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Chernihiv

Things to do in Chernihiv

  1. Antoniy Caves

    The Antoniy Caves, Chernihiv's answer to Kyiv's Kievo-Pecherska Lavra lurk beneath the ground a short walk north of the Troyitsko-Illynsky Monastery. The caves consist of 315m of passageways, galleries and chapels constructed from the 11th to 13th centuries.

    These are very different from those in Kyiv in that they lack both dead mummies and, for the most part, live tourists. The conditions here were too cold and humid to support mummification. Instead, the bones of monks killed during the Mongol invasion are preserved in a windowed sarcophagus; touching the sarcophagus is considered good luck. The cave's benefactor and namesake, St Antoniy of Pechersk, also helped burrow…

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  2. St Pareskevy Pyatnytsi Church

    St Pareskevy Pyatnytsi Church is named after the patroness of the large outdoor market that once occupied pl Chervona. Despite its sturdy, fortress-like appearance only about one-third of the church survived WWII. With its imposing brick walls and single cupola, it reflects the style popular when it was built in the 12th century - a style epitomized by the Nereditsa Church in Novgorod.

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  3. St Catherine's Church

    Lining the southwestern edge of the Val (ramparts) is a row of 18th-century cannons, from where you get a prime view of the five sparkling golden domes of St Catherine's Church in the immediate foreground. This is the church you see from several kilometres away if you drive into town from Kyiv.

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  4. Boryso-Hlibsky Cathedral

    The 12th-century Boryso-Hlibsky Cathedral is in the same short, squat style as the Pareskevy Pyatnytsi Church. It’s worth visiting for the stunning silver Royal Doors, commissioned by the famous Cossack leader Ivan Mazepa.

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  5. Centre for Green Tourism

    Dima of the Centre for Green Tourism runs canoe trips on the Desna with overnight home-stays or camping in rural villages. A good route is the three-day trip from Novhorod Siversky to Chernihiv.

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  6. Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral

    The Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral has two distinctive missile-like corner bell towers. Within its dark interior are the tombs of several Kyivan Rus royalty, including the younger brother of Yaroslav the Wise.

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  7. Travel Agency

    The efficient Klaudia Petrivna runs the show at the Prydesnyasky Hotel Travel Agency. She personally guides city tours in English.

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  8. Troyitsko-Illynsky Monastery

    The 58m bell tower of the Troyitsko-Illynsky Monastery is seen from miles away.

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  9. Illinsky Church

    Illinsky Church was built in the the early 11th-century.

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