The Cross Exaltation Church is one of the most distinctive churches in Kyiv, comfortable located at the foot of Zamkova Hill at the corner of the historic districts of Honchari and Kozhumiaky. The history of this place goes back centuries, when local craftsmen — potters, tanners, and carpenters — decided to build their own church. The first mention of a wooden church on this site dates to 1748, but the sanctuary began to take its present form after the devastating fire in Podil in 1811.
The construction of the stone church began in 1811 according to the design of the well-known Kyiv architect Andrii Melenskyi. Due to the difficult terrain and limited funds of the craftsmen’s communities, the construction lasted for decades, gradually supplemented with new architectural layers. In 1841, the first floor was completed, and later the second tier and a monumental bell tower were added. The church is also notable for the fact that on May 18, 1891, the outstanding writer Mikhail Bulgakov was baptized here, whose family lived nearby.
The architectural appearance of the church is a unique example of a combination of classicism with elements of late Baroque and the brick style. The building has a two-level structure: the lower, heated church is dedicated to Archangel Michael, and the upper one — to the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross. Thanks to the skill of the architects, the building is organically integrated into the landscape, as if “growing” out of the hills of Podil.
Inside, the church preserves paintings from the late 19th — early 20th centuries, executed in an academic style, as well as a unique carved iconostasis that creates an atmosphere of deep spiritual concentration.