We continue to acquaint you with the collection of the Preserve.

In the Preserve’s collection of photographic negatives on the glass there are rare images of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery – a unique architectural ensemble in the center of ancient Kyiv, whose history dates back to the 11th century. In the early 1920s, after the final establishment of Bolshevik rule, the private premises of the Monastery were transferred to the needs of various institutions, including the Proletarian Students' House (dormitories, canteen) and driver training school.

During 1934–1937, the church buildings of the monastery were almost completely destroyed. The bell tower, most part of the wall with the Economic Gate, the bishop's house, all the buildings of the economic courtyard, except for the underground part of the cellar, were dismantled. On August 14, 1937, the church was blown up. Some mosaics and frescoes of St. Michael's Cathedral, dismantled in 1934, were exhibited in 1935 at the exhibition "Religion in the Service of Feudal Exploiters" of the All-Ukrainian Museum Town in the Annunciation Church of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Glass photo plates (13×18cm) feature St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery and citizens of Kyiv in the 1920s and early 1930s, as well as the domes of St. Michael's Cathedral.

Picture captions:

Fig. 1. St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery. 1920s – early 1930s [КПЛ-Н-3060]

Fig. 2. Domes of St. Michael's Cathedral. 1920s – early 1930s [КПЛ-Н-3061]

Fig. 3. Archaeological studies carried out by the Institute of the History of Material Culture of the USSR Academy of Sciences on the territory of the estate of St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery. 1934 [Scientific archive of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, photo Nr. 57]

Fig. 4. Refectory of St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery. 1930s [Scientific archive of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, photo Nr. 57]

Fig. 5. Economic Gate of St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery [Scientific archive of the Institute of Archeology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, photo from affair Nr. 3]

Let’s discover the beauties of the Preserve’s collection together!

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