Kyiv fortress, Fortress complex in Pechersk, Kyiv, Ukraine.

Kyiv fortress is a fortification complex in Kyiv whose main element, the New Pechersk Fortress, was built between 1831 and 1851 to a plan by engineer Karl Opperman, with some works continuing until 1872. It includes the Hospital fortification with the Kosyi Caponier of 1844 and the Lysogirskyi fort of 1872, designed by Eduard Totleben.

The complex began expanding after a political agreement in 1654 and developed from monastery grounds into a major fortress. Fortifications were continuously enlarged and modernized into the 19th century.

The Kyiv Fortress museum opened in 1927 as a branch of the Museum of the History of Kyiv and holds a main collection of 17,000 exhibits. Its grounds include the Kosyi Caponier, built in 1844 as part of the Hospital fortification, which later served as a prison.

The fortress sites are scattered across Pechersk, with the Hospital fortification and Kosyi Caponier near the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra and the Lysa Hora fort south of the centre. Parts are still used as military depots or by businesses, so check which sections are open before setting out. The citadel area is on high ground above the Dnieper, and the old ramparts were levelled long ago, so allow time to move between separate sites.

One section of the fortress, called Kosyi Caponier, served as a political prison in the early 1900s. Today visitors can see this area as a separate museum that documents this darker chapter.