The domes
Gold and green.
Daniel Kraft — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Suicasmo — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Francisco Anzola — CC BY 2.0 · George Chernilevsky — Public domain · Suicasmo — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Pechersk Lavra, or Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a large historic monastery on the hills of the right bank of the Dnipro in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. Together with Saint Sophia Cathedral it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it gave its name to the Pechersk district. The chronicles say it was founded as a cave monastery in the 11th century, in 1051 or 1074, and the word pechera means cave. Since then it has been one of the leading centres of Eastern Christianity in Eastern Europe. Its printing house was among the first in the country, and it holds several museums today. From outside you see white buildings with Baroque decoration, shining gold domes and green ones, and a tall bell tower seen from afar. From above, churches and walls spread among the trees, with the wide Dnipro and its bridges behind. Visitors dress modestly inside the walls. It is about 2.7 km from Independence Square in a straight line. The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to Kyiv, and opening can change at short notice, so read the current advice before any planning.
Gold and green.
Seen from afar.
Behind the walls.
Pechersk district, Kyiv, Ukraine
Pechera means cave, so it is the monastery of the caves.
Yes, the UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to Kyiv.
