House of the Weeping Nymph
The House of the weeping nymphs
'' Vikroriya Rymshan: Таємниці Маріуполя: що сталося з особняком архітектора Нільсена ''
(English:"Secrets of Mariupol: What happened to the villa of the architect Nielsen?") is located near the city garden at 49 Semenichina Street in Mariupol
Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russian i ...
.
History
The house marks the family tragedy of the city architect Victor Nilsen
Victor Alexandrovich Nilsen (russian: Виктор Александрович Нильсен, born in 1871 in Saint Petersburg ; died in 1949 in Dushanbe) was an engineer, city architect of Mariupol from 1901 to 1917 and publicist and a deputy in ...
who designed and built the house for his family and in memory of his beloved daughter. He dedicated this building to his daughter, who died of typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
.
Architecture
The architecture of the house is influenced by the Vienna Secession and Art Nouveau. The house has a high roof, splendid stucco work and patterned cornices. A tower dominates one corner and has a face of a nymph
A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...
. The nymph's face is similar to the face of Nielsen's daughter, who died of typhus. When it rains, drops flow down the face like tears. It seems that the nymph is crying about Nielsen's family tragedy.
References
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Mariupol
