Cathedral of Sant'Andrea - Virtual Tour 360°

Church of Sant'Andrea a monument of history, architecture, painting and decorative arts of the eighteenth century of global importance.

It was built in 1747-1762 in the Baroque style by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli.

St. Andrew's Church was built by order of the Russian Empress Elizabeth as part of the royal residence in Kiev, consisting of the Royal Palace and Palace Church, and was built in September 1744.

The temple was built at a considerable distance from the Royal Palace on a steep stretch of the Kiev Plateau, which served as a natural pedestal for the construction of the church. In this place, according to the chronicle "The Tale of Years Past", the apostle Andrew the First Called the first preacher of Christianity in the lands of Kievan Rus - in the 1st century AD.

From the 11th century, here, changing, churches in wood and stone in honor of Andrew the First Called were built and finally destroyed. The design of the Church of Sant'Andrea was entrusted to the chief architect of the imperial court F.-B. Shot. Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli was born in Paris to the Italian sculptor and architect Carlo Rastrelli, who at the time worked at the court of King Louis XIV.

The church was consecrated on August 19, 1767. Due to serious problems in the foreign and internal politics of the empire, the royal court remained indifferent to the church of Sant'Andrea and was removed from the list of buildings in the palace.

In 1768 the church was transferred to the Kiev magistrate and from 1785 it was taken care of by the Kiev City Duma. After the consecration, the church operated regularly until 1932, when the Soviet government decided to stop worshiping it. In 1941-45 it resumed services and in 1961 it was closed again.

Now the church houses the services of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, permission to keep them was granted by the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for ?1005.

Legend has it that in the first century BC this site was blessed by the apostle Saint Andrew, who predicted that a city would arise in this place.

Map: Cathedral of Sant'Andrea - Virtual Tour 360°