Chernihiv

Chernihiv was one of the principal cities of Kyivan Rus and it kept more eleventh and twelfth-century building than anywhere else in Ukraine: the Transfiguration cathedral of the 1030s, the Borys and Hlib cathedral, St Paraskeva's and the Dormition cathedral of the Yeletsky monastery, all within walking distance on the Val, the old rampart above the Desna. The Antoniy caves, cut into the hillside from the eleventh century, run under the Trinity monastery.

Background

Chernihiv first appears in writing in the Rus'-Byzantine Treaty of 907, though finds from the Khazar Khaganate suggest a settlement here by at least the 9th century. It began as a tribal centre of the Siverians and grew into the second most important city of Rus' after Kyiv, serving from the 11th to the 13th century as the seat of a principality and a bishopric. The Black Grave, a royal mound counted among the largest and earliest in Eastern Europe, was dug here in the 19th century. The city received Magdeburg Law in 1623 and a collegium opened in 1700, and in the late 17th and early 18th century many buildings were rebuilt in Ukrainian Baroque style.

Source: Wikipedia, "Chernihiv"

What to look for

• The Transfiguration cathedral - a 1030s church, among the oldest standing in the country.
• The Val - the old rampart above the Desna with the church group along it.
• The Antoniy caves - eleventh-century passages and underground chapels in the hillside.
• The Yeletsky monastery - the Dormition cathedral and its walled complex.

When to go

April to October is the comfortable season. Churches and museums keep varying hours and close on some weekdays. Winter is cold and grey.

Good to know

Opening hours across the sites are inconsistent and some churches are only open for services. The caves are low and cramped in places. Labelling is in Ukrainian.

Nearby

Baturyn is east, and Kyiv is south.

Key facts