House with Chimeras

Building House with chimeras
Ukraine, Kyiv
Categories: architecture Kyiv
Rating 9.0
10 Based on 1 reviews
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House with Chimeras

Building House with chimeras
Ukraine, Kyiv
Once an ambitious Pole Vladislav Gorodetsky became seriously interested in architecture and hunting. It is thanks to this that the "House with Chimeras" appeared in the center of Kyiv. This famous building, built in 1902–1903, can safely be called the most unusual Ukrainian mansion. His chimeras are impressive. In addition, the style of the interior of this house, made in the Art Nouveau era, has never been repeated anywhere.
The architect wanted to make a house "for centuries", he built it with his own money. But why did an experienced specialist decide to build a mansion on a waste site? Many considered it madness to start building on a cliff - on the former bank of the drained Goat Swamp, which was forbidden for development by the Kiev house-building society. This house has always been shrouded in legends, although it was just a kind of advertisement for the possibilities of a new building material - cement. The facade is richly decorated with images of exotic animals and hunting motifs. And again, for the purpose of advertising, cement was used. "House with Chimeras" is unique not only for Kyiv, but for the entire CIS. Fate has prepared the "House with Chimeras" to become the face of the capital of Ukraine on a par with the Mariinsky Palace.
Many legends are associated with the construction of the House with Chimeras. They say that Vladislav Gorodetsky created a house in memory of his drowned daughter. But this is just a legend. Mermaids, dolphins and frogs on the roof of the building, a giant lamp in the stairwell, depicting a huge catfish in lotus stems, stucco molding on the ceiling in the form of an octopus, sinking ships, horns and skulls are the fruit of the imagination of a great original, and not a father who has lost his mind.

There is another scandalous version - a bet with other architects who claimed that it was impossible to build on such a cliff.

Strictly practical motivation for construction can also be quite real. This is the first house built in Kyiv with cement. For those times - a grandiose advertising campaign for cement industrialist Richter.

The profitable house and dwelling of the famous architect after the revolution and before World War II was a communal apartment, then - a hospital of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine.
In 2003–2004, the House with Chimeras was restored. The cost of reconstructing Gorodetsky's house is about $30 million. The interior of the building has been completely restored, including parquet flooring and painting. After the restoration, the "House with Chimeras" became the Small Reception Residence of the President of Ukraine. Foreign delegations are received here. On the basis of Gorodetsky's house, a museum and cultural center "Masterpieces of Ukrainian Art" was created as a branch of the National Museum. Meetings of the President of Ukraine with distinguished guests, which are held in the reconstructed "House with Chimeras", do not prevent small excursion groups from visiting the museum.

The museum center was created to promote the artistic heritage of Ukraine. The exposition of the center presents works of fine art, sculpture, objects of arts and crafts from the stock collections of the leading museums of Ukraine. Among the rarities of the exposition: "Ostrog Bible" printed by Ivan Fedorov (1581), bronze dishes of the 6th century BC and many other priceless relics.

REVIEWS
All reviews (1)
Traveled 6 years ago
Rating 9
Despite the fence and the police, you can get to the House with Chimeras by presenting your passport (at the first post when turning onto Bankovaya Street, you can simply show it, go through the metal detector near the house itself). They say you can get inside on Saturdays, sign up at the Museum of Ukraine on Bogdan Khmelnitsky Street. I haven't been inside, but the surroundings are interesting. True, I didn’t take pictures, you never know
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