The Fastiv Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (the House of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Fastiv) is a parish church in the town of Fastiv in Kyiv Oblast. It is an original neo-Gothic monument, one of the few historical buildings in the town, including religious ones. It is an important spiritual and charitable centre. The church stands not far from the modern town centre on the right bank of the Unava, on the square named after Zygmunt Kozar.
The Fastiv Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was built in the Romanesque-Gothic forms typical of architecture of the last quarter of the 19th century; overall the church is a model of neo-Gothic style.
A detail of the central facade of the church – the rose window and bas-relief. The walls of yellow brick were built on a foundation of rubble stone. The roof structures were originally made of pine and covered with green and red tiles.
The main, western facade is crowned by two towers, between which is the central entrance to the church. Above the entrance is a large round window (a “rose”), a traditional element of Gothic churches. The facade features a sculpture of a bishop and a relief composition “Christ Blessing the Children”.
The church has a significant peculiarity: the western facade of the building is asymmetrical. The asymmetry shows in everything: in decorative elements, window shapes, individual details and so on. The two towers, identical in plan, look completely different from outside. The southern one is almost twice as high as the northern one, square for its entire height, with open paired arches in the upper part.
Inside the church, the gallery, the choir, the floor, and the slender pilasters and columns with lavish capitals immediately catch the eye.
