Cave monastery Lavra Kiev
Cave Monastery. Kiev-Pechersk Lavra
Kiev Cave Monastery
Kiev Cave Monastery Pechersk District
Kiev Cave Monastery
Kiev Cave Monastery
Kiev Cave Monastery UNESCO heritage
Cave Monastery of Kiev
City:
Kiev
Address:
Lavrska street, 15, Kyiv, 01015
Built:
1051 year
Open:
from 9 AM to 6 PM
Entrance fee:
2
2
2
55
This attraction is included in the following city tours
Kiev Attractions tour
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86
3041

The Cave Monastery Kiev Pechersk Lavra is a UNESCO world heritage sight and one of the most ancient and earliest monasteries in Kiev Rus.

Go2UA travel agency offers a facinating tour to this ancient and worldwide famous museum with private English speaking guides, and other languages including French, Spanich, Italian.

Available 7 days a week the tour to the Cave monastery will leave unforgettable memories long after your trip to Kiev. You'll be impressed by hundrends of metres of the underground caves, underground churches, and even a "cementery" all dug and built by monks back in the 11th century!

Mysterious legends surround the history of the place and you may also feel spiritual power of it.

Take a tour with one of our guides to open the secret of the ancient Caves.

Interesting facts about the Cave monastery:

  • Cave Monastery "Kiev-Pechersk Lavra" (seephotogallery of Lavra) is one of the TOP attractions. Everyone who decided to travel to Ukraine once, mentions it in his list "to visit". It is one of the most taken Kiev tours by tourists with personal Kiev guide.

  • Cave Monastery was founded in 1051 by monk Antony and one of the first disciples of Antony – Theodosius during the reign of Prince Yaroslav the Wise. This was unick because before it could be done only by kniaz (king).
    The first mentioning of the cave monastery appeared in the beginning of XII century in "The Tale of Bygone Years"  written by Monk Nestor the Chronicler. During Kiev travel, Ukraine guide will tell you and show the Cave monastery located in Pechersk district. It consists of several parts overtaking a huge territory by more than 40 hectars.

  • It used to be a center of medicine and also 1-st hospital in Kievan Rus was open in Kiev Lavra. 

  • First book writing was made here. The oldest book in Ukraine was kept in the museum of books in Lavra. The monks used to produce their material for pages: handmade pergament made of skin.  

MORE exciting fats ABOUT THE CAVE MONASTERY LAVRA

First icons painting and art school also started from Lavra Cave monastery.  

The bell tower is 96 meters high, used to be and still is the highest bell tower in the country. In the aincient times people would hear it's bell rining to 250 km far.  

Caves. Built in 11-th century (during almost 100 years) they are the most famous element of the monastery with the total lenth more than 800 meters. The monks used to live and pray in those caves for years.

Museum of miniatures. Arts made by Ukrainian artist as a sculptures and other elements like portraits, flower, mini-book - which you only can see through a magnifying glass. For instance tiny ship consists of 374 golden details, and its sail is 400 times thiner than humans hairs.

      A little bit of history.

      At the period of foundation St. Anthony was surrounded by around 12 monks and they have started building new caves, the current “Far Caves” (Plan-map of the monastery). Personal city tours and Kiev sightseeing programs usually include Caves underground excursion. In 1240 the hordes of Batuy Khan destroyed Kiev, and along with it –  the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Monastery (Monastery of the caves). Information about the caves belonging to this time is  rather scanty. We as Ukraine guides nowadays, only know that Lavra caves became a home for  the monks again for a long time, as well as the burial place for  the defenders of Kiev. The are big niches in the Caves, filled with the relics of monks, which presumably are the graves. Tour in Kiev Cave Monastery includes visiting this part of the caves and labirints. Accompanied by guide and holding candeles in the darkness these Kiev tours leave the most bright memories about the holidays in Ukraine.

         

        When you travel to Ukraine and visit Kiev, take a chance to see the original buildings of the Cave Monastery kept till nowadays (still operating as a male monastery) perfectly harmonized with the landscape relief of the right bank of the Dnieper river. 

        The monastery is situated on high hills, between which deep ravine  runs through, separating it into a so-called Upper Lavra, where the majority of  brethren  moved in the XI century. Kiev personal guide will show you lower down to the hills the "Near Caves" and "Far Caves" and hospice court yard was built. Each of the complexes of the ancient monastery contain several temples, administrative, residential and out buildings.

        You may visit Kiev on your own and see such a unick place. Go2UA Kiev guide can tell you much more about this important historical and architectural monument and you will have the feeling that you’ve visited the past by yourself. During your Ukraine travelKiev guide will help you to organise your kiev travel and combine few attractions located near to Lavra. Go2UA Ukraine guide will arrange the tickets, transport and other issues regarding tours in Kiev on your request to make your day smooth and pleasant.

        For visitors of Kiev tours to the Cave monastery is really a top destination to see during Ukraine travel.

         

        cave-monastery-kiev

        Cave Monastery map. Tours Kiev

        Plan map of the Cave Monastery

        1 - Troytskaya Nadbramnaya church, ХVIII century. Entrance to the territory of Lavra.
        2 – Great  Lavrskaya bell-tower, ХVIII century.
        3 – Holy-Assumption Cathedral, XI-XX century.
        4 - Church of all Saints, ХVIII century.
        5 - Church of the Savior on Berestov, XII-XVII century.
        6 - Trapeznaya chamber with church, the ХIХ century.
        7 - Krestovozdvyzhenskaya church, the seventeenth century. Entrance to the Close-in  caves.
        8 - Annozachatyevskaya church, the ХVII century. Entrance  to the Far caves.
        9 - Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, ХVII century.

        A - Exhibition of micro-miniatures
        B - National Museum of Decorative creativity
        C - Museum of book-printing in Ukraine
        D - Museum of musical, theatrical and cinematic art
        E – Museum of historical treasures  
        S – Souvenir  stores
        V - Exhibitions  halls