[club1543502|Harukov House with Chimeras on Hymera Street]4 photos

79 Chernyshevskaya Street. Surely everyone has heard of this famous creation of architect V. Horodetsky—the house on Bankovaya Street in Kiev, known as the House of Chimera. It was so named due to its sculptural decorations, both on the exterior and inside the building, which feature mythical creatures from both land and underwater worlds, as well as elements related to hunting. But few people know that Kharkov also boasts several houses adorned with chimeras. Although they are not as famous as their Kiev counterpart and are not as heavily decorated, they are just as interesting. The first such house in Kharkov was built 11 years after the one in Kiev, in 1914, in the same Art Nouveau style with elements of English Gothic architecture, just like Horodetsky’s building. The architects behind this project were V. Pokrovsky and P. Velichko. The building is located in a quiet area of Kharkov’s center, at 79 Chernyshevskaya Street. There is still some confusion surrounding the name of this street: it was originally named after the owner of the estate that once stood where house number 1 is now located. During the Soviet era, it was renamed in honor of the Russian writer N. G. Chernyshevsky, even though he had no connection to the city. Not long ago, the street was given its historical name again, but not all street signs have been updated accordingly. V. Pokrovsky, who served as the chief architect of the Kharkov Diocese, designed this six-story mansion for his sisters to use as a private girls’ gymnasium. The gymnasium operated until 1920; thereafter, the building housed the No. 62 eight-year school, which was closed in 1962 due to its dangerous proximity to a tuberculosis clinic. From 1973 until its closure several years later due to dilapidated conditions, the building housed the No. 17 evening school for working youth. For nearly fifteen years, the house stood abandoned and boarded up; it was then donated to the Theater Faculty of the Kotlyarevsky University of Arts. The building underwent several years of restoration, with students playing an important role in this creative process by participating actively in voluntary repair efforts. The final renovations took place in the 1990s, during which the original exterior facade, decorated with whimsical chimera sculptures, was carefully restored. According to encyclopedias, the word “chimera” originates from Greek and means “goat”; it refers to a mythical creature with the head and neck of a lion, the body of a goat, and a serpent’s tail, born from the union of Typhon and Echidna. In the Middle Ages, gargoyles were considered chimeras; today, the term is often used to refer to various monstrous or mutated creatures, as well as unrealistic dreams and fantasies. Sculptural depictions of fantastical monsters, representing vices and forces of evil, are very characteristic of Gothic architecture, such as those on the famous Notre-Dame de Paris. What makes Kharkov’s mansion unique is that it is not only decorated with chimeras but also with the heads of its creators—architect Pokrovsky and his assistant Velichko. In this original way, the Pokrovsky sisters honored their brother, the architect who designed the building, and his close collaborator. Interestingly, these modifications to the design were made at the sisters’ own initiative, without their brother’s knowledge. The sculptures of the architects—young Velichko on the right, depicted as a medieval scribe, and Pokrovsky wearing glasses on the left, portrayed as a professor-lecturer—are still visible from the second-floor balcony. Initially, Velichko held a stylus in his right hand to write in the book he held in his left; during the latest restoration, the stylus was broken, but resourceful students found a way to compensate for this: they regularly “feed” Velichko with a cigarette, placing it in the position of the missing writing tool. The top columns of the facade bear the sculptures of two humanoid creatures bent in posture; they were previously unnamed but are now called Gollums due to their striking resemblance to the fictional character from J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings.” For the students of the theater faculty, it has become a tradition to keep the nails on these Gollum “legs” well-groomed by regularly painting them. In addition to the chimeras, the facade is also decorated with ordinary-looking wolves, salamanders, and medieval coats of arms. Source: lifekharkov.com #kharkov #kharkovgo #1stolica_history