The Kyiv-Mohyla Academy is one of the oldest and most prestigious educational institutions in Eastern Europe, with a history dating back to 1615, when it was founded by the Kyiv Epiphany Brotherhood. Initially founded as a brotherhood school for the children of wealthy townspeople and Cossacks, it later merged in 1632 with the Lavra school of Petro Mohyla, forming the Kyiv Brotherhood College. The Academy received its official status in 1658. Over the centuries, the institution educated not only religious and secular leaders, but also future hetmans, metropolitans, archbishops, and other prominent figures, among them the philosopher and educator Hryhorii Skovoroda. Graduates of the Academy went on to establish numerous schools in Russia and Belarus, spreading Kyiv’s educational traditions.
The architectural complex of the Academy is located on the grounds of the Brotherhood Monastery and has preserved several important historical structures. The main building — now the Old Academic Building with the Annunciation Church — was constructed in the early 18th century and later rebuilt between 1732 and 1740 by the renowned architect Johann Gottfried Schädel. The Annunciation Church, serving as the academic chapel, is built in the style of Ukrainian Baroque. Among other preserved structures is the refectory with the Church of the Holy Spirit, the oldest masonry building of the former monastery.
Unfortunately, part of the architectural heritage was lost during Soviet times: in 1935, the Epiphany Cathedral and the bell tower of the Brotherhood Monastery were demolished, along with the skyline-dominating landmark of Podil. At the end of the 19th century, semicircular commercial buildings were added to the bell tower, which were later converted during the Soviet era into four-story neoclassical structures. Today, these buildings form the main campus of the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, which continues to serve an educational mission while preserving the cultural and architectural heritage of the 17th–18th centuries.