Attractions of Sviatohirsk

Svyatogorsk State Historical and Architectural Reserve unites the complex of buildings of the Svyatogorsk Holy Dormition Lavra of the XVII-XIX centuries - one of the three most important Orthodox shrines of Ukraine. According to one version, it was founded in the Cretaceous caves of Svyatogorsk on the high bank of the Seversky Donets by Byzantine monks before the baptism of Russia.

The first written mention of the area "Holy Mountains" dates back to 1526, and officially the monastery was founded in 1624, when Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich gave the brothers the land of Svyatogorsk and appointed a state salary. At first, the monks settled in caves on chalk spurs. The whole mountain is permeated with a labyrinth of passages and cells, which are open to visitors today. The high mountain is crowned by the Nikolaev church of the XVII century with the chalk altar carved directly from a rock. At the foot of the Assumption Cathedral (1859-1861, architect Alexei Gornostaev), hotel (1877), the abbot's house (1900), the refectory with the Church of the Intercession (1847-1851, architect Andrew Ton), the towers of the monastery walls. In the caves - the underground churches of Anthony and Theodosius (XVII century), the Nativity of John the Baptist (XIX century), a cave chapel, two tombs, cells. The Lavra was visited by Hryhoriy Skovoroda, Anton Chekhov, and Ilya Repin. Twice the monastery was closed, in Soviet times there was a rest home. From 1992 to 2003, the UOC-KP complex was returned, and in 2004 it was granted the status of a laurel.

Svyatogorsk State Historical and Architectural Reserve was established in 1980. The Historical Museum of the reserve is located in the Guest House. The five exhibition halls present objects of material and spiritual culture of tribes and peoples who inhabited Svyatogorsk since the Stone Age, models of the architectural ensemble of Svyatogorsk monastery in different periods of its history, archaeological finds and documents on the history of the monastery from the XVII century, memorial expositions. Thematic tour "Monuments and memorials of the Svyatogorsk Lavra" also includes a visit to the Upper Lavra with the Church of St. Nicholas, All Saints Monastery, the monument to Artem (Fyodor Sergeev), created in 1927 by sculptor Ivan Kavaleridze.

Entrance to the Lavra is free, but visitors are asked to adhere to a strict dress code - at the entrance, women can get a scarf and skirt.