Attractions of Mhar

The Savior-Transfiguration Monastery in Mhar is one of the most revered Orthodox shrines in Ukraine.

It was founded in 1619 by Metropolitan Isaya (Kopynsky) at the expense of Princess Rayina Mohylyanka Vyshnevetska, who owned Lubny in the 17th century. According to legend, angels indicated the place for the construction of the monastery to the princess.

In 1684-1692, on the site of the first wooden church, at the expense of hetmans Ivan Samoylovych and Ivan Mazepa, the stone Savior-Transfiguration Cathedral was built (architect Johann-Baptist Sauer).

The exterior of the temple combines the ancient Ukrainian style of the 11th-12th centuries with the Baroque-Renaissance architecture of Western Europe, with a lot of non-canonical decor.

The complex also includes a bell tower in the baroque style (1837-1844), the Annunciation warm church (now Saint Athanasius) in the pseudo-Byzantine style (XIX century), the abbot's and brotherhoods (18th century), the two-level church of Saint Athanasius (now Annunciation, 1891 year).

Patriarch Athanasius of Constantinople, who died during a visit to his beloved monastery, and other church figures are buried here. The monastery enjoyed the support of Ukrainian hetmans and Russian tsars, it was visited by Ivan Mazepa, Peter I, Taras Shevchenko, Oleksandr Pushkin and others.

In Soviet times, a disciplinary battalion was stationed here, warehouses were located, then a pioneer camp. Most of the frescoes were damaged (in memory of these events, the shot icon of Saint Oleksandra was preserved).

The Annunciation in Mhar was returned to the church in 1993, and restoration was carried out. Monks conduct tours.

In 1990, the "Holodomor-33" Memorial of People's Grief was built nearby on Hill Zazhura in the form of a large bell on a mound, which offers the best view of the monastery.