The Great Lavra Bell Tower or the Great Belfry ( uk, Велика Лаврська дзвіниця, russian: Большая Лаврская колокольня) is the main

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

of the ancient

cave monastery A cave monastery is a monastery built in caves, with possible outside facilities. The 3rd-century monk St. Antony the Great, known as the founder of monasticism Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monach ...

Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra or Kyivo-Pechers’ka Lavra ( uk, Києво-Печерська лавра, translit=Kyievo-Pecherska lavra, russian: Киево-Печерская лавра), also known as the Kyiv Monastery of the Caves, is a historic Ea ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, the capital of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. It is one of the most notable buildings of the Kyiv skyline ( see picture). The bell tower was the highest free-standing bell tower at the time of its construction in 1731–1745. It was designed by the architect

Johann Gottfried Schädel Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

. Its total height, with the Christian cross, is 96.5 metres (316 feet). The Great Lavra Bell Tower is a

Neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

construction with a total of four tiers, surmounted by a

gilded Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

. The diameter of the tower's lowest tier at its base is 28.8 metres (''94 feet''), and the thickness of the first tier walls is 8 metres (''26 feet''). The tower's foundation exceeds 7 metres (''22 feet''). The tower is decorated with many architectural columns: the second tier is decorated with 32 Dorian columns, the third tier is decorated with 16

Ionic columns The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

, and the fourth with 8

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order w ...

. On the third tier, there were some hanging bells, but they were later removed. To this day, only three small 18th-century bells have been preserved: the ''Balykjoe'', and ''Bezymiannyi'' bells. The former main bell of the Great Lavra Bell Tower, the ''Uspenskyi'', had a total weight of one ton and was cast in 1732 by

Ivan Motorin The Motorins, also spelled Matorins (''Моторины'', ''Маторины'' in Russian) were a famous Russian family of Bellfounding, bellfounders. Feodor Dmitriyevich Motorin Feodor Dmitriyevich Motorin (Фёдор Дмитриевич � ...

, who was also responsible for the

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...

Tsar Bell The Tsar Bell (russian: Царь–колокол; ), also known as the Tsarsky Kolokol, Tsar Kolokol III, or Royal Bell, is a , bell on display on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin. The bell was commissioned by Empress Anna Ivanovna, niece of ...

. There is also a viewing platform atop the third tier, which provides visitors with a

bird's-eye view A bird's-eye view is an elevated view of an object or location from a very steep viewing angle, creating a perspective as if the observer were a bird in flight looking downwards. Bird's-eye views can be an aerial photograph, but also a draw ...

of the region around Kyiv. On the fourth tier there is a chiming clock, manufactured in 1903, which has a total weight of 4.5 tons. The current bell tower's clock, designed by the Moscow master A. Enodin and based on the

Kremlin clock The Kremlin Clock (russian: Кремлёвские часы; ''Kremlyovskiye chasy'') or Kremlin Chimes (russian: Кремлёвские куранты; ''Kremlyovskiye kuranty''), also known colloquially in the West as Moscow Clock Tower, is a h ...

, replaced the older 18th-century clock of the master A. Levynskyi. The clock has stopped only once during its existence: it happened in September 1941 when the Dormition Cathedral of the Pechersk Lavra was blown up by army forces during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The clock was repaired following the destruction of the nearby cathedral, which took a total of six years to complete. Since that time, the clock has never needed any repairs. The clock's mechanism is very accurate; up to within 10 seconds. However, it has been observed that its accuracy depends on the time of the year: in the Winter, the clock works somewhat slower than in the Summertime. The clock's mechanism has to be rewound once a week, and the clock's bells chime every quarter of the hour.

Gallery

File:Kiev 1890s.jpg, 1890s File:Kiev caves.jpg, 1890s File:Great Lavra Bell Tower 2018 G1.jpg, detail File:Wiki 032.JPG, interior File:Kiev kolokolchik.jpg, bell

Footnotes

References

* * {{Pechersk Lavra Christian bell towers Religious buildings and structures in Kyiv Bell towers in Ukraine Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Pecherskyi District Towers completed in 1745 Neoclassical architecture in Kyiv Neoclassical church buildings in Ukraine

Gallery

See also

Footnotes

References