Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Chernivtsi

The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, designed in the style of classicism by the prominent Austrian architect A. Roll, is considered to be the jewel of Chernivtsi. The cathedral impresses with its shapes and grandeur despite its relatively young age of about 150 years.

TheCathedral ofthe Holy Spirit in Chernivtsi was built by order of the Orthodox Religious Foundation of Bukovyna between 1844 and 1864 in the Italian Renaissance style. This church was modeled after St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The cathedral is located to the south of the city center, halfway between the Regional Government House and the Armenian Church and the Ukrainian House.

The cathedral is a brick, three-story, cross-domed cathedral with two bell towers that impresses visitors with its grandeur and beauty. Its architectural design is dominated by a monumental 46-meter-high dome. The walls are plastered and brick, and the roof is covered with copper sheet. Above its central entrance is a relief image of the symbols of bishop's power - the Cross, the Staff and the Myrrh.

In July 1844, the first stone was laid in its foundation; the construction was supervised by the Viennese architect A. Röll with the participation of the regional engineer A. Marin. Later, in 1860, the church was reconstructed according to the project of the famous architect Josef Hlavka (author of the Metropolitan Residence), as a result of which its facade and side bell towers were rebuilt. In 1861, bells were installed on the bell towers, which were cast in Kalush. In 1864, the church was consecrated by the first Bukovinian metropolitan, Bishop Yevhen Hakman. In 1872, a street not far from the cathedral, which he helped to build, was named in his honor. A year later, after the sudden death of Metropolitan Yevhen Hakman, he was buried in the cathedral.

The interior of the church was decorated for 30 years after its construction. It is known for certain that the wall paintings were made by Viennese artists in 1892-1896. The wall paintings were made with oil paints on plaster, in the spirit of academicism. The interior of the building combines the principles of high-rise disclosure of internal and deep space, and the interior decoration of the temple impresses with its lush gilding. According to folk legend, the rector of the seminary at the time, M. Komoroshan, wrote a special poem to mark the opening of the cathedral.

In the 60s of the last century, the church was closed, church relics were given to museums, and the wall paintings were mutilated. Subsequently, the premises were used for paper warehouses, and in the 1970s an exhibition of industrial goods was held here. Only in the late 70s of the last century was the building converted into an exhibition hall for the art department of the Chernivtsi Museum of Local Lore. In 1989, large-scale restoration work was carried out in the church, and thanks to the efforts of the wife of the last president of the USSR, Raisa Gorbacheva, services resumed here. Only the paintings of the upper part of the walls, made by the Austrian artist Karl Jobst, remained intact in the church, as well as the original upper tier of the iconostasis. In 1997, the restoration of the wall paintings was completed, and the iconostasis was also completely restored. A few years later, in 2000, new bells were installed.

In 2006, a monument was erected near the cathedral to the first Orthodox Metropolitan of Bukovyna, Yevhen Hakman, who consecrated it in the 60s of the nineteenth century. The monument was designed by architect V. Kilchytskyi in collaboration with I. Sanduliak and sculpted by M. Miroshnychenko.

The church houses the relics of St. Barbara, who is considered the patron saint of Ukraine, a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary "Troodis" brought from Cyprus, relics of St. Panteleimon the Great Martyr and St. Job, the hegumen of Pochayiv, and an oak cross with parts of the Life-Giving Tree.

The Holy Spirit Cathedral in Chernivtsi is still functioning and is considered the main Orthodox church in Chernivtsi, belongs to the diocese of the UOC-MP and is an architectural monument of local importance. Not far away are the Yuriy Fedkovych and Olga Kobylianska museums and the pharmacy museum. A little further to the south, you will come to the complex of the Jesuit monastery with the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The cathedral is located at the intersection of the central streets of O. Kobylyanska and Holovna, in the very center of the city. Chernivtsi can be easily reached by train from Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, or by private car.

Openinghours: The Cathedral of the Holy Spirit is open daily from 7:00 to 19:00.

Chernivtsi is the capital of Bukovyna. It is one of the most beautiful and pleasant Ukrainian cities. Here is one of the most beautifulrailway stations in the country, theChurch of St. Paraskeva of Serbia, the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, the house-ship, the City Hall (every day at 12:00 a trumpeter plays the melody of "Marichka" from the tower), the Art Museum, then Kobylianska Street, the German Folk House, the Armenian and Assumption Church (the oldest stone Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Chernivtsi), the Theater Square and the Kobylianska Theater. Kobylianska Theater Square, Jewish People's House, Chernivtsi University (included in the UNESCO World Heritage List), Turkish Square (Chernivtsi has been a part of Turkey, Modova, Romania, Austria-Hungary, the USSR, Rus, and Ukraine), and a large rover,cozy streets and cobblestone streets, the so-called Drunken Church, Nazariy Yaremchuk's house, then another house-ship, two houses with the same number (Olha Kobylianska lived here), the house where Volodymyr Ivasyuk lived, and the pink church, the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit.

Chernivtsi sights

• St. Nicholas wooden church (from 1607, restored in 1954);
• stone Church of St. George on the Bitterroot (1767 in the Baroque style);
• the wooden Trinity Church in Muggles (one thousand seven hundred and seventy-four), moved in 1874 to Kłokuchka;
• wooden Assumption Church on Kaleczanka (1783);
• City Hall with a two-story, 45-meter-high Empire-style tower (1843-1847, architect A. Mykulych), now the City Council;
• Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (1825-1830 in the Baroque style);
• Byzantine-style cathedral (1844-1864, architect Roll);
• Church of St. Paraskeva in the pseudo-Romanesque style, completed in 1662 (architect A. Pavlovsky);
• residence of Bukovyna metropolitans - since 1956 one of the buildings of Chernivtsi University);
• Armenian Gregorian Church (1869-1875, architect J. Hlavka);
• Chernivtsi University building (1874-1875);
• Jesuit church in the Neo-Gothic style (1893-1894);
• Railway station (1898-1903) in the Art Nouveau style;
• the City Theater (1904-1905, architects F. Fellner and G. Helmer) in the Viennese Baroque style with Art Nouveau elements (now the O. Kobylianska Music and Drama Theater), etc.