The House with Chimeras is a unique brick structure adorned with sculptures featuring mythological motifs and hunting scenes, constructed in 1901. The building’s name derives from the bizarre decorative elements, including depictions of terrestrial and underwater animals, hunting symbols, and fantastic creatures. This structure is one of the most recognizable in Kyiv and a true gem of urban architecture. It impresses with its exquisite design not only of the exterior facade but also of the interior spaces.
This article on KyivPage will explore the facts about the Kyiv House with Chimeras and what makes it famous.
History of the House with Chimeras
The House with Chimeras is located at 10 Bankova Street, directly opposite the Presidential Administration building. Its architect, Vladislav Horodetsky, designed this structure as a family residence.
In the early 20th century, this part of Kyiv looked entirely different, as the modern city center was just beginning to develop. The Art Nouveau decorative style was quite atypical for Ukrainian architecture at the time. Horodetsky aimed to create a personal home where he lived and worked from 1903 to 1913. Despite the steep slope of the plot, which was considered unsuitable for construction, the architect successfully overcame these challenges.
Initially, Horodetsky bought another adjacent plot on a steep slope. However, he could not implement a new project there. In 1911, he went hunting in Africa, and due to significant expenses, his financial situation worsened. By the summer of 1912, Horodetsky mortgaged his property, which he never managed to reclaim.
In 1917, after the October Revolution, the building was nationalized. At first, it was used as a home for the headquarters of the military labor squad, and later the Veterinary Department of the Kyiv Military District was housed here. In the 1930s, Kyivites began to call the building the “Seabed” because it belonged to a retired admiral.
In 1944, the Council of People’s Commissars and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine transferred the house to the Franko Theater for the employees to live in. Later, its premises were remodeled, and the building became Polyclinic No. 1. This period was one of the worst in the history of the building. The walls were covered with numerous layers of oil paint, which in some rooms reached more than 10 layers. The medical equipment attached to the walls caused constant vibration, which led to deep cracks. To stabilize the building, the lower floors were covered with earth, but this did not solve the problem. The cement sculptures on the facade began to deteriorate.
Reconstruction of the House with Chimeras
During the 2003-2004 restoration, significant renovations were carried out, estimated to cost 30-40 million hryvnias. Interiors, parquet, murals, and facade sculptures were restored, with sculptures reinforced and coated with special paint to protect them from weather for up to 25 years. After restoration, the building was designated as the Small Residence of the President of Ukraine, used for hosting foreign delegations.
Unique Architecture
The House with Chimeras is the most famous Art Nouveau building in Kyiv and the first in the capital constructed using cement and bricks without a roof—its high parapet hides the roof. The project included a cubic shape and seven electrified apartments.
The Name’s Origin and Legends
The name “House with Chimeras” comes from the sculptural elements adorning the building, depicting animals and mythical creatures. The building’s popularity is also fueled by legends, including stories abo
Legends of the House with Chimeras
The popularity and recognition of the House of Chimeras is largely due to the legends that surrounded it from the very beginning.
One of the most common stories claims that the daughter of the architect Vladyslav Horodetskyi, who designed the house, died by drowning in the Dnipro River (according to another version, in the Mediterranean Sea) due to unhappy love or other tragic circumstances.
According to this legend, the grieving father built this house in honor of his daughter, decorating it with elements that symbolized the underwater kingdom. However, the architect’s biographers found that the daughter was alive during the construction and outlived her father by several decades. It turned out that people simply connected this story with the legend of the daughter of the previous owner of the estate, Fyodor Mering, who died at sea.
There is also a version that before leaving the house, Horodetsky cursed the next residents with bad luck. Only the architect’s descendants will be able to coexist with the chimeras in peace. Proponents of this theory note that the offices that owned or rented the premises often went bankrupt, and their funds mysteriously disappeared, and organizations disintegrated.
There are rumors that the author of the project was not Gorodetskiy, but another architect, Mykola Dobachevskyi, although the project bears Horodetskyi’s signature. There are also legends that the architect built this house not for himself but for his mistress. However, no one knows for sure what exactly was true.