Kotliarevska suggests increasing Lavra’s attendance with coffee shops and souvenir stalls

Acting Director General of the National Reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” Svitlana Kotliarevska believes that to attract more visitors to the Lavra, it is necessary to develop hospitality infrastructure: open coffee shops, souvenir stalls, provide ice cream sales, and even create a special brand called “Lavra Coffee”. She said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

According to her, the Lavra currently has “a major problem with infrastructural comfort,” since there are no places where visitors can drink water or coffee, buy ice cream or souvenirs. “That’s why we are developing a hospitality program and looking for patrons and partners in these areas,” she noted.

Kotliarevska also voiced the idea of creating a “Lavra Coffee” brand. “There is an interesting hypothesis that coffee appeared in the Kyiv Lavra even earlier than in Lviv. We have a huge field for research and for creating a recipe for ‘Lavra Coffee’. We are ready to cooperate with coffee shops that want to explore its historical components together with us,” she said.

It is also worth noting that recently, on the eve of the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God, which the OCU celebrated on August 15 in the Dormition Cathedral of the Lavra, “transferred” to this structure, only about ten people gathered in the church. Among them were several media representatives and people who looked like tourists.