Church of Santa Sofia - Virtual Tour 360 °

Hagia Sophia is an Orthodox Church in Kiev. The religious building, which has a thousand-year history dating back to Kievan Rus', is one of the most famous places in the city, and was the first Ukrainian site to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The cathedral complex is the main component of the Sofia National Shrine of Kiev, the state institution responsible for its preservation and that of other historic places in the city.

The cathedral takes its name from that of Hagia Sophia of Constantinople. The cathedral was built in the years 1011-18. The structure consists of 5 naves, 5 apses and (strange enough for Byzantine architecture) 13 domes.

It is surrounded by a double row of galleries on three sides, and measures 37x55 meters. Inside it contains 11th-century mosaics and frescoes, including a crumbling representation of Yaroslav's royal family.

Originally the cathedral was also the burial place of the rulers of Kiev. Vladimir II of Kiev, Vsevolod of Kiev and, obviously since he is the founder, Jaroslav I of Kiev, were buried there, although only the latter's tomb is still present today.

The cathedral was first sacked in 1169 by Andrew I of Vladimir of the Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal. After the Mongol invasion of Russia in 1240 the cathedral fell into disuse.

Following the union of Brest, the St. Sophia Cathedral was annexed to the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church until it was claimed by the Ukrainian Orthodox Metropolitan Peter Mogila in 1633.

Mogila commissioned the repairs and the upper part was almost completely rebuilt, on the model of the Italian Ottaviano Mancini in Ukrainian Baroque style, maintaining the Byzantine interiors and with them the splendor of the complex.

Map: Church of Santa Sofia - Virtual Tour 360 °