Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev
| Saint Sophia's Cathedral, Kiev (Собор святої Софії) | |
| Eastern Orthodox Cathedral | |
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| Name origin: Hagia Sophia | |
| Country | Ukraine |
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| Capital city | Kiev |
| Districts | Shevchenko Raion, National Sanctuary "Sophia of Kiev", Holy Sophia Cathedral Complex |
| Municipality | Kiev City |
| Landmarks of complex | Holy Sophia Cathedral, Belltower, Refectory Church, , House of Metropolitan, Southern entrance tower |
| Coordinates | 50°27′10″N 30°30′52″E / 50.45278°N 30.51444°ECoordinates: 50°27′10″N 30°30′52″E / 50.45278°N 30.51444°E |
| Length of cathedral | 29.5 m (97 ft) |
| - Length w/galleries | 41.7 m (137 ft) |
| Width of cathedral | 29.3 m (96 ft) |
| - Width w/galleries | 54.6 m (179 ft) |
| Height of main dome | 28.6 m (94 ft) |
| Styles | Byzantine architecture, Ukrainian Baroque |
| Founded | Eastern Orthodox Cathedral |
| - established 1 | Greek-Catholic Cathedral |
| - established 2 | Returned to Orthodox Church |
| Date | 11th century |
| - date 1 | 1596 |
| - date 2 | 1630s |
| Government | Ministry of Culture of Ukraine |
| Leader | Olena Serdiuk |
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
| Name | Kiev: Holy Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kiev Pechersk Lavra |
| Year | 1990 (#14) |
| Number | 527 |
| Region | Europe and North America |
| Criteria | i, ii, iii, iv |
| Recognition | Seven Wonders of Ukraine |
| Website: http://sophia.sophiakievska.org | |
Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv is an outstanding architectural monument of Kievan Rus'. The cathedral is one of the city's best known landmarks and the first heritage site in Ukraine to be inscribed on the World Heritage List along with the Kyiv Cave Monastery complex. Aside from its main building, the cathedral includes an ensemble of supporting structures such as a bell tower and the House of Metropolitan. In 2011 the historic site was reassigned from the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Regional Development of Ukraine to the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine. One of the reasons for the move was the fact that both "Sofia Kyivska" and Kyiv Pechersk Lavra are recognized by the UNESCO World Heritage Program as one complex, while in Ukraine the two were governed by different government entities.
In Ukrainian the cathedral is known as Sobor Sviatoyi Sofiyi (Собор Святої Софії) or Sofiyskyi sobor (Софійський собор). In Russian it is known as Sobor Svyatoi Sofii (Собор Святой Софии) or Sofiyskiy sobor (Софийский собор).
The complex of the Cathedral is the main component and museum of the National Preserve "Sophia of Kyiv" which is the state institution responsible for the preservation of the Cathedral complex as well as four other historic landmarks across the nation.
The cathedral's name comes from the 6th-century Hagia Sophia cathedral in Constantinople (meaning Holy Wisdom, and dedicated to the Holy Wisdom rather than a specific saint named Sophia). Architecture-wise, its model could have been the 13-domed oaken Holy Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod (c. 989), which Yaroslav I the Wise determined to imitate in stone as a sign of gratitude to the citizens of Novgorod who had helped him secure the Kievan throne in 1019.
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Wikipedia