XII. Kyiv's architectural monuments destroyed in the 1930s and 1940s
One aspect of the multifaceted antireligious campaign, initiated by the Soviet authorities in the late 1910s and greatly intensified during the Stalinist terror of the 1930s, was the government-organized methodical destruction of churches in Ukraine, including numerous masterpieces of the Ukrainian medieval and baroque architecture. A survey of major architectural monuments destroyed in the city of Kyiv during the ostensibly "peaceful" decade of the 1930s can be extrapolated to reflect the overall scope of this destruction throughout Ukraine. Among the ancient monuments of sacral architecture dismantled by the authorities in Kyiv in the mid-1930s were such unique architectural ensembles as the 12th-century Saint Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery, the 12th-century Saint Nicholas's Monastery, and the 17th-century Epiphany Brotherhood Monastery, as well as numerous individual churches, such as the 12th-century Pyrohoshcha Church, 12th-century Church of the Three Saints, 17th-century Saint Nicholas's Military Cathedral, the 17th-century Church of SS Peter and Paul, and many others. The devastation of Kyiv's old architecture was continued by the Soviet troops during their retreat from Kyiv in 1941 before the advancing German army. Soviet sappers set explosives under the buildings along the entire length of Khreshchatyk, Kyiv's main thoroughfare, as well as under the main church of the ancient Kyivan Caves Monastery, the 11th-century Dormition Cathedral, and all of these unique architectural monuments were blown up. Replicas of some of these architectural structures, including the Dormition Cathedral and Saint Michael's Monastery, were built by the Ukrainian government in the 1990s ansd 2000s. However, the original buildings and most of the priceless art they contained, such as mosaics, frescoes, and iconostases, were irretrievably lost... Learn more about Kyiv's destroyed architectural monuments by visiting the following entries:
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SAINT MICHAEL'S GOLDEN-DOMED MONASTERY. An Orthodox men's monastery in Kyiv. In the 1050s Prince Iziaslav Yaroslavych built Saint Demetrius's Monastery in the old upper city of Kyiv, near Saint Sophia Cathedral. In 1108-13 his son, Sviatopolk II Iziaslavych, built a church at the monastery dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel. The monastery was mostly destroyed during the Tatar invasion. Written records confirm that the monastery was reopened by 1496. Restored and enlarged over the 16th century, it gradually became one of the most popular and wealthy monasteries in Ukraine. In 1620 Yov Boretsky made it the residence of the renewed Orthodox metropolitan of Kyiv. It enjoyed the patronage of hetmans and other benefactors and acquired many valuable artifacts. The main church of the monastery was an important architectural and cultural monument. After the Soviet seizure of power the monastery was closed, and in 1936, during the Stalinist antireligious campaign, the main church was demolished by the authorities. The construction of a replica of the Saint Michael's Church in independent Ukraine began on 24 May 1997. The church was officially opened on 30 May 1999... |
Saint Michael's Monastery |
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KYIV EPIPHANY BROTHERHOOD MONASTERY. An Orthodox monastery established in 1616 in Kyiv's Podil district after the noblewoman Yelyzaveta Hulevychivna donated a lot and orchard for this purpose. The Kyiv Epiphany Brotherhood, which was affiliated with the monastery, had built the original Kyiv Epiphany Brotherhood School on an adjacent lot in 1615. The monastery's first wooden church was destroyed by fires at least twice, in 1658 and 1665. The new church was designed by Yosyp Starchenko in the Ukrainian baroque style and built in 1693. The bell tower, designed by Stepan Kovnir in 1756, stood above the main gate to the monastery. The monastery owned extensive property donated to it by Kyivan metropolitans (Petro Mohyla and Rafail Zaborovsky) and Cossack hetmans (Bohdan Khmelnytsky and Ivan Mazepa). The rector of the brotherhood school (later the Kyivan Mohyla Academy) was also the hegumen (from 1731, archimandrite) of the monastery; Teofan Prokopovych was its most famous hegumen. Hetman Petro Konashevych-Sahaidachny and Vasyl Hryhorovych-Barsky were buried at the monastery. Despite their architectural and historical significance, the Epiphany Church and the bell tower were demolished by the Soviet authorities in 1935... |
Kyiv Epiphany Monastery |
