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St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery is located above Volodymyr’s Hill overlooking the Podil district in Kyiv.
History
The monastery was founded in 1108 but demolished by the Soviets in 1934 due to “lack of historical value”. The site where the cathedral was located was used as a sports complex. After Ukrainian independence, people began calling for the rebuilding of the monastery. The new cathedral opened in 1999 and was constructed based on photos and old foundations found during the excavation in 1997. That in itself is amazing.
Bell Tower
The entrance to the complex is under the tall bell tower on Mykhailivs’ka Square. On either side of the tower are frescoes with religious scenes.
Museum
For ₴14 (as of September 2020), it’s possible to enter the bell tower and climb to the top. There’s a small museum inside with a model of the historic monastery and ecclesiastical art. The museum is open daily except Mondays from 10am to 7pm.
Once at the top, there are fantastic views of the cathedral below.
You can also look down onto Mykhailivs’ka Square and get nice views of Kyiv. It’s possible to see St. Sophia Cathedral in the distance.
Cathedral
St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral is an impressive building. It’s very beautiful on the inside and out. Many mosaics and other pieces from the original cathedral have been reinstalled in the current one.
My favorite part of the building is the façade. It was built in the Ukrainian Baroque style, just as the original cathedral was rebuilt in the 18th century.
When I visited, I decided to stay a few minutes for evening vespers. The priest had an amazing voice, and the young men’s choir added a nice touch to the experience. Since it was the day after Easter, I even got to hear them sing Christos Anesti (Χριστὸς ἀνέστη) in Greek.
Refectory of St. John the Divine
Next to the cathedral is the Refectory of St. John the Divine. It’s original to the complex and was built in 1713. When the site was being used as a sports complex, the refectory was used as a changing room. The eastern part of the building is the Church of John the Theologian.
Fountain
The other interesting structure I found on the grounds is a beautiful fountain.
Mykhailivs’ka Square
St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery opens onto Mykhailivs’ka Square. In the center of the square is a monument to St. Olga (890-969), a ruler of Kyivan Rus’ as regent on behalf of her son, Svyatoslav I. The building behind the monument is the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine. To the northeast is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
Kyiv Funicular
To reach the monastery and the square, I took a ride up the historic Kyiv Funicular from the Podil district. The funicular was built between 1902 and 1905 and opened on May 20, 1905. It takes about three minutes to go from one station to the next. The top station is at Mykhailivs’ka Square and the bottom station is at Poshtova Square.
