St Cyril's Church

St Cyril's was built in the second half of the twelfth century by Princess Maria, widow of the Chernihiv prince Vsevolod Olgovich, as the family burial church of his line, and it keeps a substantial area of twelfth-century fresco, including a rare Last Judgement cycle. In the 1880s the young Mykhailo Vrubel was brought in to restore and complete the painting, and what he produced, particularly the Descent of the Holy Spirit and a Virgin and Child on the iconostasis, is now regarded as among his most important work. The two layers hang together in one interior.

What's there

• The twelfth-century frescoes - surviving medieval painting including a Last Judgement.
• The Vrubel murals - his 1880s work alongside and over the medieval scheme.
• The Virgin and Child - Vrubel's iconostasis panel, painted in Venice.
• The Romanesque shell - the twelfth-century structure beneath later alteration.

When to go

Year round; the church works as a museum with set hours and closes on some weekdays. Light inside is dim and mornings are best. It is well outside the tourist centre.

Practical notes

It is a long way from the centre and awkward to reach without a taxi. Photography inside is restricted. The interior is dim and details take time to pick out.

Nearby

Podil is south towards the centre, and Kyiv's northern districts surround it.

Key facts