Страдецька печера

Stradetska Pestera

Useful Information

Location:	Stradch, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine, 81076. (49.8980805, 23.7554039)
Open:	All year daily. [2024]
Fee:	free, donations welcome. [2024]
Classification:	Cave Church
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Stradetska Pestera, Stradch, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine, 81076, Tel: +380-67-752-57-72. E-mail: 81076, Україна, Львівська область, Яворівський район, с. Страдч, вулиця Страдецька Гора, 53, Парафія Успіння Пресвятої Богородиці. E-mail:
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History

11th century	cave monastery founded by monks from Kyiv who settled here.
1241	the Mother of God closed the entrance to the cave with her robe, like a wall.
1936	Way of the Cross created.

Description

Страдецька печера (Stradetska Pestera, Cave of Stradch), or better Печерний монастир с.Страдч (Cave monastery of the village of Stradch) is a series of artificial caves which is located behind a church. Located on the western side of the small village is a sort of peninsula, where the plateau protrudes into the lowland. On this plateau the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built, surrounded by the cemetery of the village. But this church is much younger than the cave church, which is located below the edge on the northern side. Actually there are numerous caves around the plateau.

The cave monastery was founded in the 11th century, when monks from Kyiv settled here. It seems they dug their caves into the soft sandstone.

During the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the locals hid in these caves. But the Tatars found one of the caves, the one in which most of the villagers were hiding. They set it on fire, and all the people inside died. The monks prayed for the salvation of the souls of the innocent victims and the salvation of the rest of the villagers who were hiding in other caves. Their prayers were heard by the Mother of God. She appeared in the monastery and closed the entrance to the cave with her robe, like a wall, with the words: "Don't move! Wall!". Since then, the Stradec Caves have become a place of pilgrimage.

In the 15th century, the Страдецька печерна лавра (Stradec Cave Lavra) was founded. The main shrine was the icon of the Invincible Mother of God, the name is apparently connected with the legendary apparition and salvation. Only a copy of this icon has survived. In the 16th century, the monastery was named Stradetsky Basilian. The Way of the Cross which was built on the slopes of the plateau in 1936 completed the pilgrim destination.

The church is a cave church with a facade built against the slope of the hill. On top of the gable is a white statue of the mother of god. The cave behind the facade is a rectangular chamber which contains the cave church and the altar at the far end. To countinue its necessary to walk around the altar, which protect the entrance to the rest of the cave. The cave behind is a set of corridors, 270 m long and 2 m high, more or less rectangular There are numerous branches from the main passage with niches. They are thought to be monastic cells. Inside there is another cave church with icons, a stone throne and a crucifix.

The whole events are often considered to be just a legend, but archaeologists excavated the bones of numerous people. The remains of the victims were reburied in the Martyr’s Cave Church.