The remains of the foundations of the Church of the Tithes mark the place where the history of stone architecture in Kyivan Rus’ began. It was here, between 989 and 996, that Prince Volodymyr the Great ordered the construction of the first stone church of Rus’ — the majestic Church of the Dormition of the Holy Mother of God, for the upkeep of which the prince allocated a “tithe” of his income. The sanctuary was adorned with mosaics, frescoes, marble slabs, and icons brought from Chersonesus, and served as a princely burial place where Volodymyr the Great, his wife Anna, and the transferred relics of Princess Olha were interred.
Over the centuries, the church was repeatedly damaged by fires and internal conflicts, and in 1240 it was ultimately destroyed during the siege of Kyiv by Batu Khan’s army. In the following centuries, excavations at the site uncovered mosaic floors, fragments of decorative elements, princely sarcophagi, and numerous artifacts of ancient Kyivan culture. In 1635, by order of Metropolitan Petro Mohyla, a new small Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God was built, using part of the ancient walls in its construction. In the 19th century, a new church was built on the site, but it was demolished during the Soviet period, which opened the way for large-scale archaeological research. Thanks to these investigations, the Church of the Tithes once again emerged as a monument of national importance and a key element of the ancient “city of Volodymyr.”
Today, the remains of the church’s foundation are a place of power and one of the most valuable archaeological sites in the capital. Here, visitors can see authentic fragments from the 11th–13th centuries, feel the atmosphere of Kyiv in the era of the Christianization of Rus’, and literally stand on the ground where the history of the Ukrainian state was formed. The location also features an AR application that allows visitors to see what the majestic 10th-century church looked like — in augmented reality, it rises above the foundations in its original form.