The 1811 Great fire of Podil ( uk, Велика пожежа, ) occurred on the morning of July 9, 1811 in the historical and commercial

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, ...

of Podil in

Kiev 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 ...

(''Kyiv''), 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 fire lasted for three days and almost destroyed the whole neighborhood. Before the fire, Podil was the city's most densely populated neighborhood; out of 3,672 households in the city, 2,068 were located in the Podil. It was speculated that the fire was set by French spies or by their local collaborators on the eve of the

French invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

. The fire's power was strengthened with high winds and the season's severe droughts, from which even the nearby

Dnieper River } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine and B ...

was reported to have been dried out. The city's official version of events regarding the cause of the fire, however, was said to be children playing with fire. More than 2,000 homes,

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 ...

buildings, 12 churches, and 3 monasteries were destroyed in the fire. However, some buildings were spared destruction, including the House of

Peter I Peter I may refer to: Religious hierarchs * Saint Peter (c. 1 AD – c. 64–88 AD), a.k.a. Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simon, apostle of Jesus * Pope Peter I of Alexandria (died 311), revered as a saint * Peter I of Armenia (died 1058), Catholico ...

. Smoke from the fire was reported to have been seen more than away. In response to the fire, the Director of the Kiev Myshkovsky Gymnasium No. 3 stated: In 1812, a new plan for the reconstruction of Podil was drawn up by architects Geste and Melensky. The plan had redrawn the neighborhood's curved streets into straightaways, thus creating the square city blocks that exist to this day. The fire showed the vulnerability of the city's wooden buildings, some of which would later be reconstructed in stone. Reconstruction after the fire brought about the construction of many architectural landmarks currently standing, including the

Contracts House The Contracts House ( uk, Контрактовий будинок) is a trade building in the Podil neighborhood of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. The Contracts House received its name because the city's contracts were signed there. It is located ...

and Gostnyi Dvir, among many others. Nevertheless, some streets remained in the shape they were in before the fire. These are Borychiv Tik, Pokrovska, Pritisko-Mykilska, per.Khoryva.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Great Fire Of Podil Great fire of Podil 19th century in Kyiv Disasters in the Russian Empire Great Fire Of Podil, 1811 Fires in Ukraine Urban fires in Europe July 1811 events 1811 disasters in the Russian Empire

See also

References