The perfect lines and proportions, amazing harmony of forms with the landscape won World-wide recognition and fame. St. Andrew’s Church was included in catalog “100 Wonders of the World” published in Germany in 2002.  

St. Andrew’s Church is a component of the city’s silhouette and serves as a fusion of two parts located at different heights: the oldest part of Kyiv and Podil. It is seen from any part of Kyiv and looks different from everywhere.

The name of the Church comes from a legend according to which the prophet Saint Andrew installed a cross on this hill in 40 AD, proclaiming: “See the mountains? Here will be a large city with gardens and a lot of churches”.

Since that time, wooden churches changed one another there. But this one was built on the order of Empress Elisabeth when she came to Ukraine to visit the Motherland of her husband from a Cossack family, Oleksiy Razumovsky. It was a marriage trip, as a result, a summer residence appeared in Kyiv: the Mariinsky Palace, the pearl of architectural art (today it is a place of official meetings of the Presidents when they visit Ukraine) and the personal Cesarean family St. Andrew’s Church on a hill, quite far from the palace, but with incredible views.

St. Andrew’s Church was designed by the famous Italian architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli. He never saw the Church, though. The traditional Rastrelli’s colors: turquoise, white and golden, emphasizes the breathtaking picturesqueness of the building.

Today, the Church is the only Rastrelli’s building in the world preserved in its original form, as well as the valuable original elements of the interior of the Church.

Built on a former defensive bastion with earth added to make it higher. A large amount of groundwater underneath washed away the foundation and threatened the Church to collapse. So, the groundwater was drawn away down to Podil to form the Samson fountain.

The cast-iron moldings were used in exterior decoration, it cannot be found anywhere else in Europe.

Rastrelli’s original design included a ramp for carriages. However, since he did not see the terrain himself, he could not consider that it was impossible from such an angle. The ramp was replaced by steep stairs.

The Church is visible from different corners and angles. It has the shape of a cross, and from a bird’s eye view, there is a 5-peak composition: the dome in the center and 4 towers on the sides. The whole building is performed in a mix of baroque styles, European and Ukrainian or Cossack, the last is more restrained and less burdened with ornaments.

In the interior of the Church is a synthesis of sculpting (the dome, doors, niches), wood carving (original works by Rastrelli), painting (the development of the art is clearly traced from depiction of scenes of life, portraits and the transition to still life and landscapes).

St. Andrew’s Church combines the interiors of Catholic (chapel) and Orthodox (Iconostasis) churches.

This Iconostasis is the only preserved one in the world, original work by Rastrelli. Made of linden, it is two-sided and has three levels, bulky with the volume builds up towards the center, crowned by “All-Seeing Eye”. Church sacraments are depicted in the lowest part and Saints are in the middle. One of them is the Saint Patron of Kyiv Archangel Michael.

Behind the rectangular table, the throne, there is an icon “Last Supper” that predicts the betrayal of Judas who is turned away from Jesus and is looking at us.

Kyivans believed if you put your ear to the throne, you can hear the rumbling of an underground spring.

Symbolism is traced throughout the icons of St. Andrew’s Church. The icon in the chapel depicts a bird, which means the descent of the Holy Spirit.

Saint Luke, one of the authors of the Bible is dressed as a Cossack foreman, like Ukrainian Hetman Bogdan Khmelnytskyi or another spiritual Ukrainian seer Kozak-Mamai, his image was an essential attribute in every Ukrainian house, a Saint patron and protector.

Ukrainian national symbolism is clearly expressed on “Sermon of the Apostle Andrew”, the painting of Ukrainian artist, which has never left the Church, Platon Boryspolets. The Roman man wears classical Cossack mustache and the woman in the foreground is dressed in a traditional Ukrainian checked skirt. There is also an image of Kobzar, the most respected Ukrainian prophet, artist and poet, who was a close friend of the author.

St. Andrew’s Church doesn’t have bells. The Kyivans believed, that the sound and vibration of bells would wake up a sea underground, burst it out and flood the half of the world.

The real reason, the Church was for the Royals only, therefore the bells were not needed as they usually call the faithful to the service.

Kyivans make a joke: If you don’t want to meet someone – arrange a meeting at the bell tower of St. Andrew’s Church.