The Golden Gate is a symbol of Kyiv, an outstanding monument of the era of the formation of the first Slavic state - Kievan Rus and one of the oldest examples of architecture and fortification technology that has survived to our time.

The golden gates of Kyiv were built under the famous Kiev prince Yaroslav the Wise in 1164. Initially, they were called Southern and were part of the system of defensive fortifications of the city, practically no different from other guard gates of the city. It was the Southern Gates that the first Russian Metropolitan Hilarion called "Great" in his "Sermon on Law and Grace". After the majestic Hagia Sophia was built, the "Great" gates became the main land entrance to Kyiv from the southwestern side. Realizing their significance, Yaroslav the Wise ordered to build a small Church of the Annunciation over the gates in order to pay tribute to the Christian religion that dominated the city and Russia. From that time on, all Russian chronicle sources began to call the South Gates of Kyiv the Golden Gates. The width of the gate was 7.5 m, the passage height was 12 m, and the length was about 25 m.
Many opponents of Kyiv tried to take the city by storm from the south side, but none of them succeeded. One of the legends says that the Polish king Boleslaw II blunted his sword on the wings of the Golden Gate of Kyiv and his "sword-shard" was kept in the Krakow Museum. And in 1240, the Mongol-Tatar army of Batu Khan struck the main blow not from the side of the Golden Gate, chose the more vulnerable Lyadsky Gate for the assault on Kyiv.
The golden gates of Kyiv served the city for about 500 years. In the 17th century, the Golden Gate was a picturesque ruin, destroyed by time and enemy invasions. However, at that time, the remains of the Church of the Annunciation could still be seen above the walls. This is how the Golden Gate is depicted in the drawing by the Dutch artist A. Westerfeld, made in 1651. A hundred years later, the ruins of the Golden Gate were covered with earth in order to preserve them for future generations. Over the years, the monument was forgotten. And only two centuries later, during the excavations conducted in 1832 by the architect Lokhvitsky, the Gates were discovered. Thanks to the joint work of V. Beretti and F. Mechovich, the remains of the structures were reinforced with brick buttresses, and both parts of the gate were fastened with metal ties.
Over the next years, several attempts were made to reconstruct the original appearance of the building, but this project was finally implemented only during the preparations for the celebration of the 1500th anniversary of Kyiv. Specialists of various profiles conducted research, carefully studying ancient drawings, descriptions, ruins. The reconstruction project was developed by a team of authors consisting of E.I. Lopushinskaya, S.O. Vysotsky and V.M. Kholostenko. A three-tiered pavilion was built above the Golden Gate, which gives an idea of ​​the possible original form of the monument.

The opening of the new Golden Gates took place in 1982, the year of the celebration of the 1500th anniversary of Kyiv. Now in the Golden Gate there is a museum of the same name dedicated to the history of the monument.