Monument to the Founders of Kyiv, Monument by Dnieper River, Ukraine

The Monument to the Founders of Kyiv is a forged-copper composition shaped as a flat boat carrying Kyi, Shchek, Khoryv and their sister Lybid. The boat is 9 m long; the brothers' figures are 4.3 m tall and Lybid's is 3.8 m. Kyi holds a long spear, Shchek an axe, Khoryv a bow, and Lybid stands on the prow with raised arms. A granite pedestal with a pool sits at its foot.

The monument was unveiled in 1982 to mark the 1,500th anniversary of Kyiv, referencing the mythical founders from the 5th century. After corrosion damage caused two figures to fall in 2010, the entire sculpture was restored and rebuilt with a reinforced internal framework.

The figures represent the legendary founders of Kyiv: brothers Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv and their sister Lybid. The sculptor Vasyl Borodai modelled Lybid on his daughter Halyna, a graphic artist who died at 31. The monument appeared on Ukrainian karbovanets notes from 1992, and Lybid alone featured on the 200-hryvnia note in 2001, used without Borodai's consent, prompting his lawsuit.

The sculpture is located along the riverbank between Dnipro metro station and Paton Bridge, with good access by public transport. Walking paths along the river lead directly to the monument and offer a pleasant route through the park.

After a structural failure in 2010 when two of the figures collapsed, the monument received an entirely new internal construction using waterproof concrete. The restoration took several months and required specialists to recast the metal parts and renew the internal reinforcement.