Ukraine’s cave monastery battles age problems

The workers standing on ladders at one of the Monastery of the Caves’ churches weren’t fixing it up for visitors to Ukraine’s top tourist draw -- they were trying to keep bricks from crashing down on the visitors’ heads.

The monastery, a sprawling complex of richly decorated churches and candlelit caves containing monks’ tombs dating from the 11th century, is sliding into serious dilapidation.

Its golden-domed bell tower, the tallest point on the Kiev skyline, has been closed to visitors for years because of insufficient money for restoration. Part of the cave network collapsed in 2005.

Monastery managers and the monks who live there have launched an appeal for help. But the prospect of getting more money from the cash-starved government appears dim, leaving anxieties high over the future of one of the most revered places for the world’s Orthodox Christians.

“It is so difficult to name any historical monument that does not have problems now. It is almost impossible,” said Sergiy Krolevets, general director of the Monastery of the Caves complex.

The monastery, called Pecherska Lavra in Ukrainian, claims 2 million to 3 million visitors each year.

Founded in 1051 when monks settled into caves on a hillside above the Dnipro River, the complex is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site. Of the 120 structures considered of historical significance at the monastery, about 10% are in urgent need of repair.

Krolevets said that $25 million was needed, but last year Ukraine’s government was able to provide only about $6.7 million for renovation of historical structures throughout the country.

The monastery’s treasurer, Archimandrite Varsonofity, said the Ukrainian Orthodox Church spent $2 million to $3 million a year to support the monastery, “but it’s not enough; we still count on money from the state.”

Officials attribute the Monastery of the Caves’ problems to more than just its age, the lack of money and the complex’s precarious position on the side of an eroding cliff.

They complain that the city government has allowed developers to build too closely, causing foundation damage to the ancient structures.

Tetyana Kulik, the site’s main architect, said that a planned hotel complex near the Church of the Savior threatened the whitewashed brick church and its 11th century frescoes.

“We are so concerned. It could destroy the cathedral,” she said.

The asphalt on a lookout platform that offers breathtaking views of the Dnipro is riven with deep cracks, and one section marked “Danger Zone” is entirely off-limits.

The platform is part of the cracked and aging reinforcements that hold up the old wall that encircles the entire upper part of the monastery.

The Great Lavra Bell Tower, which stands 316 feet high and is considered so integral to the Kiev skyline that no new building is permitted to be taller, is closed to visitors and it is unclear when it will reopen. The walls of the tower are covered in graffiti.

In 2005, an underground water leak demolished part of the monastery’s caves, breaking away 353 cubic feet of land.

“To avoid such catastrophes, the Lavra needs a geological study but that could cost” about $198,000, Varsonofity said.

Ukraine’s Cultural Ministry, charged with protecting the country’s historical sites, declined to comment on the monastery’s troubles.

“If something happened to [the monastery], it would be a huge loss not only for Ukraine but for the whole world,” visitor Svetlana Lotosh said.

Concern is high for some other major historical sites in Ukraine, including the UNESCO-listed St. Sophia Cathedral complex in downtown Kiev.

The cathedral faces danger to its foundation from drilling at nearby construction projects and from the overloading of the local sewer system.

Complex director Nelya Kukovalska said she had appealed without result to Kiev authorities and prosecutors to stop construction projects nearby. “It’s a time bomb,” she said.

The sanctuary requested $8.1 million for restoration work this year, but the government approved only half that.

Other sites -- from the historic island home of Ukrainian Cossacks in southeastern Ukraine to a 5th century Greek fortress on the Black Sea -- are fighting developers and struggling to find cash to jump-start restoration work.