St Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery, Kyiv

openas of 2026-10-091108Naddniprianshchyna

Photo: Paweł 'pbm' Szubert (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Sviatopolk’s cathedral of 1108–1113, blown up by the Soviet authorities in 1937 and rebuilt in 1997–2000.

The stone Church of the Archangel Michael was founded in 1108 by Prince Sviatopolk II Iziaslavych of Kyiv and built until 1113 (en.wikipedia; Encyclopedia of Ukraine). Some of its 12th-century mosaics and frescoes survived, among them “St Demetrius of Thessalonica” and “The Eucharist” (Encyclopedia of Ukraine). The Soviet authorities demolished the monastery from spring 1935, and on 14 August 1937 they blew up the cathedral (en.wikipedia); some mosaics had been taken to Moscow beforehand. Reconstruction began on 24 May 1997; the cathedral opened on 30 May 1999 and was consecrated on 28 May 2000 (en.wikipedia); in 2001 and 2004, 18 of the 29 works taken to Moscow were returned (Encyclopedia of Ukraine). Since December 2018 it has been the seat of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and during the Revolution of Dignity the refectory church served as a makeshift hospital (en.wikipedia).

Routes through this landmark

• Kyiv: three ancient cloisters