St. Sophia Cathedral, Kiev

Built in the year 1037 by Prince Yaroslav, the St Sophia's Cathedral happens to be Kyiv’s oldest standing church. The church also marks the burial site of the Prince himself.  The main purpose of building this church was to commemorate the place where the victory of Kyivan Rus over the Pechenegs was gained. The name of the church is also inspired by the famous St. Sophia’s Cathedral in Constantinople. The beautiful and awe-inspiring 13-cupola sanctuary lies adjoining to the Yaroslav’s Palace and eventually became a revered place of worship for Kyivites. The cathedral was also marked as a political and cultural centre. With rich frescoes and mosaics adorning the interiors of the cathedral, a lot of which can still be ogled at, the cathedral was like paradise for all the Kivyites who were looking for a place of worship. Other than being a place of worships, even various meetings with foreign diplomats and treaty negotiations were held here. Another amazing thing about the cathedral is that it was the first place to house a library and a school in Kyivan Rus. The blue and white bell tower that forms a part of this complex stands at 76m high and its construction got completed in the year 1752. It was in the year 1852 that the upper Ukranian Baroque section of the church and the gilded cupola were added. Now, in this day and age, the site is protected by Ukraine, and it also recieves support from UNESCO. 

While in Kyiv, do what the Kievans do! Or rather, do what frequent travelers do – they visit the best-known landmarks of the city. The St. Sophia Cathedral is one such example, and also the first heritage site in Ukraine to be inscribed on the World Heritage List. On this list, it is joined by its counterpart in the same city, the Kyiv Cave Monastery complex.

 This cathedral is a beautiful architectural monument of Kievan Rus'. It is a unique monument of architecture and art, of the early 11th Century. The cathedral has preserved its large collection of mosaics and frescoes of that period. Some of the masterpieces include the Deisis, the Pantocrator, the Communion of the Apostles, the Annunciation, and the Virgin Orans.

 Built during the reign of the Yaroslav the Wise, the Great Prince of Kyiv, by Byzantine masters and local builders, it was to be the primary Christian church of the Kievan Rus’ capital. Designed to rival the great Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, the St. Sophia Cathedral's Byzantine architecture announced the new religious and political authority of Kyiv.

 This beautiful cathedral is surrounded by monastic buildings of the 17th and 18th centuries in the Ukrainian Baroque style. The breath-taking architectural structures comprise the refectory, the Zaborovsky gate, the south entrance tower, the bell tower, the cells of cathedral elders, Metropolitan’s house, as well as the seminary encircled by a stone wall. Over the centuries, there has been a unique blend of national spirit with the natural and architectural forms that have created a niche for themselves in the historic landscape of Kyiv.