Weißt Du von jenen Heiligen?

In the organizer's words:

With the question quoted as the title of the exhibition, Rainer Maria Rilke addresses the readers of his Book of Hours, written between 1899 and 1903, which was written under the impression of two trips to the Russian Tsarist Empire.

The poet was particularly moved by his visit to the Kiev Cave Monastery. He dedicated a separate section to the monks in order to bring them closer to his audience. The exhibition aims to build on this and present some of the little-known Christian saints and places in Ukraine. It is a sign of solidarity with Ukraine, whose cultural monuments are massively endangered by the Russian war of aggression. Hundreds of monuments have already been destroyed or damaged.

The exhibition tells of the Christianization of Kievan Rus and the first Slavic saints who lived and worked in what is now Ukraine. Numerous exhibits are dedicated to the Kiev Cave Monastery, the largest and most important monastery in Ukraine. It is a national landmark of the country and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990. Other spiritual centers in Ukraine are located in Chernihiv, Okhtyrka and Pochayiv. The monasteries in these places have miraculous icons and other shrines that attract thousands of pilgrims from the Orthodox world every year.

For our Ukrainian guests, the exhibition texts are available in Ukrainian as a free handout.

Price information:

Children under 14 years free