Top historic sites in Kyiv
Saint Sophia Cathedral
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, is an architectural monument of Kyivan Rus. The former cathedral is one of the city"s best known landmarks and the first heritage site in Ukraine to be inscribed on the World Heritage List. Aside from its main building, the cathedral includes an ensemble of supporting structures such as a bell tower and the House of Metropolitan. One of the reasons for the move was that both S ...
Founded: 1037 |
Location:
Kyiv, Ukraine
Great Lavra Bell Tower
The Great Lavra Bell Tower is the main bell tower of the ancient cave monastery of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It is one of the most notable buildings of the Kyiv skyline. The bell tower was the highest free-standing bell tower at the time of its construction in 1731–1745. It was designed by the architect Johann Gottfried Schädel. Its total height, with the Christian cross, is 96.5 metres. Th ...
Founded: 1731-1745 |
Location:
Kyiv, Ukraine
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra
Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra is a historic Eastern Orthodox Christian monastery which gave its name to one of the city districts where it is located in Kyiv. Since its foundation as the cave monastery in 1051, the Lavra has been a preeminent center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe. Together with the Saint Sophia Cathedral, it is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Lavra is not only located in an ...
Founded: 1051 |
Location:
Kyiv, Ukraine
Gate Church of the Trinity
The Gate Church of the Trinity is a historic church of the ancient cave monastery of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Originally being built as a Kievan Rus" style church, the Gate Church of the Trinity is now decorated in the Ukrainian Baroque style, having been reconstructed many times through its history. The Gate Church of the Trinity was built in 1106-1108, as part of the Pechersk ...
Founded: 1106-1108 |
Location:
Kyiv, Ukraine
Church of the Saviour at Berestove
The Church of the Saviour at Berestovo is located immediately north of the Monastery of the Caves in an area known as Berestove. Although it is situated outside the Lavra fortifications, the Saviour Church is part of the Lavra complex and the related World Heritage Site. Berestovo was a suburban residence of Vladimir the Great (who died there in 1015) and some of his descendants, including Vsevolod I and Vladim ...
Founded: 1113-1125 |
Location:
Kyiv, Ukraine
Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
Photo from Flickr, copyright Mr Phil Price
Historic Site of the week
Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre
Built around AD 90 to entertain the legionaries stationed at the fort of Caerleon (Isca), the impressive amphitheatre was the Roman equivalent of today’s multiplex cinema. Wooden benches provided seating for up to 6,000 spectators, who would gather to watch bloodthirsty displays featuring gladiatorial combat and exotic wild animals.
Long after the Romans left, the amphitheatre took on a new life in Arthurian legend. Geoffrey of Monmouth, the somewhat imaginative 12th-century scholar, wrote in his History of the Kings of Britain that Arthur was crowned in Caerleon and that the ruined amphitheatre was actually the remains of King Arthur’s Round Table.
Today it is the most complete Roman amphitheatre in Britain.