Great Lavra bell tower in Kievo-Pechersk Lavra

The Great Lavra bell tower remained the tallest building in Kiev for a long time. It rises above the Golden domes of the Lavra cathedrals and is clearly visible from afar. The bell tower is open to the public. It offers a beautiful view of the Lavra temples and the Dnipro river.

It is believed that the author of the project was Gottfried Johann Schendel. The construction of the Lavra bell tower was started in 1731 during the reign of Elizabeth. The original design of the five-tiered bell tower was simplified to a four-tiered one, but even in this state its height reaches 96 meters.

The first two tiers of the bell tower are built in the form of an octagon on a powerful Foundation of granite slabs. The diameter of the lower tiers is 28 meters. The first tier is decorated with rusticated masonry. The first floor houses the Lavra`s archive, and the second floor houses the library.

The largest domes are suspended on the third tier. The total weight of the bells is more than one hundred tons. The largest domes weigh more than 20 tons. The Assumption bell was cast by Ivan Motorin, the master who cast the Tsar Bell in the Moscow Kremlin. The fourth tier with small bells is decorated with Corinthian columns. Here, in 1903, chimes were installed, a clock without a dial.