Sts Borys and Hlib Cathedral, Chernihiv
A princely burial church of the 1120s on the Dytynets citadel, which keeps Mazepa’s silver royal doors; now a museum of the “Ancient Chernihiv” reserve.
The cathedral was built in 1120–1123 as a burial church of the Davydovych princes — construction was begun by Prince Davyd Sviatoslavych of Chernihiv (chernihivregion.travel); travels.in.ua adds that the church stands on the foundations of an 11th-century masonry building. At the start of the 17th century it was converted into a Dominican church, and later an octagonal narthex in the spirit of Ukrainian baroque was added to the west facade (oldchernihiv.com). Its chief treasure is the silver-gilt royal doors weighing about 56 kg, made at the start of the 18th century to the order of Hetman Ivan Mazepa in the workshop of Philipp Jakob Drentwett in Augsburg. In 1941–1943 the cathedral suffered destruction; in 1952–1958 it was restored to its presumed original form to a design by Mykola Kholostenko. Today it is a museum of the National Architectural and Historical Reserve “Ancient Chernihiv” and the House of Choral Heritage, with concerts of sacred music; because of martial law visits are arranged in advance (chernihivregion.travel, 08.08.2023).
Museum of the reserve: 10:00–17:00, closed Monday; admission 50 UAH, concession 20, guided tour 100 UAH (travels.in.ua, 05.09.2025) — check before setting out, tel. (046) 264-59-64. It stands next to the Transfiguration Cathedral on the Val.