We can not imagine today’s Kyiv without architecture of such archticets, as Eduard Bradtman, Georg Schleifer, Pavlo Alyoshin, and, of course, Wladyslaw Horodecki, who was the author of well-known «House with Chimaeras». Horodecki once was compared with famous Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi, and was called «Kyiv’s Gaudi».
Wladyslaw Horodecki was born on June, 4, 1863 in the village Sholydky (today’s Vinnytska region). At the age of 16, together with his mother, future architect moved to Odesa, where he studied at the Real school at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church. Higher education he received at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. Then he moved to Kyiv, where lived for 30 years. During these years Wladyslaw Horodecki constructed more than 30 buildings, not just in Kyiv, but also in other cities in Ukraine.
Under the leadership of Wladyslaw Horodecki, in 1897–1899 there was constructed the building of the First City Museum (today it is the building of National Art Museum of Ukraine). As then Horodecki was the owner of the concrete plant «Ton», the building was constructed with the use of concrete, according to all proportions and canons of classical architecture. On its upper part there is the bas-relief called «Triumph of Arts»; and in front of the Museum there are two sculptures of lions, who symbolically protect the building during more then 100 years.
The other important buildings, constructed by the project and under the leadership of Horodecki, are St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church, well-known for its Gothic architecture, and Karaite Kenesa, constructed in 1900 in Moorish style.
House of his dreams, Wladyslaw Horodecki constructed in 1902–1904. Today we know it under the name of «House with Chimaeras». According to one of the legends, Horodecki constructed it for a bet with another Kyiv architect Oleksandr Kobelev, as Kobelev thought that it was impossible to build anything on such an uneven piece of land. But Horodecki made it not just on the uneven piece of land, but in very short terms. As a result, from Bankova street the building has 3 floors, and from Ivan Franko square — 6 floors. As the building of City Museum, «House with Chimaeras» was constructed with the use of concrete. New engineering and technological solution became using of concrete pillars. The name «House with Chimaeras» comes from people’s imagination, because on the roof of the building there are a lot of exotic animals, mermaids, flowers, chains, sea monsters, fishes, frogs and other creatures.
In today’s Kyiv there is the street, named after Wladyslaw Horodecki with architecture of the early 20th century. The arcitects of the street were Wladyslaw Horodecki, Eduard Bradtman, Georg Schleifer, Mykola Yaskevych, Mykola Kazanskyi and Martin Klug. Because of its exquisite architecture, the street was called «The Paris of Kyiv». Unfortunately, not all the buildings survived after the World War II.
Nowadays Kyiv is building up very quickly, what is typically for the big city, especially for the capital. But it is also very important to save memory about those, who built up the city more then 100 years ago, and thanks to whom we have landmarks, well-known in the whole world.
