Foundation of the Assumption Cathedral, Krylos

The church building, which belonged to the greatest temples of medieval Europe, the main shrine of princely Halych, is the Assumption Cathedral, or the Church of the Holy Mother of God. For many years it was a model of architecture and formed a unique style of the Halych region. In scale, the temple was second only to St. Sophia in Kyiv and the Church of the Tithes in Kyiv. However, often a complicated fate befalls even such powerful objects as the Assumption Temple. It has not survived to this day; only its foundations remain. A lot of time has passed since its flourishing and destruction, so it has been difficult for specialists to even find the place where this giant once stood. Today, the foundations of the Assumption Cathedral in Krylos are cared for by the National Reserve "Ancient Halych", of which this monument is a part.

The Assumption Cathedral is first mentioned in 1187, in connection with the death of its builder – Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl. At the beginning of the 13th century, the "enthronement of Prince Daniel" took place in the cathedral, and shortly thereafter, written sources mention the ascension to the throne of the King of Galicia, the Hungarian prince Coloman.

When in 1254 Prince Iziaslav defended Halych from Daniel's son Roman, Iziaslav's warriors and he himself climbed onto the vaults of the church and defended from there. This refers to the structures of the Assumption Cathedral, which means that the cathedral survived the Mongol-Tatar invasion or suffered minor damage and was rebuilt.

In ancient manuscripts – the Halych and Dobrylov Gospels – it is mentioned that there was a library at the cathedral and a scriptorium (a workshop for copying books) operated. Also, the "Osmomysl School" functioned at the cathedral, which ancient Rus chroniclers mention with admiration and praise.

At the beginning of the 14th century, a metropolitan was established in Halych – this indicates that at that time both the episcopal residence and the cathedral building itself were in good condition, and the cathedral, after the devastation of Kyiv, was, albeit briefly, the largest functioning temple of Rus. The Assumption Cathedral began to decline rapidly after Daniel of Halych began the construction of a new capital – the city of Kholm (now Poland) and a new cathedral of John Chrysostom.

There are also written mentions of the existence of the Halych Cathedral in Krylos, dated to the 14th–16th centuries. It is known that the residence of Bishop Hedeon Balaban was located 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 Temple was the decrease in the urban population. People no longer had the funds to maintain such a powerful structure in proper condition. By the decree of Polish King Casimir IV, it was forbidden to build, repair, and restore ancient Halych temples.

From the remains of the Assumption Temple, the Assumption Church was built at the end of the 16th century, as well as partially the Chapel of St. Basil and the Starostyn Castle in modern Halych. On the white stone blocks from which the walls of the Assumption Church are built (it grew a few dozen meters from the foundations of the Assumption Cathedral), there are many inscriptions scratched into the stone, most of which are dated to the 12th–13th centuries.

The place where the main shrine of princely Halych was located remained unknown for a long time. Traces of the former Assumption Cathedral were sought both in modern Halych (for a long time, scholars believed that the Church of the Nativity of Christ was that chronicle princely church), and on the high bank of the Limnytsia River, and in Krylos, at the site of the current Assumption Church. Almost solving this mystery was Yosyp Pelensky. In 1911, he conducted test excavations near the Assumption Church in Krylos. But a quarter of a century remained until the discovery.

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, stumbled upon a massive wall made of hewn stone blocks during excavations. This was the first trace of the foundations of the old cathedral of princely Halych.

It turned out that the foundations of the Assumption Temple, in size (32.5 by 37.5 meters), are only one and a half meters smaller than the largest Kyiv temple of St. Sophia. The material from which the foundations were made consists of roughly processed blocks of chalk and limestone, while the walls were built from hewn blocks of alabaster and limestone.

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

Inside, the Assumption Cathedral of Krylos was also masterfully decorated. The floor was paved with slabs of alabaster and sandstone. The ceramic tiles below contained relief images of plants and fantastic animals. By studying fragments of plaster with traces of frescoes, specialists found that the Assumption Temple 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 decaying remains of Prince Yaroslav Osmomysl, who was buried here in 1187.

By car, you should take the N09 road, which connects Ivano-Frankivsk with Lviv. The village of Krylos is located near the highway. From Ivano-Frankivsk, you can reach by buses "Ivano-Frankivsk – Halych", "Ivano-Frankivsk – Burshtyn (Rohatyn, Lviv)" to the stop "Krylos". From Halych to Krylos (the distance between them is 7 kilometers), you can 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 (this is Lower Krylos). You will have to walk to Krylos Mountain, where all the sights are concentrated. There is no railway connection in Krylos.