1. One of the European geographical centers is located in Ukraine
The geographical center of Europe can be found near the village Delovoye in the Zakarpattya area. This is not the only centre of Europe, as the method used to calculate coordinates varies, but it is the one that is most commonly recognized. The others are in Lithuania and Belarus, Slovakia and Poland.
2. Ukraine is home to the second deepest subway station in all of Europe.
Kyiv is the capital of Ukraine. It has a subway station called Arsenalna. It's located at 105.5 meters deep, making it the second-deepest station on the planet.People who live or work at this station must endure two seemingly interminable escalators every day.
3. Three of the six Monasteries worldwide that are Lavra-certified are located in Ukraine.
These include the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Pochaev's Holy Dormition Lavra, and Donetsk Oblast's Sviatogorsk Holy Dormition Lavra. Orthodox Christians consider Kyiv Pechersk Lavra the second most important religious place after Jerusalem. UNESCO has also listed its architectural ensemble as a World Cultural Heritage Site.
4. Ukraine has seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
These include St Sophia's Cathedral, Kyiv, the historical centre of Lviv, Chernivtsi University as well as the unique wooden church in the Carpathian Mountains, and the beech forests surrounding them.
5. Ukraine has the longest wind instrument in the world
The longest wind instrument is the Ukrainian trembita. It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
Trembita is a wood trumpet measuring 2.5 to 8m in length. As a communication tool in mountain villages, the trembita was used to announce the start and end of work days, children's births, approaching danger, and so on.
6. A record-breaking number of people attended Queen's concert at Kharkiv in Ukraine.
The largest square in Europe, Kharkiv Liberty Square hosted a charity concert by Queen and Paul Rodgers in 2008. This was a new record for the group, in terms of the total number of people it has ever hosted. The media representatives of the group said that more than 300,000. people were present on the square.
7. The area of Ukraine today was inhabited in the 5th century BC.
The remains of Tripolitan culture indicate that the area of Ukraine today was inhabited as early as the 5th Century before Christ.
There was a Scythian kingdom. The Crimea and Black Sea coasts were inhabited in the past by Greek and Gothic tribes. The centre and north-west are closely associated with the Slavs. The history of Kyiv Rus was recorded here in the 9th century. In the 13th century, the land came under the control of the Tatars, and the Golden Horde.
8. More than 50 people from Ukraine were mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records.
There are many sporting accomplishments, including the "Mriya" the largest airliner in the entire world, as well as unique records that are hard to imagine.
Anatoly Boyko, a Ukrainian Faberge, is one of the most recent record-breakers. He transforms ordinary bird eggs with tiny holes patterns into works of art. The artist set two world records in April 2021: he drilled 33.300 holes in a chicken egg and 52.700 in a goose egg.
9. In 1934, the Ukrainian language was ranked third in beauty in the world.
Interesting fact: Ukrainian was ranked third in beauty, behind Persian and French, in 1934. It was also ranked second in melodicity, right behind Italian.
10. The 1945 Yalta Conference was the meeting point of the famous trinity in World War II: Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin.
The legendary trio of Stalin and Churchill met at the Yalta Conference 1945 in Ukraine. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the future in relation to organizational aspects of postwar Europe. Livadia Palace, the site of the conference is now a museum.
11. Ukrainians loved the lively, fast-paced folk dance style that was replaced by traditional styles of dancing.
Gopak, also known as Ukraine's national dance, is very popular in Slavic countries such as Russia, Belarus and Poland. Similar folk tunes are known as sirmpa in Leros, Greece.
12. Ukraine was the first Eastern European university to be established.
Ostrog Academy, Ukraine's oldest scientific and educational institution, is the first institution of higher learning in Eastern Europe. In Ostrog, Prince Konstantin Vasily established the Slavic-Greek–Latin Academy.
13. Ukrainians, unlike other cultures around the world, prefer to have their wedding rings on the right hand.
The left hand was considered unclean. It was not appropriate for wearing a symbol representing eternal love.
The right hand was, however, a symbol for power, positive changes, and knowledge and was highly honored by our ancestors.
The ceremony of marriage was when the wedding ring was placed on it. Sometimes, the wedding ring placed on the left hand of a Ukrainian couple can be confusing to others. If one spouse has died, the ring is often placed on the opposite hand.
14. Near the railway station, Kyiv is home to the second-most visited McDonald's in the world.
Fast-food chain McDonald's was ranked second in terms of number of visitors at the end 2011, with 33 thousand other establishments around the globe. This year they took 7.5% of the world's 33 thousand chain restaurants and 171,881 more orders than 2010. The institution has been ranked among the top five most popular establishments in the network for six consecutive years.
15. Austria and Ukraine claim to have invent the coffee-house in Europe.
The Ukrainian war hero Yuri Kulchitsky is believed to have brewed the first cup of coffee in 1680s Vienna, Austria. The intense coffee spirit of Ukraine can still be seen today in Lviv, Ukraine's medieval capital, where you will find thousands upon thousands of coffee shops.
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