House with a gargoyle, Kiev

Architecture of Kiev is unusual and filled with a huge number of not just mysterious, but mystical figures. Almost every house here has several mythical creatures that guard the building and the whole city. Among all this variety, the most popular sculpture of Kievites - gargoyle - enjoys the greatest popularity among tourists. It observes the passers-by from the facade of house No. 8 on Bolshaya Zhitomirskaya Street.

The gargoyle is a dragon-shaped snake, according to legend, it lived in the waters of the River Seine in France and possessed incredible power: spewed water, turned ships and boats, and flooded houses. The monster had to be reduced to the Bishop of Rouen by means of prolonged prayers.

There are several legends about why this mythical creature decorated the house in Kiev. But none of them is connected with mysticism. According to one version, the architect Bobrusov wanted to build the entire house in a Romanesque style and decorate it with sculptures to make it look like an old French cathedral, but he had enough money for just one sculpture. On the other hand, the host of the house, Iosif Rogowska, was a great admirer of spiritualistic sessions, and the gargoyle was chosen as a guard in such actions.

Nowadays, the gargoyle has become the patroness of the street, it brings luck to everyone who likes it, and is a real protectorfor all organizations that were located in this house. According to one of the versions, it was here that the famous Ukrainian composer Nikolai Lysenko lived, his creative life has always been very successful, perhaps because of the protection of the gargoyle.

Also in Kiev there is a whole house, the facade of which is adorned with mythical creatures - this is the "House with chimeras".