Skip to main content
Secret Combination (2008)  

Non-Religious museums in the Lavra Monastery Complex 


In total there are 4 non-religious museums within the walls of the monastery complex, and they relate to Soviet times, when the buildings were turned into secular exhibition centres.
All of these museums have separate (but modest) entry fees and their own cash desks. If you want to take photos ask for " i photographia?" when you buy your entrance ticket. However you will also have to get a ticket to enter the monastery complex first. There are no multiple ticket deals.
All of them keep their doors closed and look closed, but just try the handles and enter.
The best of these is the Treasury with the world's best collection of Scythian gold. It is also difficult to find, thanks to poor signposting. If you head from the entrance gate and walk straight ahead, you will pass the main cathedral and come to a building in your way. This is the Tresasury. The entrance is on the side. Look for the poster of a gold torque and some flags.

Next door to the Treasury is the National Museum of Publishing. The monastery was the site of Kiev's first printing press. Have a look at its Russian alphabet doors. The museum costs under €1 to enter. The ground floor contains historical books and is really only for publishing fanatics, however the second room on the first floor looks at 20th century publishing and has some great art deco and revolutionary book cover art and prints.
Leaving the Museum of Publishing veer off to the left and you will walk between the cathedral and the refectory into another small square. Here there are two further museums. On the left is the museum of Ukrainian Decorative Art.
This museum is deceptively large and has some great exhibits including icon shelves, and cow-bone powder kegs. 
To the left of the Museum of Decorative Folk Art is the Museum of Miniatures (entrance 50 hrivna), which includes a tiny chess set in gold that sits on the head of a pin.
Finally there is the museum of Theatre, Music and Cinema. This museum is immediately to your left as you enter the monastery complex.
What's your favourite part of the complex?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ukrainian Letter of the Day:  Н  = N б = b  а = a  н = n  к = k банк = bank
Addicted to You (2002)  Ukrainian Pie   KYIV DESTINATION: Pie shops If you stand by St Sophia's cathedral in the upper city, you will notice a pink tower in a nearby street.  This is the 19th century fire station watch tower. Diagonally opposite the forestation is a restaurant called Штолле - or Stolle  http://stolle.com.ua/en/ .   This chain specialises in Ukrainian pies (Pirog). Pie is a very complex affair in Ukraine with a variety of vegetarian, meat, fish and fruit centres. Pie is a meal in itself. The fillings combine vegetables and meat and flavours. Examples include Cowberry pie, Rabbit and Mushrooms Pie, Herring Pie, Cherry Pie and Brocilli Pie, among others. Each pie is enormous and can feed a large family. In Stolle you can buy slices or a whole pie to eat in or take away. The store / restaurant is currently undergoing refurbishment ready for Eurovision! If you prefer something smaller than a Pirog, then you can try little pies, or Pi
Believe'n'Peace (1999)  Maltese Connections  EUROVISION COUNTRY: Malta KYIV DESTINATIONS: Maltese Restaurant Porto; Dog friendly cafes in Kyiv Unlike many other European cities, Kyiv can boast of it's own Maltese restaurant, called Porto  http://porto-rest.com/en/ , which provides excellent (if expensive - at €20 a person) fish and southern Mediterranean dishes. It has been completely renovated last year. Below we show the before on the left, and the after on the right. Porto is located very close to Olympiska metro station, a corner kick away from the main football stadium. All is not what it seems, however, as the chef/owner is Serbian! The same can be said of another "Maltese" institution in Ukraine: The Sovereign Order of Malta:  http://forbes.net.ua/nation/1400976-posol-maltijskogo-ordena-v-ukraine-nasha-tradiciya-so-dnya-osnovaniya-byt-s-temi-kto-stradaet-i-n   The Order of Malta is a government without a territory or political or econom