuments to the famous Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko are installed in 1,500 places around the world.
- The Ukrainian town of Rakhiv, located among the Carpathians, is officially considered the geographical center of Europe. And Ukraine itself is the largest European state, the entire territory of which is geographically located in Europe.
- The oldest tree in Ukraine is considered to be a 1,300-year-old oak in the Yuzefin tract of the Rivne region.
- Most Ukrainian words begin with the letter “P”. The most frequently used letter of the alphabet is “O”. The letters “F” and “G” are used least often.
- The longest cave in Ukraine is called “Optimistic” and it is located in Podilla, it is a gypsum cave at a depth of 20 m and stretches for 216 km. It is the longest gypsum cave in the world, second only to Mammoth Cave in the USA.
- The first kerosene lamp was invented in Lviv in 1853, and in the same year, the first kerosene lamp operation was performed in one of the Lviv hospitals.
- The oldest settlement of Homo Sapiens was found in the village of Mezhyrich, Cherkasy region. The most ancient map carved on a mammoth bone 14.5-15 thousand years ago was also found.
- At the time of the declaration of independence, there were 19.4 million pigs in Ukraine, today there are less than half of them – 8.3 million individuals. Despite the fact that Ukrainians have the title of saloids, the average resident of the country consumes only 18 kilograms of pork per year. Even a German eats three times as much.
- The Ukrainian National Choir inspired George Gershwin to write the future worldwide hit Summertime with its performance of George Gershwin’s lullaby
- In the Kyiv Museum of Miniatures, you can see a horseshoe flea, a rose in a case made of hollowed-out hair, made of paint flakes, and many other works by the master Mykola Syadristy.
