Wednesday, 8 December 2021
UKRAINE
This cover from Ukraine depicts 2 stamps, celebrating 2 monuments included on the World Heritage Site Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Pechersk Lavra. The Saint-Sophia Cathedral stamps on the right) was constructed in the 11th century, soon after the Christianization of Kievan Rus'. Mosaics and frescos from that period have been preserved in the interior. Monastic buildings around the cathedral were constructed in the 17th and 18th centuries in the Ukrainian Baroque style. The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (stamp on the left) is a monastic ensemble which was developing from the 11th to the 19th centuries. It comprises churches, monasteries, and caves where saints were buried. It was an important centre of Eastern Orthodox Church. The site was recognized by the UNESCO World Heritage Program in 1990 as one complex. The Church of the Saviour at Berestove, adjacent to the Lavra, was added to the site in 2005.