Kiev Ukraine Church of St Andrew
Content:
overview
Church of St Andrew was built on the site of an older wooden church which was destroyed by a hurricane in 1724. The original design of Church of St Andrew by Johann-Gottfried Schadel was rejected in St Petersburg, and a new one was commissioned from Bartolommeo Francesco Rastrelli. This was approved in 1747, and the supervision of construction was assigned to Ivan Michurin.
Kiev Ukraine Church of St Andrew
Rastrelli retained Schadel's idea of a cruciform church. As the building stands on the spur of a hill, it was necessary to lay strong foundations and to sink them to a depth of fifteen meters. The underground structures were used to house a warm church and for various administrative functions. The construction of Kiev Church of St Andrew was essentially completed by 1752.
A year later the iconostasis, altar canopy, and pulpit were prepared in St Petersburg to Rastrelli's designs. The icons for the iconostasis were painted in 1752-1755 by Alexei Antropov and Grigory Levitsky-Nos. The decoration of the Church of St Andrew dragged out for some time, and it was not consecrated until 1767. Despite repeated subsequent repairs, its appearance has not changed much.
Kiev Ukraine Church of St Andrew
Originally the roof-pitches were covered with green tiles; in 1844 they were replaced by tin plate. The shape of the cupolas was slightly altered in 1892. Since then the Church of St Andrew appearance has remained unchanged to this day; it was restored in 1978. The church's site is extremely well chosen; it fits organically into the hilly landscape, and is majestic and impressive both when seen from the Dnepr river and from the low-lying area of Podol.
Kiev Ukraine Church of St Andrew
The Church of St Andrew is cruciform in plan, but its north and south arms are appreciably shorter than the western and semicircular eastern ones. The central cupola, resting on a tall and broad drum, dominates the composition. To neutralize the cupola's lateral thrust, the architect used spur buttresses placed diagonally between the arms of the cross.
They are decorated with coupled columns on all three sides and topped by small open turrets with ornamental cupolas. In this way Rastrelli lent the church the characteristic appearance of Ukrainian five-domed cruciform churches. The church's architecture is dominated by vertical divisions which create a play of light and shade and enhance its plastic, expressive quality.
Kiev Ukraine Church of St Andrew
Inside, the verticals of the numerous pilaster strips seem to repeat the decor of the facades, dominated by slender columns, turrets, and cupolas. As a result of the shortness of the side arms of the cross and the breadth of the cupola, the whole of the interior can be taken in at a glance.
Kiev Ukraine Church of St Andrew
The iconostasis with its gleaming gilt sculpture and carving and magnificent Baroque painting stands out brightly against the light-colored background of the walls. The stucco decorations inside and outside are done with great skill and taste. With its elegant shape, delicately balanced composition, harmonious proportions, graceful silhouette, and organic relation with the landscape, the Church of St Andrew is a genuine masterpiece of Baroque architecture.
Kiev Ukraine Church of St Andrew location - Ukraine, Kiev, Andreyevsky Descent, 23.
Kiev Ukraine Church of St Andrew inner view
Our partners