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SAINT NICHOLAS'S MILITARY CATHEDRAL. One of the finest Cossack baroque buildings financed by Hetman Ivan Mazepa. It was built by Yosyp Starchenko in 1690-3 on one of the highest sites in Kyiv, on the grounds of Saint Nicholas's Monastery. The cathedral consisted of three naves, five domes, an elaborately carved facade, and richly embellished portals. Inside was a unique baroque seven-tier iconostasis (15.5 m high, 22.0 m wide) donated by the Kyiv burgher Sozon Balyka. After Mazepa's death his coat of arms was removed from the facade. A three-story baroque campanile was built in the 1750s. In 1831 the Russian military expropriated the monastery, which was then within the area of the Kyivan Cave Fortress, and began using the cathedral as the Kyiv garrison church. In the 1920s, restoration of the cathedral was supervised by the All-Ukrainian Academy of Sciences. Nevertheless, as part of their antireligious campaign, the Soviet authorities dismantled the iconostasis, and in 1934 they demolished the entire cathedral... |
Saint Nicholas's Cathedral |
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PYROHOSHCHA CHURCH OF THE MOTHER OF GOD. A church built in the Byzantine style in the Podil district of Kyiv in 1132-6 during the reign of Prince Mstyslav I Volodymyrovych. The church consisted of three naves and apses covered by one dome. The walls were decorated with frescoes, and the floor was laid with glazed and mosaic tiles. The first building of the Kyivan princes to be erected entirely of brick instead of stone, in the medieval period it was the main church of the Podil's merchants and tradesmen and housed an orphanage, a hospital for the poor, and the municipal archives. In 1613-33, when the Saint Sophia Cathedral was the seat of the Uniate Kyiv metropoly, the church served as the cathedral of the Orthodox metropolitans. It was reconstructed several times and in 1778 it acquired one of the finest rococo iconostases in Ukraine. In 1835 a new belfry was built in the Empire style above the main entrance. In 1935 the church was destroyed by the Soviet authorities during their antireligious campaign, so that a public square could be expanded. The church was rebuilt in independent Ukraine in 1998... |
Pyrohoshcha Church |
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KHRESHCHATYK. The name of Kyiv's main thoroughfare.When the street was built, it replaced a forested valley (called Khreshchata Valley in the 17th century) with a stream flowing through it. Construction of the first dwellings began in 1797. The city's development plan of 1837 determined the present course and length of Khreshchatyk. From the 1870s on mostly three-story stone structures with apartments, hotels, shops, government offices, banks, and theaters were built, predominantly in the eclectic or modern style. In 1876 the hall of the city duma was erected, and in 1892 the first electric tramline in the Russian Empire was installed, linking the street with the Podil district. By the beginning of the 20th century the street had become an important commercial center. In 1910 the first covered market in Ukraine was built on Bessarabian Square. In 1935 the street was paved with asphalt and the tramline was replaced by a trolleybus line. During the Second World War while the Soviets retreated from the advancing German army, Khreshchatyk was mined by the Soviet Army and most buildings destroyed (1941)... |
Khreshchatyk |
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DORMITION CATHEDRAL OF THE KYIVAN CAVE MONASTERY. The main church of the Kyivan Cave Monastery. Built in 1073-8 at the initiative of Saint Theodosius of the Caves during the hegumenship of Stefan of Kyiv and funded by Prince Sviatoslav II Yaroslavych. The cathedral had three naves, which on the outside terminated in many-faced apses. Inside, the central part was decorated with mosaics (including an Oranta), while the rest of the walls were painted with frescoes. According to the Kyivan Cave Patericon, Master Olimpii was to have been one of the mosaic masters. At the end of the 11th century many additions to the cathedral were built, including Saint John's Baptistry in the form of a small church on the north side. In the 17th century more cupolas and decorative elements in the Cossack baroque style were added. As the Soviet Army retreated from Kyiv on 16-17 September 1941, mines were placed under the cathedral, and on 3 November it was blown up. The reconstruction of the cathedral began in independent Ukraine in 1998 and was completed in August 2000... |
Dormition Cathedral |
The preparation, editing, and display of the IEU entries featuring Kyiv's architectural monuments destroyed in the 1930s and 1940s were made possible by a generous donation from ARKADI MULAK-YATSKIVSKY of Los Angeles, CA, USA.