St. Andrew’s Church is one of the symbols of Kiev, Ukraine, which is also famous abroad. It is an Orthodox temple named after St. Andrew the Apostle. It was built in 1749-54 by the order of Empress Elizabeth on the place where had been erected the cross by St. Andrew during his trip to the North. The architect of the construction was Bartolomeo Rastrelli who was also famous for being an author of such structures as Mariinsky Palace in Kiev, Winter Palace in St. Petersburg and the Catherine Palace in Pushkin.

St. Andrew’s Church was repeatedly restored. When it lost support from the royal court it started to decay. Ground water eroded the foundation, cracks appeared in the walls and the decor was partially damaged. Some elements of Rastrelli were lost during the restoration in 19-20th centuries. The initial shape of the domes was also slightly changed. Throughout the XX century significant restoration works were repeatedly carried out: a new drainage system was built, the columns were strengthened, as well as the walls; the iconostasis, the arches, the cornices and the marble floors were repaired, the lost fragments of the sculptures and carving were renewed, the paintings were restored.

In the 70-80s of the last century new restoration works were carried out based on the drawings of Rastrelli.

The church some time before the restoration of the 1970-80s.

The condition of the church right before the restoration.

The restoration of the 70-80s began.

And this is how it looked after.

Now the Andrew’s Descent sidewalks are full of filthy stalls unfortunately.

To build the church on the edge of the hill, it was put on a two-storey basement – stylobate, each floor had eight rooms.

The height of the church itself is almost 50 meters (164 ft). The building has one dome only, its diameter is ten meters (33 ft), and four small decorative cupolas which creates the effect of a traditional five-domed church.

The guests of the church go up the iron stairs.

The church was built in the Baroque style, which is characterized by formality, impressiveness, dynamic architectural forms, rich decor, bright contrasts of wall paiting, the abundance of gold.

That’s the symbol of Empress Elizabeth.

Главным акцентом здесь является иконостас красного цвета высотой более 23 м. На иконостасе размещены 39 икон разной формы и содержания. Окна, двери, ниши, купол церкви декорированы богатой лепкой с позолотой. Изначальный чугунный пол в конце XIX в. был заменен мрамором.

The main detail of the interior is the red iconostasis over twenty three meters (75 ft) high. The windows, doors, niches, domes are molded with gold. The original cast-iron floor was replaced with marble one at the end of XIX century.

Due to multiple restoration and its location this church almost has never served as a church. Since 1968 it has been a museum.

via tov-tob