[UKRAINE] Kiev - St Sophia Cathedral

20:19 Travel Bunny 0 Comments

St. Sophia Cathedral is Kiev’s best known landmark. No visit to Kiev would be complete without visiting St. Sophia Cathedral. The cathedral was named after the Aya Sophia cathedral in Constantinople and was surrounded by other churches dedicated to patron saints. The monastery was built between 1017 and 1031 in honour of prince Yaroslav the Wise, to commemorate his victory over the nomadic Asian Pecheneg tribe.

St. Sophia Cathedral is within walking distance from Independence Square but it’s an uphill walk.

The monastery we see today has been added to and renewed over the centuries. The white Bell Tower with golden dome stands at 76 meter tall and can be seen from a distance.

Statue of Yaroslav the Wise at the square in front of the cathedral.

Opposite St. Sophia Cathedral is St. Michael’s Golden Domed Monastery.

The cathedral has 13 golden onion domes, 5 naves and 5 apses, with two-tiered galleries on three sides. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The bell tower was built in 1699 – 1706 at the expense of hetman Ivan Mazepa. In 1851 – 1852, the fourth tier was built by the design of the architect P.Sparro. The last bell tower restoration took place in 1997 – 2003. After that, the bell tower was opened to public in 2003 for the first time in a few decades. The exterior of the bell tower is richly embellished with stucco.

The territory of the St. Sophia Cathedral is open from 9a.m. to 8p.m. with the last admission till 7p.m. There are different types of admission ticket depending on what you wish to see. Admission to the territory only is 20UAH per adult, bell tower 40UAH per adult, Territory, St. Sophia and Refectory 80UAH per adult and to visit everything within the compound is 170UAH per adult. School children or students’ admission is half price.

The bell tower is also open daily at the same time.

The exterior that we see today dates from the 17th and 18th centuries, when Baroque modifications were made to conceal the original structure.

Refectory at the south of the cathedral is now the Baroque Little Sophia Church.

Architectural Ensemble of St Sophia Cathedral.

It was still early and the church was not yet opened to the public.

We walked around the complex to see other buildings.

This is the south entrance tower.

The Bakery, 18th century.

Time to visit the interior of the cathedral.

The interior walls are covered with frescoes and mosaics, dating back to the 11th century. The mosaics in the cathedral are notable for their rich tones, made up of 177 different shades against a gold background.

The most magnificent example is the 6 meter high image of the Virgin Mary at prayer. The 21 shades of blue in her clothing convey the folds and flow of the fabric.

On the second floor, there are some other exhibition.

Oksana Mas’ mosaic picture “Looking into Eternity” with dimension of 7x7 meters, was made using the unique technology as mosaic elements.

The artist used 15,000 manually painted Easter eggs, each of which has its own inimitable ornament, colour and energy.

Back to the ground floor.

There is one more important thing to see in the cathedral: the tomb of Yaroslav the Wise.

The reconstruction of the appearance of Yaroslav the Wise and the probable appearance of a woman whose skeleton was discovered together with his skeleton in the sarcophagus.