The Contracts House ( uk, Контрактовий будинок) is a trade building in the Podil

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, the capital of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. The Contracts House received its name because the city's

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

s were signed there. It is located on the Kontraktova Square, once one of the Podil's main trading centers. The building is considered one of the important

Classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the works of the Roman architect V ...

constructions of the city.

History

After a large fire destroyed part of the Podil in 1811, the first Contracts House in the neighborhood burnt down. A new replacement building was constructed in 1815-1817 in the Classical style according to a plan made by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

architect V. Geste, supervised by architect

Andrey Melensky Andrey Ivanovich Melensky (russian: Андрей Иванович Меленский; 1766–1833) was a Russian Imperial Neoclassical architect from MoscowМ. М. Жербин. Украинские и зарубежные строители: кр� ...

. The Contracts House was envisioned as part of an ''ensemble'', which would include the post office, the

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

's quarters, and the building itself. However, only the Contracts House was constructed. The front and western

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

s of the building features

Doric order The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...

columns, and the eastern—

Ionic order The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...

columns located on a

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

. The front façade is topped off with a triangular pediment. The building has a total of two floors, with the second floor used as a

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention centres that may ...

, containing a row of

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

s. All rooms in the building were done without any special decoration, with the exception of rooms on the upper floor, which were decorated on the order of Melensky. Since the time of its construction, the interior plan of the building has changed. Although built as a contracts house, the building was not entirely used for this purpose; it was sometimes used as a

. Famous personalities visited or used the Contracts House: writers

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...

, and Honoré de Balzac, poets

Taras Shevchenko Taras Hryhorovych Shevchenko ( uk, Тарас Григорович Шевченко , pronounced without the middle name; – ), also known as Kobzar Taras, or simply Kobzar (a kobzar is a bard in Ukrainian culture), was a Ukraine, Ukrainian p ...

, Adam Mickiewicz, and Denis Davydov. After 1917, Trading Academy and Trade Museum were located in the premises of the Contracts House, and later - various technical schools. When interior furniture was renovated, the furniture for the building was developed by an architect I. Karakis. Since the mid-1990s Ukrainian Interbank Currency Exchange is operating in the Contracts House, organized with a great contribution made by famous Ukrainian economist

Vadym Hetman Vadym Petrovych Hetman ( uk, Вадим Петрович Гетьман; 12 July 1935 – 22 April 1998) was a Ukrainian statesman, politician, and banker. He is credited with the creation of the National Bank of Ukraine, Ukraine's central ban ...

References

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Bibliography

* {{coord, 50.465311, N, 30.517603, E, type:landmark_region:UA, display=title Buildings and structures in Kyiv Commercial buildings completed in 1817 Neoclassical architecture in Kyiv