Kiev

Kiev
Kiev's Saint Sophia Cathedral was designed to rival the Saint Sophia of Constantinople. Prince Yaroslav the Wise built it to commemorate the victory over the Pechenegs (Asian nomadic tribes) and to glorify Christianity. From here the Orthodox religion spread over the larger Russian world.

The cathedral was built in 1037, and still stands proudly in the old city center. It is open to visitors, and services are held.

Besides the Cathedral, also the Lavra Monastery is part of the World Heritage. The monastery dates from the 16th century, and consists mainly of catacombs under the ground.

Year Decision Comments
1990 Inscribed Reasons for inscription
1990DeferredBureau - Separate nominations of Sant Sofia Cathedral of Kiev and State Reserve of Kievo Pechersk should be joined into one



Visit July 1990

I missed the spectacular interior of this cathedral, but I still have fond memories of Kiev. The atmosphere, the old houses and streets: life seemed to be so much more sunny than in the Russian cities Moscow and St. Petersburg that I had visited before. Even the food was better!

Reviews

Christer Sundberg (Sweden):
Kiev proved to be quite a surprise for me. But it was not the first time I travelled to former Eastern European countries in order to find that it’s not all concrete, Stalin-architecture and generally miserable.

Same thing happened again in Kiev, a town that turned out to be a relaxed place, with beautiful buildings where even the post-Stalin architecture blends in well. A city filled with nice restaurants, cafés, incredible parks, good shopping and - of course - the magnificent churches and monasteries of Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and Santa Sophia Cathedral, the World Heritage Site of Kiev.

The monasteries and churches are really the landmark of Kiev and someone said that there are over 200 churches in this orthodox “junction” of Slavic Europe. To even further grasp the religious history I took a trip to Tchernigov, some 170 km north of Kiev, today a small town of northern Ukraine but once a religious centre with some of the oldest churches and monasteries in the country. Even one of the monasteries is located complete underground. Tchernigov is also found on the tentative list and might become a real World Heritage Site one day, which it well deserves.
Date posted: August 2005
Jared Snider (Shreveport, Louisiana, USA):
I lived in Ukraine for a couple of years, and visited Saint Sophia a number of times. I always found it a beautiful cathedral, and along with the grounds was always a spectacular visit. These visits became more significant to me when my father, an avid geneologist, found out that one of our ancestors was Yaroslav the Wise, who built the cathedral and is buried in a sarcophagus there. I highly recommend a visit to Saint Sophia Cathedral on your next visit to Kiev.
 
Kevin Strider-Lachinov (England (me) Ukraine (Wife)):
Saint Sophia's?

Spectacular! Breath-taking! Beautiful!

In fact, it's so good that My Wife and I are considering re-marrying (without a divorce) in Saint Sophia's. If you are going to get married in Kiev (and why not) then Saint Sophia's is the place to do it.
 


Have you been to Kiev: Saint Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra? Share your experiences!

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