Before you stands the oldest linden tree in Kyiv — a botanical monument of local significance protected since 1972. According to legend, it was planted by Metropolitan Petro Mohyla himself in the 17th century in memory of the people of Kyiv who perished during the Mongol invasion of Kyiv in 1240.
It was Petro Mohyla who initiated the first studies of the ruined Church of the Tithes and built a small church on its site — the linden tree became a living monument to that event. The trunk now exceeds five meters in circumference, suggesting an age of around 400 years. Some legends, however, claim that the tree is nearly a thousand years old and witnessed the princely era itself.
Please treat this tree with respect. Despite its protected status, some tourists still tie ribbons to its branches or break them off, following invented superstitions about wishes coming true. In reality, no authentic rituals connected to this linden tree have ever existed. What does exist is the very real harm such actions cause to a tree that already requires constant care and treatment.
The best thing you can do here is simply pause for a moment and feel the relentless passage of time.