The Church of St. Nicholas (, translit.: ''Kostel Sviatoho Mykolaia''; ) is the second oldest

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church standing in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

, the capital of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, after the St. Alexander Roman Catholic Cathedral. Today the building is shared between the Catholic Church and the

National Organ and Chamber Music Hall of Ukraine The National Organ and Chamber Music Hall of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Національний будинок органної та камерної музики України) is a cultural institution in Kyiv, Ukraine. It is located at the St. Nich ...

. It was constructed in 1899–1909 and was built by the

Latin Catholic The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 ''sui iuris'' churches in full communion w ...

community in a Gothic type construction, by architects

Władysław Horodecki Władysław Horodecki (born Leszek Dezydery Horodecki; ; ; – January 3, 1930) was a Polish architect active in the Russian Empire and later in the Second Polish Republic. He is best known for his contributions in the urban development of Kyiv, ...

and Emilio Sala. It stands at vulytsia Velyka Vasylkivska (Greater

Vasylkiv Vasylkiv (, , ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Stuhna, Stuhna River in Obukhiv Raion, Kyiv Oblast, central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Vasylkiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. First mentioned in the 10th ce ...

street) in

Pecherskyi District Pecherskyi District () is an Urban districts of Ukraine, urban district of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. It lies within the eponymous historical neighborhood, while also including some other historical areas. The Pechersk (, ) neighborhood is lo ...

next to the

Kyiv National Linguistic University Kyiv National Linguistic University () is a public university located in Kyiv, Ukraine. It was founded in 1948 as Kyiv State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages. Kyiv National Linguistic University was ranked the fourth best Ukrainian un ...

between the

National Sports Complex Olimpiysky The Olympic Stadium (also known as Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex; , ) is a multi-use sports and recreation facility in Kyiv, Ukraine, located on the slopes of the city's central Cherepanova Hora (Cherepanov Hill), Pecherskyi District. T ...

and the railroad station Kyiv-Tovarnyi.

History

The church was constructed to accommodate the expanding Polish community, which more than doubled in size between 1897 and 1909. The building permission was obtained thanks to the efforts of Count Władysław Branicki. A design competition held in 1898 selected Stanisław Wołowski, whose entry was a Gothic type construction with two towers. The final revision and management of the project was assigned to the Polish architect

. Emilio Sala added sculptural decoration in artificial stone to the construction. To increase the stability of the construction on the uneven Kyiv ground, it was ensured by bore-and-stuffed piles, a newly introduced invention of

Anton Strauss Anton Strauss (1858, Kamianka - ?) was a mining engineer, inventor, partner of the famous architect Vladislav Gorodetsky, an entrepreneur, Kiev Yacht Club commodore, actual state councilor. Family Anton Strauss descended from a noble family ...

. The construction work was carried out by exclusively from voluntary donations, and lasted for ten years (1899–1909). In 1909, the church was

consecrate Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

d in the name of

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

, however the construction was not yet completed. A Gothic style three-story house was built for the parish clergy to the left of the church. In 1938,

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

authorities closed the church after its Roman Catholic

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

was "absent" for two years due to the Soviet persecution of Christians. For some time after its closure, the building was used by the punitive organs for technical purposes, and, at some point, served as a

KGB The Committee for State Security (, ), abbreviated as KGB (, ; ) was the main security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 to 1991. It was the direct successor of preceding Soviet secret police agencies including the Cheka, Joint State Polit ...

service building. After its restoration in 1979-1980, commissioned by the ''Rada of Ministers of the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

'', by the architects O. Grauzhis and I. Tukalevskiy, the church was turned into the National House of Organ and Chamber Music of Ukraine (; translit.: ''Natsional'nyi budynok orhannoyi ta kamernoi muzyky Ukrainy''). For the reconstruction and restoration of the severely damaged church, the building's

stained glass window Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

s were manufactured in the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

s, its furniture was created in

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, and the high-quality wood floors were produced in the

Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast (), also referred to as Ivano-Frankivshchyna () or simply Frankivshchyna, is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (region) in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Ivano-Frankivsk. It has a pop ...

. The company, ''

Rieger–Kloss Rieger–Kloss is a company specializing in the manufacturing of pipe organ. Its headquarters as well as the production facilities are located in Krnov, Czech Republic. History Rieger–Kloss date their establishment to 1873, by the Rieger b ...

'' then located in

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

(

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...

), manufactured an

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

for the church. Its manufacturer tried to architecturally tie the organ to the building itself. Since 1992, Catholic Masses and concerts have been held here. Bishop

Jan Purwinski Bishop Jan Purwinski or Yan Purvinskyi (; ; ; 19 November 1934 – 6 April 2021) was a Latvian-born Ukrainian Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Diocesan Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Kyiv-Zhytomyr, Kyiv–Zhytomyr since 16 January 199 ...

consecrated the church and a

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

was celebrated there on 4 January 1992. Currently, it belongs to the Kyivan Municipal Department for Culture, but the Latin Catholic The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 ''sui iuris'' churches in full communion w ...

History

References

External links