Worldly life is not easy and often, the few years that we have left on Earth, we spend in pursuit of earthly things, forgetting about spirituality. But there are those for whom at some point, for one reason or another, worldly concerns lose their value — and then they go to serve God in monasteries and pray for those who are left in the «big world». One such place where people live with prayer and care for the soul is the Pokrovsky Monastery in Kiev.
Pokrovsky Monastery has the fame of one of the most interesting sights of Kiev: on the territory of the parish are preserved to this day built in the late XIX — 
early XX centuries of the church, and the complicated history of this place keeps many stories of healing and salvation of people. Coming to rest in Kiev, this place is visited by many tourists, both believers and those who are simply interested in memorable places of the city.
The idea of founding a monastery on this place belongs to the Grand Duchess Alexandra Petrovna — the wife of the youngest son of Nicholas I, Prince Nicholas Nikolaevich. Her life was not easy. Having entered into a dynastic marriage with Prince Nicholas, she continued to be actively engaged in charitable work, to which she devoted practically all her time. 
The family had two sons, but there was no agreement between the spouses because of different interests. The result was the Prince’s infatuation with another woman and the exile of the princess from St. Petersburg, the reason for which the husband called his wife’s infidelity. Having peacefully left the capital in 1879, she went to Italy for treatment: Alexandra Petrovna suffered from breast cancer, and another misfortune — the carriage in which she was traveling was overturned by horses — left her bedridden for 10 years. Having failed to find a cure abroad, the princess came to Kiev, where she settled first in the Mariinsky Palace and then moved to the Pokrovsky Monastery, which she had founded.
The foundation of the monastery in Lukyanovka garden, where young people liked to have fun on holidays, was predicted by St. Theophilus of Kiev. Once, walking here together with Joseph Dikovsky, he said that the place would become holy: «…the grace of God will shine here». Only after the purchase of the land, when the construction of the monastery had already begun, did Alexandra Petrovna learn from Dikovsky’s descendants about Theophilus’ prediction.
The monastery was founded on January 11, 1889. The construction of more than 30 buildings, which housed churches and charitable institutions 
(hospitals, pharmacy, school, orphanages, dispensary, workshops, etc.), continued until 1911. Already in the first years of its existence more than 5 thousand patients turned to the hospital for help, about 5 million free medicines were given, 2298 operations were performed in 1893-1903. This place was called the town of mercy or Knyaginin’s monastery. The princess herself, who was secretly tonsured here under the name of Anastasia in 1889, lived here until the end of her days in 1900, and her relics rest here to this day. Her incredible healing — only a few months after moving to the monastery and taking monasticism, she was back on her feet, although no doctor believed it — 
was another miracle that took place in the City of Mercy.
The main buildings of the monastery are the church of St. Nicholas of Myra (Nikolsky Cathedral), built in 1896-1911, the lower church under this cathedral, consecrated in honor of the Icon of the Mother of God «Life-bearing Spring», the church of the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the church of St. Agapit of Pechersk. All architectural works were executed by V.N. Nikolaev (later he became the author of the Kievo-Pechersk Lavra) according to the sketches of Peter Nikolaevich — the son of Alexandra Petrovna and Prince Nikolai Nikolaevich.
Big and beautiful, visible from many parts of the city thanks to the majestic gilded domes, St. Nicholas Cathedral is one of the treasures of Orthodox Kiev. The temple, as well as other buildings of the monastery built in pseudo-Russian style, accommodates more than 2.5 thousand parishioners, and among the relics kept in it and other churches of the parish are such relics as icons of St. Nicholas, St. Sergius of Radonezh, part of the Stone of the Holy Sepulchre, part of the Holy Chiton of the Lord and a miraculous copy of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God.
For these and many other reasons to see such attraction of Kiev as the Pokrovsky Monastery seeks nowadays many believers. It is highly visited and just interested in interesting places by tourists coming to rest in Kiev. Along with Kievo-Pechersk Lavra and Kirillovsky Church is one of the main treasures of Orthodox Kiev, and everyone who wishes to see it, to visit this amazing place, can — the doors here are open for everyone who is looking for new impressions.