To get to the holiest of holies, you (appropriately) need to visit the deepest metro station in the world. As I mentioned earlier, the metro stations here are deep. Really deep. Arsenalna station lies 105.5 meters underground. In comparison, the deepest metro in the US is 70 meters down. 105.5 meters is really far down. So went dramatically down, then came dramatically up to find ourselves at the foot of a very Soviet monument.
But it was really the views....
And the famine memorial that were impressive. This statue and the below-ground memorial to the nearly four million victim of the famine were more moving. Stalin's policies in 1932-33 created the famine - and when you read about that, it is truly horrifying.
The it was time to see the Lavra. Kyevo-Pecherska Larva. Larva is a senior monastery, and pecherska means 'of the cave.' This is the holiest ground in all three East Slavic countries - Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. It was founded in 1051 when catacombs were dug out for monks to study and live in. As they died, their bodies were naturally preserved by the cool, dry climate in the caves.
The Upper Larva's main entrance is the the Trinity Gate Church from the early 12th century and rebuilt in the 18th.
We went down into the caves, where my pants did not pass the priest's inspection, and I was handed a green apron to wrap around my unorthodox legs. We went down into the dark catacombs and saw the naturally mummified bodies of the former priests. Some parts were off limits to tourists, but open to tourists. As we tried to enter one way, or looked like we might, an arm would extend out of the darkness, barring us, but letting pilgrims inside. Somehow, that priest in the dark always knew who was who.
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