How the Church of Saints Borys and Hlib looked like in the times of Kyivan Rus: an accurate 3D model of the ancient church was presented in Vyshhorod

The Vyshhorod Historical and Cultural Reserve and renowned architect Dmytro Horbatiuk presented a 3D model of the Church of Saints Borys and Hlib, the most accurate copy of the stone church built in 1112. This project was born out of many years of scientific research and archaeological findings that allowed us to restore the appearance of the ancient Russian shrine.

What the Church of Saints Borys and Hlib looked like in the days of Kyivan Rus and how they managed to recreate its image, tells OBOZ. UA.

"This model restores a part of our history"

Vlada Lytovchenko, director of the Vyshhorod Historical and Cultural Reserve, believes that the 3D model of Saints Borys and Hlib "is an opportunity to see what the church and Vyshhorod itself was like in the days of Kyivan Rus, and allows us to restore an important part of our history."

Historical background: The first mention of St. Borys and Hlib Church dates back to 1021 when a new church dedicated to Princes Borys and Hlib was built on the site of the burned-out St. Basil's Church.

Prince Sviatoslav Yaroslavych began building the large stone church in 1076, and it was consecrated under Volodymyr Monomakh in 1115.

After Batu Khan's invasion in 1240, documentary references to the Church of Borys and Hlib disappeared. It is assumed that it was destroyed by the Mongols.

How the appearance of the church was restored

According to architect Dmytro Horbatiuk, the reconstruction was made possible thanks to archaeological data and analogies with other churches of the period. First of all, these are St. Michael's Church of the Vydubytskyi Monastery (1088) and the Church of the Savior on Berestov (late XI-XII centuries).

The architect notes that "the original building, erected in 1112, has come down to us only in the form of fragments of the foundations." This allowed us to recreate the plan, but the facade solutions remained hypothetical. They are based on the results of archaeological research, the remains of building structures, and analogies with modern churches of the time.

For the record, today the Church of Saints Borys and Hlib, built in 1863 by architect Konstiantyn Ton, stands on the inner foundation of the Old Rus church.

The foundation of the ancient Russian church was traced around the Borys and Hlib church. A fragment of the wall of the ancient church can be seen in a special pavilion, and a fragment of the arch is kept in the Historical Museum of the Vyshhorod Historical and Cultural Reserve.

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