[1][better source needed][nb 1] Aside from its main building, the cathedral includes an ensemble of supporting structures such as a bell tower and the House of Metropolitan.

According to one theory, Yaroslav the Wise sponsored the construction of the Saint Sophia Cathedral in 1037 to celebrate his decisive victory over the nomadic Pechenegs in 1036 (who thereafter were never a threat to Kyiv).

After the pillaging of Kyiv by Andrei Bogolyubsky of Vladimir-Suzdal in 1169, followed by the Mongol invasion of Rus' in 1240, the cathedral fell into disrepair.

Following the 1595–96 Union of Brest, the Cathedral of Holy Sophia belonged to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church which commissioned the repair work and the upper part of the building was thoroughly rebuilt, modeled by the Italian architect Octaviano Mancini in the distinct Ukrainian Baroque style, while preserving the Byzantine interior, keeping its splendor intact.

After the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia and during the Soviet anti-religious campaign of the 1920s, the government plan called for the cathedral's destruction and transformation of the grounds into a park "Heroes of Perekop" (after a Red Army victory in the Russian Civil War in Crimea).

The cathedral was saved from demolition[8] (the opposite St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery was blown up in 1935[8]) primarily with the effort of many scientists and historians.

On 21 August 2007, the Holy Sophia Cathedral was named one of the Seven Wonders of Ukraine, based on votes by experts and the internet community.