Chernihiv's architectural
monuments chronicle the two most flourishing periods in the city's history – those of
Kievan Rus' (11th and 12th centuries) and of the
Cossack Hetmanate (late 17th and early 18th centuries). The oldest church in the city and one of the oldest churches in Ukraine is the 5-
domed
Transfiguration Cathedral, commissioned in the early 1030s by
Mstislav the Bold and completed several decades later by his brother,
Yaroslav the Wise. The Cathedral of Sts
Boris and Gleb, dating from the mid-12th century, was much rebuilt in succeeding periods, before being restored to its original shape in the 20th century. Likewise built in brick, it has a single dome and six pillars. The crowning achievement of Chernihiv masters was the exquisite
Piatnytska Church, constructed at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries. This graceful building was seriously damaged in the
Second World War; its original medieval outlook was reconstructed to a design by
Pyotr Baranovsky. The historic center of Chernihiv has been on the UNESCO
World Heritage Tentative List since 1989, but currently the creation of a renewed nomination is underway. File:Regimental Chancellery building. Chernihiv.jpg|
Regimental Chancellery building File:Чернігів. Єлецький монастир. Успенський собор..JPG|Yeletsky monastery cathedral was modeled after that of
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. Note the contrast between its austere 12th-century walls and baroque 17th-century domes. File:Панорама Филармония 01.jpg|
Chernihiv Philharmony File:2014 Готель Десна Чернігів.jpg|Hotel Desna File:Музей українських старожитностей Тарновського.jpg|Tarnovsky
Museum of Antiquities The earliest residential buildings in the downtown date from the late 17th century, a period when a Cossack regiment was deployed there. Two most representative residences are those of
Polkovnyk Lyzohub (1690s) and Polkovnyk
Polubotok (18th century). The former mansion, popularly known as the
Mazepa House, used to contain the regiment's chancellery. One of the most profusely decorated Cossack structures is undoubtedly the ecclesiastical
collegium, surmounted by a
bell-tower (1702). The archbishop's residence was constructed nearby in the 1780s.
St. Catherine Church (1715), with its 5 gilded pear domes, traditional for Ukrainian architecture, is thought to have been intended as a memorial to the regiment's exploits during the storm of
Azov in 1696.
Monasteries All through the most trying periods of its history, Chernihiv retained its ecclesiastical importance as the seat of either a
bishopric or an
archbishopric. At the outskirts of the modern city lie two ancient
cave monasteries formerly used as the bishops' residences. The caves of the
Yeletskyi Monastery are said to predate those of the
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (Kyiv Monastery of the Caves). Its magnificent six-pillared cathedral was erected at the turn of the 11th to 12th centuries; some traces of its 750-year-old
murals may still be seen in the interior. After the domes collapsed in 1611, they were augmented and reconstructed in the
Ukrainian Baroque style. The wall,
monastic cells, and bell-tower all date from the 17th century. The nearby mother superior's house is thought to be the oldest residential building in the
Left-Bank Ukraine. The cloister's holiest
icon used to be that of
Theotokos, who made her epiphany to
Sviatoslav of Chernigov on 6 February 1060. The icon, called Yeletskaya after the
fir wood it was painted upon, was taken to
Moscow by Svyatoslav's descendants, the Baryatinsky family, in 1579. The nearby Chernihiv Glory Memorial marks the location of the ancient
Saint Anthony Caves of Saint Elijah Monastery (also known as the
Yeletskyi Monastery), part of a spiritual complex founded by Saint Anthony of the Caves in the mid-11th century, around the same time as the
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. The
Yeletskyi caves served as monastic quarters and a site of retreat for early monks and bishops. The site includes the modest Church of Saint Elijah, built above the cave entrance, with architectural elements dating to the 12th century. The roomy
Trinity Cathedral, one of the most imposing monuments of
Cossack Baroque, was erected between 1679 and 1689. Its refectory, with the adjoining Church of the Presentation to the Temple, was completed by 1679. Surrounding the monastery are 17th-century towered walls, preserved
monastic cells, and a five-tiered bell tower dating to the 1780s. Other historic abbeys in the vicinity of Chernihiv include those in
Kozelets and
Hustynia, which feature superb examples of Ukrainian Baroque monastic architecture and iconography. File:Spas sobor.jpg|The
Savior Transfiguration Cathedral of Chernihiv (1030s) is the oldest in Ukraine. File:П'ятницька церква (Чернігів) біля фонтану.jpg|
Piatnytska Church of
Saint Paraskevi (c. 1201, restored after World War II). File:8116 Чернигов. Вид на Борисоглебскую церковь и Спасопреображенский собор.jpg|
Borysohlibskyi Cathedral (1120s) File:Чернігівський колегіум (Чернігів).jpg|
Chernihiv Collegium (1700s) File:St. Catherine Church.jpg|
Catherine's Church (1715s) The nearby
Chernihiv Glory Memorial we can find
Saint Anthony Caves of Saint Elijah and
the Holy Trinity features a small eponymous
church, built 800 years ago. The roomy
Trinity cathedral, one of the most imposing monuments of
Cossack baroque, was erected between 1679 and 1689. Its refectory, with the adjoining church of Presentation to the Temple, was finished by 1679. There are also the 17th-century towered walls,
monastic cells, and the five-tiered belfry from the 1780s. Other historic abbeys in the vicinity of Chernihiv include those in
Kozelets and
Hustynia, which feature superb examples of
Ukrainian Baroque. ==Economy==