Churches of Kyiv

Explore the timeless beauty of some of the most magnificent Kyiv churches

Church of the Saviour at BerestoveCFC Big Ideas in association with the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy

Kyiv is famous for its old churches and ancient cathedrals, many of Ukraine’s most valuable architectural treasures. Take a virtual tour of the three majestic churches gracing the capital.

St. Andrew’s Church

St. Andrew’s Church is one of the most famous and well-preserved Baroque-style architectural monuments of the XVIII century. Built between 1747-1762 by an Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, it is his only work that has fully preserved its interior.

The church has the shape of a cross, with shorter northern and southern branches. The building is located on a two-storey stylobate at the pentagonal terrace, with a cast-iron staircase leading to it.

The rich interior combines various arts and techniques such as wood carving, sculpture, and painting, making it a vividly Baroque work of art. The most notable inside pieces are the iconostasis, the pulpit, and the over-the-throne rotunda.

The church is devoted to the Saint Apostle Andrew the First-Called and resides over the Andriivsky descent, connecting the Upper Town with the lower Podil area. A landmark on the northeastern way to Kyiv, the church opens the majestic view of the Podil and the Dnipro river.

St. Cyrils Church

St. Cyril’s Church is the second after St. Sophia Cathedral church in Kyiv, to have remained up to the present day back from the Kyivan Rus period.

Set up by the Grand Prince of Kyiv, Vsevolod Olhovych, in 1133–1144, the church withstood the Mongol invasion of Khan Batu, devastating robberies and numerous fires, as well as Soviet repressions against the Church and World War II.

The building makes up a unique architectural form, combining a temple, a fortress, and the family tomb of the Olhovych princes. Almost fully preserved, the interior includes invaluable pieces of art, such as 800m2 of XII-century frescoes and many paintings by XIX-century artists.

St. Cyril's Church, rebuilt in the XVII and XVIII centuries in the Ukrainian Baroque style, is now part of the National Sanctuary Sophia of Kyiv. Divine services resumed there in the 1990s, and in 2011, the parish was turned into a men's monastery.

Church of the Saviour at Berestove

Church of the Saviour at Berestove of Ukrainian Orthodox Church is a unique architectural monument of the XI century and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The church gets its name from the Berestove settlement holding Kyiv princes’ residency in the times of Kyivan Rus. It also served as a burial place for Prince Volodymyr Monomakh's descendants, including his daughter, Euphemia, son Yuriy Dolgoruky, and grandson Hlib Yuriyovych.

It was rebuilt in XIV, XVI, and later in the mid-XVII century by the initiative of Petro Mohyla, Metropolitan of Kyiv, Halych, and all Rus. He also invited 1644 Greek masters to cover the interior with monumental fresco paintings.

In 1926, the church was included in what now is the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Reserve. In 2019 it was reopened after another restoration and the church is now open for visitors.

Credits: All media
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