St. Cyril’s Church Museum. 12th-century frescoes and early works by Mikhail Vrubel in one church

The white St. Cyril’s Church with its green domes
St. Cyril’s Church among the trees from above
Vrubel’s mural of the Descent of the Holy Spirit in St. Cyril’s Church
The painted vault of St. Cyril’s Church
The domes of St. Cyril’s Church against the sky
St. Cyril’s Church in the green of the grove, from above
The frescoes and iconostasis of St. Cyril’s Church
The interior of St. Cyril’s Church with its chandelier and iconostasis
Frescoes under the dome of St. Cyril’s Church
The walls of St. Cyril’s Church with 12th-century frescoes
The white St. Cyril’s Church with its green domesSt. Cyril’s Church among the trees from aboveVrubel’s mural of the Descent of the Holy Spirit in St. Cyril’s ChurchThe painted vault of St. Cyril’s ChurchThe domes of St. Cyril’s Church against the sky

One of only 19 surviving buildings from the princely era in Ukraine, and the place where the young Mikhail Vrubel set out on his path to fame: he painted icons and frescoes here a few years before his best-known Kyiv works. Original 12th-century paintings can still be seen on the church walls – a rarity even for Kyiv.

Why visit

  • One of only 19 buildings from the princely era surviving on the territory of present-day Ukraine
  • Original 12th-century frescoes, cleared by restorers from beneath later 19th-century overpainting
  • Early works by Mikhail Vrubel – icons and frescoes of angels painted before his most famous works
  • The single-tier marble iconostasis was deliberately designed low so as not to hide the ancient paintings
  • The church was first mentioned in documents in 1179 – it is over 800 years old
  • A Kyivan Rus architectural core combined with an ornate 18th-century Ukrainian Baroque facade

Good to know

Ticket prices
Museum admission costs UAH 150, reduced UAH 70.
7-day Museum Pass
The Museum Pass (UAH 500, reduced UAH 300) is valid for 7 days and also covers the grounds of the St. Sophia Museum, the cathedral, the Metropolitan’s House and the Golden Gate – good value if you plan to visit several sites of the reserve.
Opening hours
The museum is open daily except Wednesday, 10:00 to 18:00 (box office and entry until 17:30). Closed on Wednesdays.
Location – outside the center
Unlike St. Sophia Cathedral or the Golden Gate, the church is farther from the center – in the Shevchenkivskyi District, near Oleny Telihy Avenue. Nearest metro stations: Dorohozhychi or Petrivka, then trolleybus No. 27 or No. 30 to the Muzei Kyrylivska Tserkva stop.
Photo and video at ceremonies
Filming inside the church during ceremonies and celebrations costs UAH 1,500 per hour per device.
Concerts in St. Cyril’s Church
The church occasionally hosts “Concerts in St. Cyril’s Church” – the event ticket includes entry to the grounds.

The church was founded in the 1140s by Grand Prince of Kyiv Vsevolod II Olhovych as his family’s monastery church, dedicated to St. Cyril of Alexandria. It was first mentioned in documents in 1179. It is one of the churches built at the time when the Kyivan state was breaking up into independent principalities, each building its own spiritual centers. After a fire in 1734 the church was substantially rebuilt: in the 1740s–1760s architect Ivan Hryhorovych-Barskyi added stucco decoration to the facades and an ornate Baroque pediment on the west side, and built a bell tower, a refectory and a gate (now lost). This gave the church its present combination of a Kyivan Rus core with Ukrainian Baroque on the outside. In the 1880s, a major restoration of the paintings was carried out to a plan by art historian Adrian Prakhov. Prakhov deliberately designed the new marble iconostasis as a single tier so that it would not hide the ancient 12th-century frescoes. The young Mikhail Vrubel joined the work – he painted several icons for the iconostasis and frescoes in the choir gallery, including images of angels that the artist himself prized highly in his letters to Prakhov. In 1929 the church was closed for worship and declared a museum-reserve, after which major architectural and archaeological research was carried out here. In the 1970s, restorers led by P. Redko cleared some of the 12th-century frescoes from beneath later 19th-century overpainting. Since 1965 the landmark has been part of the National Reserve “Sophia of Kyiv”.