Chernihiv

Chernihiv was founded in the 8th century and boasts some of Ukraine's most striking 11th and 12th century religious buildings. The city was one of the most important principalities in Kievan Rus.

The city's central square is ploshcha Chervona. Not far from there is the lovely Pyatnytska Church, which dates from the 12th century, although most of what you can see nowadays is a 1960's reconstruction that returned the church its original Kievan Rus appearance. Its most striking feature is its exterior brickwork. Several blocks to the southeast is the Dytynets, a group of religious buildings, surrounded by a lush park. One of the buildings is the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral, with its two distinctive bell towers that look like missiles. The cathedral dates from the 11th century and its interior is dark and mysterious. Several Kievan Rus royals are buried inside and there is also a beautiful 18th-century Baroque screen, covered with icons. Immediately northwest of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral is the Boryso-Hlibsky Cathedral. That cathedral was built in the 12th century and houses a museum, where you can learn more about the building's history and the Dytynets area. The Chernihiv History Museum is housed in an early 19th-century neo-classical building in the eastern corner of Dytynets. The museum has an excellent exhibition on Kievan Rus, as well as Cossack weaponry and a copy of the famous Ostroh Bible, which was printed in 1851, making it the oldest Bible printed in the Slavonic language.

There are several hotels and restaurants in Chernihiv. The city is 135 km north of Kiev and buses and trains run regularly between the two cities.