The House of the Weeping Widow ( uk, Дім невтішної вдови, Дім вдови, що плаче) is an architectural landmark in the city of

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 ...

, 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 ...

, located at 23

Lyuteranska Street Vulytsya Lyuteranska or Lutheran Street ( uk, Вулиця Лютеранська) is a street located in the Lypky Subdivisions of Kyiv, neighborhood of the Pecherskyi District, Pechersk District in central Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. One of th ...

History

Constructed in 1907 in the early

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

style by architect Eduard Bradtman, it was commissioned by Serhiy Arshavsky, a wealthy merchant from

Poltava Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administratively ...

, who occupied it before the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolsheviks, Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was ...

. The building kept its first owner's name long afterwards, and even today is sometimes referred to as the ''Serhiy Arshavskyi Building''. Following the revolution it was occupied by the International Group Federation of the Central Committee of

Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik) The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),; abbreviated in Russian as or also known by #Name, various other names during its history, was the founding and ruling party of the Soviet Union. The CPSU was the One-party state, sole governing ...

. Currently it is one of the

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

's official residences, used to house state visitors, among them: U.S. Secretaries of State

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...

and

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...

, and the Presidents of

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. The building earned its nickname because when it rains water pours over the woman's face on the facade, running down her cheeks like tears.

References

{{Presidency of Ukraine Houses completed in 1907 Art Nouveau architecture in Kyiv Buildings and structures in Kyiv Official residences in Ukraine Government buildings in Ukraine Art Nouveau houses Houses in Ukraine Pecherskyi District