The Church in Yurkivska Street in Kyiv and its Significance in the Development of Kyivan Rus Architecture of the 12th Century

The article examines the church found out by archaeological excavations in 2003 in Yurkivska Street in Podil, Kyiv. The peculiarities of the planning structure, the masonry technique, and stylistics of this church make it possible to clarify the development of Kyivan Rus architecture. The purpose of this article is to determine the significance of the church in Yurkivska Street in Kyiv in the development of Kyivan Rus architecture of the 12th century. Methods. Comparative and historical, typological, compositional and stylistic methods are used to achieve the purpose. Results and conclusions. It has been determined that the church in Yurkivska Street (late 1120s – early 1130s) is a link in the spread of Chernihiv variant of the arch-gabled church type in Kyiv. At the same time, the mentioned church is the first known example of the new variant of the arch-gabled church type, Kyiv-Chernihiv one, which was formed on the basis of Chernihiv variant. In addition, the church in Yurkivska Street is one of the first churches of the 12th century without a narthex, having widespread in Kyivan Rus territory in the second half of the 12th century. Such churches without a narthex became the basis for the development of the pillar-shaped church type.