Nizhyn

The All Saints Cathedral is the main church of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine in Nizhyn, the spiritual center of the city's Greek community. Located in the territory of the "Greek Quarter" next to the Greek Church of Saint Michael.

The All Saints Church was built in 1782 by the Nizhyn Greek brotherhood on the site of an earlier wooden Greek church. It was originally made in the archaic Balkan style. At the end of the 19th century, it was partially rebuilt, the facades were supplemented with classical porticos, which gave the church features of classicism.

The Church of All Saints stands on a basement, the vault of which rests on a central pillar. In the interior, you can see a carved linden iconostasis, made by modern Nizhyn masters based on sketches by the artist Oleksandr Koshel.

The Art Department of the Nizhyn Museum of Local Lore named after Ivan Spassky was opened in 1991, and since 2021 it has been located in the former estate of the Makarov landowners of the 19th century.

A memorial plaque on the facade testifies that it was to this house in 1827 that Mykola Hohol read his first works. Taras Shevchenko, Yevhen Hrebinka, Marko Vovchok, and Mariya Zankovetska were also connected with the Makarov family. That is why the exposition of the museum demonstrates the transformation of the noble estate, its way of life in the period from the end of the XVIII to the beginning of the XX century.

There are plans to build a literary room, an exhibition of outstanding historical figures of Nizhyn.

The museum's art collection includes works by the outstanding Ukrainian artist Serhiy Shyshko, as well as Oleksandr Yakymchenko, Mykola Stratilat, Vadym Dobrolizh and others. Now the museum has an exhibition hall, which hosts exhibitions of contemporary Nizhyn artists.

The two-level church of John the Theologian in Nizhyn was built in the 18th century on the site of a wooden church (1619).

Its architectural style is characterized as a transition from baroque to early classicism, where experts see the hand of the famous Kyiv architect Ivan Hryhorovych-Barskyi. There was a warm church on the first floor, and a cold one on the second.

Saint John of Kronstadt blessed the city and its inhabitants from the balcony of the Saint John the Theologian Church when he visited Nizhyn in 1893 on his way to Kyiv.

The church was restored in 1954-1955, since then its premises have been used as an archive.

Ancient frescoes, interesting openwork stairs and fences have been preserved. Negotiations are underway regarding the return of the Orthodox Church.

Nearby is a monument to the navigator Yuriy Lysyanskyi, whose father served in this church.

The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Maherka (former suburb of Nizhyn) was built in 1775 on the site of an old wooden church as a burial place for Colonel Petro Razumovskyi at the expense of his wife.

The church is tetraconch with four apses.

In 1860, a warm church with a two-story bell tower was completed from the west, connected to the main volume by a long hall, according to the project of the Falovych county surveyor.

In Soviet times, the temple premises were used as a cinema hall and film storage. In 1991, the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross was handed over to the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate.

The complex of religious and civil buildings of the Greek community of Nizhyn is located to the left of the Saint Nicholas Cathedral.

The Greek churches of All Saints (1782), Saint Michael (1719-1729) and Trinity (1733) are located next to each other here. All three churches have been restored, services are held.

Next to them are the buildings of the former Greek Magistrate (1785), the Oleksandrivskyi College (1817) and the Women's Gymnasium (19th century). Opposite the bazaar is the oldest pharmacy in the city, founded in 1777 by a retired doctor of the Izyum hussar regiment, a Greek from Nizhyn Mykhaylo Lihda (active).

Many other public and residential buildings of the community have been preserved, on some of them you can still see inscriptions in Greek.