Description of the attraction
The Church of the Savior on Berestove is one of the oldest monuments in Ukraine, erected in pre-Mongol times. Thanks to such structures, the techniques and technologies that were used for the construction of temples in ancient Russia become clearer. In addition, the later reconstruction allows us to trace how the Ukrainian baroque style was formed.
The cathedral was built at the turn of the XI-XII centuries as the central temple of the Transfiguration Monastery, located in the village of Berestovo, which was the residence of Prince Vladimir Monomakh and his descendants. The temple got its name due to the fact that the builders dedicated the main altar of the cathedral to one of the main symbols of Christianity - the Transfiguration of the Lord. Throughout the 12th century, the temple, in addition to performing its main functions, was also the ancestral burial vault of the princely family of the Monomakhovichs, including Yuri Dolgoruky.
The Church of the Savior on Berestovo has survived to this day with numerous reconstructions and changes made in various historical periods, which inevitably was reflected on it. So, in the 17th century, through the efforts of Metropolitan Peter Mohyla, three apses and a wooden vestibule were added to the cathedral, and the building itself was crowned with three domes made in the style of the early Ukrainian Baroque. At the beginning of the next century, the wooden porch was replaced by a stone one, and several new domes were added. In the 19th century, a three-tiered bell tower made in the style of classicism was added to the church by the Kiev architect A. Melensky.
At first, it was not known what the original painting of the temple was, however, during the restoration work that was carried out in the 70s of the twentieth century, a part of the fresco of the 12th century was found, which depicted the scene of the appearance of Christ to the disciples. The painting of the 17th century has also survived.
