
The golden-domed Kyiv Pechersk Lavra Monastery was founded as the first Ortodox Monastery in Kyiv Rus in 1051. It has become the largest religious establishment in the country. It bears the name of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra binding its foundation in the catacombs and since the 12th century it bears the name of Lavra. Spread across wooded slopes above the Dnipro, it is a unique array of gold-domed churches, underground labyrinths lined with holy relics. In 1926 the Upper Groundswere declared the National Museum, one of which has a hoard of Scythian gold.