Mikhailovsky Cathedral

The Mikhailovsky Monastery was founded by the sons of the Kiev prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich Peter-Yaropolk and Mikhail-Svyatopolk on the site of the destroyed more ancient Dmitrievsky Monastery. Here, in memory of the main victory of the Russian army in the war with the Polovtsy, the Mikhailovsky Cathedral was laid in the name of the patron saint of the holy army, Archangel Michael.

Later St. Michael’s Cathedral was called Zlatoverkhim, because in the XII century it was the first and only church in Kiev with a golden dome. Special glory and greatness of the cathedral brought magnificent frescoes and mosaics, in which, despite the strong influence of the Byzantine painting school, the features of traditional Russian art began to manifest. Sometimes the frescoes of the Mikhailovsky Cathedral are called “Blinking Painting” for the amazing property of giving the space the effect of radiance.

In addition to mosaics, two unique bas-reliefs of galloping riders have been preserved. It is believed to be St. George and St. Dmitry, but some historians notice an unusual portrait resemblance to the princes of the founders of the monastery.