St. Andrew’s Church Museum. Rastrelli’s masterpiece where the Apostle Andrew foretold a great city

St. Andrew’s Church against a cloudy sky
St. Andrew’s Church and Podil from above
The gilded iconostasis and dome inside St. Andrew’s Church
The painted dome of St. Andrew’s Church seen from below
The baroque facade of St. Andrew’s Church with its turquoise domes
St. Andrew’s Church above Podil at sunset
Gilded carvings inside St. Andrew’s Church
St. Andrew’s Church with a panorama of Kyiv behind it
St. Andrew’s Church lit up in the evening
The stairs up to St. Andrew’s Church
St. Andrew’s Church against a cloudy skySt. Andrew’s Church and Podil from aboveThe gilded iconostasis and dome inside St. Andrew’s ChurchThe painted dome of St. Andrew’s Church seen from belowThe baroque facade of St. Andrew’s Church with its turquoise domes

A blue-and-gold Baroque church at the top of Andriivskyi Descent, built to a design by the great architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli. According to the chronicle “The Tale of Bygone Years”, it was on this very hill that the Apostle Andrew the First-Called raised a cross and foretold that a great Christian city would rise here.

Why visit

  • The only building by the great architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli that survives in Kyiv to this day
  • According to legend, this is where the Apostle Andrew the First-Called raised a cross and foretold a great city
  • The church rests on a massive two-story stylobate – a unique engineering solution against landslides
  • The church has no bells: legend has it that a secret underground spring lies beneath it
  • The roof of the stylobate offers one of the best viewpoints over Podil and the Dnipro
  • The 20th-century restoration was based on Rastrelli’s original drawings, found in Vienna

Good to know

Two types of tickets
Museum admission (church interior) costs UAH 150, reduced UAH 70. A ticket for the viewing platform only (without visiting the church itself) costs UAH 40, reduced UAH 20.
Opening hours
The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 18:00. Closed on Mondays.
Viewing platform on the stylobate
The roof of the stylobate serves as a viewing platform overlooking Podil and the Dnipro – you can visit it separately from the church with a cheaper ticket.
Photo and video at ceremonies
Filming inside the church during ceremonies and celebrations costs UAH 1,500 per hour per device.
Concerts in the church
The church occasionally hosts cultural and art events – ticket prices depend on the type of event.
Getting there
At the top of Andriivskyi Descent, next to the One Street Museum. Nearest metro station: Kontraktova Ploshcha, then walk up the Descent.

The church was built in 1747–1754 by order of Empress Elizabeth. The design was by Bartolomeo Rastrelli, while architect Ivan Michurin oversaw the construction on site. It is one of the most striking examples of Baroque in Ukraine and the only Rastrelli building that survives in Kyiv. The church’s engineering is a story of its own. The hill it stands on is constantly eroded by underground springs and groundwater, so Michurin designed the church to rest on a two-story stylobate – a massive base building whose walls serve both as the foundation and as a viewing platform overlooking Podil and the Dnipro. According to legend, there is a secret spring beneath the church, which is why it has no bells. The entrance stairs were originally wooden and were replaced with cast-iron ones in the 19th century. In Soviet times, services in the church stopped, and for a while the building was used as an anti-religious museum. In 1968 it officially became a museum within the St. Sophia Museum reserve, and since 1987 it has been a branch of the National Reserve “Sophia of Kyiv”. In 1974–1987 it was fully restored using Rastrelli’s original drawings, found in the collection of the Albertina museum in Vienna. In the 21st century the church underwent another major restoration – because the stylobate and foundation were in critical condition, the work took more than a decade and included restoring the historic iconostasis and icons. On October 18, 2018, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed a special law on the use of St. Andrew’s Church. Today the landmark is proposed for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Tours that visit this place

Andriivskyi Descent and around. Castle Hill, the Bulgakov House and Podil at the foot of the hill

Andriivskyi Descent and around. Castle Hill, the Bulgakov House and Podil at the foot of the hill

Next: Nov 11 at 17:00

2.5 hours

from400UAH