2015-09-07
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Saint Sophia’s Cathedral was constructed in 1017--1031 in honour of Prince Yaroslav the Wise's victory over the Pecheneg tribe. It was the main metropolitan church of Kyivan Rus'-Ukraine. Ceremonies to designate great events, public meetings and the writing of chronicles took place here. The first library in Kyivan Rus’ was located here. The cathedral bears a resemblance to Byzantine constructions, but there is no direct analogy. The original forms of the Romanesque style were preserved until the 17th century. The church facades were not plastered and were embellished with decorative ornaments and paintings. The interior reveals the harmonious union of mosaics and fresco paintings in a style similar to the Byzantine style. Religious and secular themes predominate. Of great value are some decorative works of the 11th century.
The interior of the cathedral is also embellished with fresco ornamentation, mosaic pavement, marble decorations, etc. The cathedral contained the tombs of the Grand Kyivan Princes. Yaroslav the Wise, Vsevolod, Rostyslav, and Volodymyr Monomakh were buried here (only the sarcophagus of Yaroslav the Wise has been preserved).
After the Tatar-Mongol invasion of 1240, the cathedral gradually fell into ruins. In the 16th century Greek Catholic priests served Mass here. In the 1630s-1640s the Kyivan Metropolitan P. Mohyla founded a monastery in the cathedral. He engaged the Italian architect O. Mancini to work on its restoration. In 1685—1707 the cathedral was rebuilt in the Ukrainian Baroque style. A Baroque iconostasis was built in 1731—1747. St. Sophia's Cathedral is considered to be a masterpiece of world architecture.
