Attractions of Kiliia

The half-destroyed bell tower is the only surviving fragment of the Church of the Assumption in Kiliia. It is also the only surviving structure of the Kiliia fortress, except for the defensive moat.

The Church of the Assumption of the Mother of God was built in the 15th century by the order of the Moldavian ruler Stephen III the Great at the same time as the construction of the fortress according to the project of the Byzantine architect and military engineer Privani, who gave the church some features of Sophia of Constantinople.

In 1825-1830, a two-story bell tower was built near the main entrance to the Church of the Assumption.

In 1947, the Soviet authorities razed the ancient temple to the ground. Today, only the remains of the bell tower have survived.

The Holy Intercession Cathedral in Kiliia was built in 1822-1836 according to the project of the architect Abraham Melnikov.

In 1895, a bell tower was added to the new cathedral.

Local residents call the church a "Ukrainian church" as opposed to Old Believer churches.

The Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin in Kiliia is the largest Old Believer church in Odesa region.

The first Old Believer Intercession Church in Kiliia was built in 1846 from adobe (clay bricks mixed with straw, dried in the sun). The Old Believer district of Kiliia was formed around the church.

In 1912-1916, a new one was built around the adobe church - the old one was dismantled and taken out through the door. Great help in the construction of the Old Believer Cathedral was provided by Jewish merchants - a feature of multinational Kiliia.

In 1929-1930, a new 51-meter bell tower was built. The fence around the temple yard was built already in Soviet times - in 1953-1954.

The Kiliia Museum of History and Local Lore was opened in 1964. It is located in an old house built in the middle of the 19th century by a wealthy Jewish grocer, Rebbe Kahane.

The number of exhibits in the museum is 2,100. The exposition highlights such historical topics as ancient times, Greek and Byzantine colonization of the Danube region, Kiliia during the Tatar-Mongol invasion, the reign of the Moldavian princes, the Cossack era and the period of the Russo-Turkish wars, the region during the Romanian occupation, Tatarbunary period of the Second World War wars, recent history.

Excursion service for organized groups on routes through the city is carried out at pre-arranged times, including on weekends.

The unique semi-underground Saint Nicholas Church in Kiliia was founded in 1485, at the beginning of the period of Turkish rule on the Danube.

The Turks did not forbid the Orthodox to build churches, but they demanded that Orthodox churches not exceed the height of a mosque (according to another version, a janissary on a horse). In order for the building to retain its functionality, the builders had to sink it into the ground by more than 2 meters.

The church acquired its current appearance in 1891, when a high bell tower was added to it.