Prince Vsevolod (Christian name - Cyril) Olgovich of Chernigov, who occupied Kiev in 1139, founded a monastery in a northern suburb of the city named after his heavenly protector St. Cyril of Alexandria. In the second half of 12th century Princess Maria built here the stone Church os St. Cyril, which became the family chapel and housed the family sepulcher. About 800sq. meters of fresco paintings from the 12th century have been preserved. Part of the paintings date from 17-18th centuries. 

The Monastery of Saint Cryil was closed in 1786 by the decree of Catherine II. In 1803 a mental hospital was transferred here from Podol. Now the building houses the acting Orthodox Church of St. Basil. The hospital and the refuge made up the governor's charitable complex - the Saint Cyril Charitable Establishments. Under the Soviets, saint Cyril's mental hospital was for unknown reasons renamed after Taras Schevchenko, and it was only recently that its historic name has been restored.