House of the weeping widow description and photo - Ukraine: Kiev (Topic)

House of the weeping widow description and photo - Ukraine: Kiev. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photos and a map showing the nearest significant objects.

Photo and description

The House of the Crying Widow got its name thanks to the sad woman's face sculpted on the facade. When it starts to rain, drops begin to flow down the cheeks of the bas-relief in such a way that it creates the impression of inconsolable sobs. However, it is still not known exactly who was depicted on the bas-relief. Experts also disagree on whether the "crying" effect was specifically conceived by the creators of the house, or if it was just a kind of interesting side effect.

The mansion was built in 1907 in the then popular Art Nouveau style. The customer of the house was the Poltava merchant Sergei Arshavsky, the architect was the famous specialist Eduard Bradtman, who by that time had built up a significant part of Kiev with houses. So, the most famous creation of the architect was the Solovtsov Theater, which now bears the name of Ivan Frank (it was in this theater that virtually all tours of Russian and foreign troupes took place until 1917). At the end of construction, to pay off debts, the second floor of the house was leased. The customer himself lived in this house until 1913, when he resold it to another merchant, Tevye Apstein. During the revolution, the mansion was nationalized and given to various organizations. Now the house houses government structures.

The House of the Weeping Widow was designed in such a way that each of its facades is different. The front facades of the house are finished with gray granite, labradorite, artificial stone, ceramic tiles, stucco decorations, intricate brickwork and wrought metal. On one balcony you can see the carved monogram of the first owner of the house - SA (Sergei Arshavsky).

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Topic: House of the weeping widow description and photo - Ukraine: Kiev.