Kyivo-Pechrska Lavra
Kyivo-Pechrska Lavra is a historic Orthodox Christian monastery and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Lavra was founded in 1015 as a cave monastery. In several years it became an important center of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Eastern Europe. In August 21, 2007 the Lavra was named among the Seven Wonders of Ukraine.
The jurisdiction over the site has been divided between the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historic-Cultural Preserve state museum and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as the residence of its leader, Metropolitan Volodymyr.
The Lavra is situated on the hilly right bank of the Dnypro River, which was, as the legend goes, blessed by Apostle Andrew. Kyivo-Pechrska Lavra contains numerous unique monuments, ranging from belltowers to underground cave systems and stone fortification walls. The main attractions of the Lavra include the Great Lavra Belltower and the Dormition Cathedral. Other churches and cathedrals of the Lavra include: the Refectory Church, the Church of All Saints, the Church of the Saviour at Berestove, the Church of the Exaltation of Cross, the Church of the Trinity, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin, the Church of the Conception of St. Anne, and the Church of the Life-Giving Spring. The Lavra also contains many other constructions, including: the St. Nicholas Monastery, the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary, and the Debosquette Wall.
The Lavra caverns are a brachiferous complex system of narrow underground corridors with numerous living quarters and underground chapels. The first of them was constructed in 1051 by the Reverend Anthony in one of the hills nearby Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. This cave grew and has become what we call the Far Caves. In 1057 Anthony moved to a cave near the Upper Lavra, known today as the Near Caves.