St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery

St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral is Kyiv's main historical landmark, the city's most popular tourist site and the main shrine of the UOC. The name of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral was first recorded in chronicles in 1108, where it is stated that Prince Sviatopolk-Mikhail founded the church in honor of Saint Archistrategos Michael. Since then, it has become Kyiv's main shrine. In the construction of the church, the technique of “mixed masonry” was used, since plinfa bricks and stone were laid at the same time. Its interiors were decorated with expensive materials, including marble. The walls were adorned with expensive mosaics and icons.

The 13th-14th centuries were devastating for the cathedral because of Mongol-Tatar attacks. Only from the 17th-18th centuries did it begin to be restored and supplemented with new valuables donated by Ukrainian hetmans. Thus, in 1718, gilding for the restoration of the domes was purchased with Bohdan Khmelnytskyi's own funds. To store the relics of Saint Martyr Barbara, Ivan Mazepa donated a silver box, and Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi replaced the iconostasis.    

During the rule of the Bolshevik authorities, the cathedral was plundered, and in 1937 it was blown up because, according to the authorities, it had no value at all. Only after Ukraine gained independence was the cathedral restored, and its mosaics returned from Russia.

Interesting facts:

• The cathedral's name comes from the finishing of the domes with real gold, which was first used in church architecture.
• The cathedral's refined, bright mosaics show that at the time the church was decorated, there was already a local artistic school in Kyivan Rus.
• During the Second World War, part of the church's frescoes was taken to Germany, and from there it ended up in the Hermitage of Saint Petersburg, which was returned to Ukraine only in 2004.