The National Bank of Ukraine building ( uk, Будівля Національного банку, Budivlia Natsionalnoho banku) serves as the headquarters for

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 ...

's national bank, located in the country's capital

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 building is located in the city's Pechersk district, which houses several other prominent Ukrainian government offices. It was originally built in 1905 for the Kiev (today Kyiv) branch of the State Bank of the Russian Empire on a draft of Imperial Russian architects Alexandr Kobelev.Building of the National Bank of Ukraine
National Bank of Ukraine.National Bank of Ukraine (Національний банк України)
Ukraina Incognita. In the design of the building, Russian architect Kobeliev expressed Russian Revival style Building itself resembles Basin house in St. Petersburg or Ingumov's House in Moscow. The new building was built right next to older which is kept as an auxiliary structure of the bank. The building is located in

Lypky Lypky ( uk, Липки) is a historic neighborhood of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv located in the administrative Pecherskyi District. The name has derived from a lime tree (Lypa). Lypky is the de facto government quarter of Ukraine hosting the buildin ...

neighborhood at Instytutska street, 9.

Description

The structure has a pink-grey color with marble columns and exquisite ornament.National Bank of Ukraine, Kyiv (Національний банк України, Київ)
IGotoWorld. To decorate the house with artificial stones and perform interior artwork was handed to the Italian sculptor Emilio Sala who previously worked with Władysław Horodecki. The structure's portico in front of the entrance includes a colonnade with a balcony. Ledges on each side (

avant-corps An ''avant-corps'' ( it, avancorpo or , plural , german: Risalit, pl, ryzalit), a French term literally meaning "fore-body", is a part of a building, such as a porch or pavilion, that juts out from the ''corps de logis'', often taller than othe ...

) with balconies and paired windows, small towers on corners, underline its symmetry and harmonious outlines. Windows of the first floor are separated by thin Corinthian columns. At the second floor to the top in the shape of a semicircle are paired gothic windows with elements of

rose window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...

. Windowsills of the second and fourth floors faced with stones of roughly polished surfaces and sculptural decorations in the forms of lion's heads. Special attention draw details of exterior design e.g. wide cornice with fragment made of majolica, solomonic columns with decorative towers, sculpture of

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (Ancient Greek: , ''gryps''; Classical Latin: ''grȳps'' or ''grȳpus''; Late Latin, Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a legendary creature with the body, tail ...

s (guardians of gold mines in antique mythology).

History

The history of the bank is traced to 1839 when in Kyiv was established a branch of the State Commerce Bank with the ongoing reform in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

when

assignation ruble The Assignation ruble (russian: ассигнационный рубль; ''assignatsionny rubl'') was the first paper currency of the Russian Empire. It was used from 1769 until 1849. The Assignation ruble had a parallel circulation with the silver ...

was being replaced for state credit notes. In 1841 for the bank was built an empire style (or broader neoclassical style) building (today is the older building). In 1860 in Russian Empire took place another reform when the State Commercial Bank was liquidated along with the State Loan Bank and in their place was formed the State Bank of Russian Empire. At the same time the Kyiv branch was grandfathered into the new entity. The original building that once belonged to the local Noble Assembly by the end of the nineteenth century required major expansion. There were some propositions to preserve the original building, yet at the end it was decided to build a new building. In 1900, the Petersburg State Bank (which controlled the Kyiv branch) under Sergei Witte—who was the Russian Empire's

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

at the time—initiated a competition for construction of a new building. The competition was won by architect Oleksandr Kobeliev, with groundbreaking beginning a few years later in 1902. Shortly after construction had started, architect Oleksandr Verbytskyi joined the project, responsible for the design of the front

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 ...

. The Italian sculptor Emilio Sala (who also worked on the nearby House with Chimaeras) was invited to create the interior decorations. The style is inspired by the palazzos of the Italian

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

. On August 1, 1905, the building was completed and the bank had moved in. The new building featured modern lighting, ventilation, and a centralized heating system. In 1934, when the capital of the

Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

was transferred from

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.State Bank of the USSR Gosbank (russian: Госбанк, Государственный банк СССР, ''Gosudarstvenny bank SSSR''—the State Bank of the USSR) was the central bank of the Soviet Union and the only bank in the entire country from 1922 to 1991. ...

. The building's original architect, Oleksandr Kobeliev, was responsible for the subsequent expansion, which was completed without disrupting the bank's operation.

Gallery

File:Національний банк України панорама.jpg, Panorama of the building's façade, designed by Verbytskyi. File:Національний банк2.jpg, Second floor Gothic windows with elements of

s. File:Національний банк України-деталь.JPG, Close-up of the building's decorative gargoyles. File:Національний банк України Киев.jpg, View on a winter night, 2009, File:Pechersk 28 09 13 293.JPG, Plaque indicating the building is a landmark of architecture.

Notes

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in Kyiv Government buildings completed in 1905 Government buildings in Ukraine Gothic Revival architecture in Ukraine Bank buildings in Ukraine Pecherskyi District 1905 establishments in the Russian Empire