Saints Anthony and Theodosius Cathedral, Vasylkiv

openas of 2026-10-011758Naddniprianshchyna

Photo: Kiyanka · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

A baroque cathedral of 1756–1758 in the town founded by Volodymyr the Great.

The town on the Stuhna was founded by Volodymyr the Great between 988 and 996 and named Vasyliv after his baptismal name (the ESU). In 1157 Vasyliv passed to prince Vasylko Yuriiovych, and the present name comes from him; in 1240 the town was destroyed by the horde and declined for a long time. In 1586 Vasylkiv received Magdeburg rights with two fairs a year and weekly markets. The cathedral of Saints Anthony and Theodosius is what people come for: a masonry church of Ukrainian baroque built in 1756–1758 on the order of the archimandrite of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, with a bell tower of the same time. Sources name the builder differently: the travels.in.ua guide says Stepan Kovnir, a master of the Lavra, while the ESU gives only the year of completion, 1758. Pediments of double curvature and the silhouette make the cathedral a relative of the church of the Nativity in Kozelets. The tale of an underground passage from here to the Lavra remains a tale. The town also has the church of St Nicholas of 1792 and the hillfort of Vasyliv, the very place it all began.

Routes through this landmark

• From the Stuhna to the Ros