Podil () or the Lower city is a historic neighborhood in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is located on a floodplain terrace over the Dnieper between the Kyiv Hills and the lower stream of Pochaina River. Podil is one of the oldest neighborhoods of Kyiv, and the birthplace of the city's trade, commerce and industry. After the Mongol invasion of Rus' and destruction of Kyiv, it served as a city center until the 19th century. Here the city administration (magistrate) and the main university were located, and later the city's port and shipyard were established here.
Podil contains many architectural and historical landmarks, and new archaeological sites are still being revealed. It is a part of the city's larger administrative Podilskyi District.
History
The name “Podil” means something that is situated downwards. This area used to be the trading and crafting center of Kyiv. The names of some Podil neighborhoods reflect this fact: "Dehtyari" (those who work with tar), "Honchari" (potters), "Kozhemyaki" (craftsmen working with leather). On the territory of Podil ancient constructions were found. Some of them date back to the first half of the first millennium BC. It is first mentioned, however, in chronicles around 945. At times of Ancient Rus, Podil served as the main city's posad which was connected with the Upper city (Old Kyiv Hill) by Borychiv Descent. According to archaeological data, Podil appeared at the end of the 9th century. In 12-13th centuries its total area was reaching . In documentary sources there is mention of "Stolpiye" (wooden fortifications) that protected Podil from northwest, Fairgrounds (later Zhytniy Fairgrounds, main city market), Church of Saint Elijah (the oldest Christian temple mentioned in 945), and Pyrohoshcha Church. Probably, the legendary churches of Turov and Novgorod also existed at Podil. The Soviet "Outline of Ancient History of the Ukrainian SSR" of 1957 () mentions that the Novgorod traders had own church in Kyiv. The Pochaina River served the city's harbour.
Podil has accumulated a cultural layer built up of saturated with a great abundance of artefacts of 9–18th centuries. Its uniqueness consists of the fact that in its lower strata due to high soil moisture are well-preserved objects of organic matter such as wooden structures. There were researched residential and commercial buildings (predominantly above-ground blockhouses), craftsman shops, port warehouses, burial grounds, segments of streets. There were discovered remnants of five masonry temples of the 12th century. It was established that Podil had built-up manors with consistent courtyard limits. Each resident's manor that had area of consisted of 2-3 buildings.
After the Mongol invasion of Rus' and destruction of Kyiv, Podil transformed into the main and the most populated part of the city. However, the area of Podil shrank, in 16-17th centuries its northwestern border served the Hlybochytsia River that used to drain into Pochaina (today Hlybochytsia in the underground collector).
Upon obtaining its Magdeburg rights in the 15th century, in Kyiv was built a rathaus, later Kyiv magistrate. The center of Podil became the market square later known as Mahistratska and Konstraktova where stood a rathaus and the city's cathedral Pyrohoshcha Church. The first "hostynnyi dvir" (trading courtyard) is known as early as the mid 16th century. In the 15th century there was established the Convent of St Florus. At the beginning of the 17th century, there was established Epiphany Monastery of the Kyiv Orthodox Brotherhood, which also later contained the Kyiv Mohyla Academy. Until middle of the 17th century there was an Armenian community in Podil with its own Church of the Nativity of the Virgin. Also during the first half of the 17th century two Roman Catholic places of worship were built in stone, the cathedral church that was destroyed in the 1660s and its remnants found during archaeological excavations and a cathedral of the Dominican Monastery of St Nicholas that existed in 1400s-1649 and at end of the 17th century became the Orthodox cathedral of the Monastery of Sts Peter and Paul.