Foundation of the Assumption Cathedral, Krylos

A church building that belonged to the most magnificent churches of medieval Europe, the main shrine of princely Halych is the Assumption Cathedral, or the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For many years, it was a model of architecture and shaped the distinctive style of the Galician region. In terms of scale, the church was second only to St. Sophia of Kyiv and the Church of the Tithes in Kyiv. But often even such powerful objects as the Assumption Church suffer a difficult fate. It has not survived to this day; only its foundations have been preserved. A lot of time has passed since its heyday and destruction, so it was difficult for experts to find even the place where this giant once stood. Today, the foundations of the Assumption Cathedral in Krylos are under the care of the Ancient Halych National Reserve, which includes this monument.

The Assumption Cathedral was first mentioned in 1187, in connection with the death of its builder, Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl. At the beginning of the 13th century, the cathedral was the site of the "enthronement of Prince Danylo to the Galician throne," and a little later, written sources mention the accession of Hungarian Prince Koloman to the throne of the king of Galicia.

When in 1254 Prince Izyaslav was defending himself in Halych against Danylo's son Roman, Izyaslav's soldiers and he himself climbed the vaults of the church and defended themselves from there. This refers to the construction of the Assumption Cathedral, which means that the cathedral survived the Mongol-Tatar invasion or suffered minor damage and was rebuilt.

Ancient manuscripts such as the Galician and Dobryl's Gospels say that the cathedral had a library and a scriptorium (a workshop for rewriting books). The cathedral also housed the "school of Osmomysl," which is mentioned with admiration and praise by ancient Russian chroniclers.

At the beginning of the 14th century, a metropolis was founded in Halych, which indicates that at that time both the bishop's residence and the cathedral building itself were in good condition, and the cathedral, after the devastation of Kyiv, was, albeit briefly, the largest functioning church in Rus. The Assumption Cathedral began to decline rapidly after Danylo Halytskyi began building a new capital, the city of Kholm (now Poland), and a new cathedral named after John Chrysostom.

There are also written references to the existence of the Galician Cathedral in the Wing, dating back to the 14th-16th centuries. It is known that the residence of Bishop Gideon Balaban was here. But no one knows the exact date of the destruction of the Assumption Cathedral.

Another significant reason for the complete desolation of the Assumption Church was the decline in the city's population. People no longer had the means to maintain such a powerful building in good condition. By decree of the Polish king Casimir the Fourth, it was forbidden to build, repair, or restore ancient Galician churches.

In the late 16th century, the Assumption Church was built from the remains of the Assumption Church, as well as partially the Chapel of St. Basil and the Starostynskyi Castle in modern-day Halych. The white stone blocks used to build the walls of the Church of the Assumption (it grew up a few dozen meters from the foundations of the Assumption Cathedral) have many inscriptions carved into the stone, most of which date back to the 12th and 13th centuries.

The place where the main shrine of princely Halych was located has long been unknown. Traces of the former Assumption Cathedral were searched for in present-day Halych (for a long time scholars believed that the Church of the Nativity was the chronicled princely church), on the high bank of the Limnytsia River, and in Krylos, on the site of the present-day Assumption Church. Joseph Pelensky almost solved this mystery. In 1911 he made test excavations near the Church of the Assumption in Krylos. But the discovery was still a quarter of a century away.

In the summer of 1936, an expedition of the Shevchenko Scientific Society, led by the famous archaeologist Yaroslav Pasternak with the blessing of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, came across a massive wall of hewn stone blocks during excavations. It was the first trace of the foundations of the old cathedral of princely Halych.

It turned out that the foundations of the Church of the Assumption were only one and a half meters smaller than the largest Kyivan church, St. Sophia. The material from which the foundations were made was roughly worked blocks of chalk and limestone, and the walls were built of hewn blocks of alabaster and limestone.

TheAssumption Cathedral had a beautiful decoration, as evidenced by numerous finds of architectural fragments and sculptural decor. The entrances to the shrine were decorated with portals, and the exterior of the building was decorated with crenellated friezes and other details.

The interior of the Assumption Cathedral of Krylos was also skillfully decorated. The floor was paved with alabaster and sandstone slabs. The ceramic tiles below contained relief images of plants and fantastic animals. Examining fragments of plaster with traces of frescoes, experts found that the Assumption Church had paintings inside. It is likely that there was an image of Oranta.

During excavations on the territory of the Assumption Cathedral, Yaroslav Pasternak discovered a stone sarcophagus with the mortal remains of Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl, who was buried here in 1187.

By car, you should take the H09 road, which connects Ivano-Frankivsk with Lviv. The village of Krylos is located next to the highway. From Ivano-Frankivsk, you can take buses "Ivano-Frankivsk - Halych", "Ivano-Frankivsk - Burshtyn (Rohatyn, Lviv)" to the Krylos stop. From Halych to Krylos (the distance between them is 7 kilometers), take one of the buses that stop near the People's House in the city center. The bus stop in Krylos is located near the main road (lower Krylos). You will have to walk to Krylos Hill, where all the sights are concentrated. There is no train connection in Krylos.