The complex of buildings at 60 Olesya Honchara Street, also known as “The Doctor's Castle”, is an exceptional phenomenon for the ordinary development of Kiev of the early twentieth century. It is one of the most interesting houses not only in the street, but also in this part of Kyiv. The mansion is an architectural monument.
History
The plot of land on a steep terrain was acquired in 1904 by a doctor and professor of Kyiv University Mikhail Lapinsky. What is he famous for? Having undergone training in French and German clinics, Lapinsky laid the foundation for the creation of the Kyiv neurological school, playing a significant role in the development of this branch of medicine. On a neighboring street, Lapinsky purchased a building and opened a water sanatorium for 75 beds, introducing the method of hydraulic massage.
In 1908-1909 the new owner built a multi-storey profitable house with the features of a romantic Gothic castle on the acquired plot of land. Until 1912, this building was the tallest residential structure in Kiev - the height of the seven-storey building is more than 30 meters. In 1918-1920s Simon Petliura, a military, political and statesman, lived in apartment No. 3. With the arrival of the Bolsheviks, the doctor and his wife emigrated to Austria-Hungary, and the building was nationalized.
Architecture
The volumetric and spatial composition of the building is inspired by the images of medieval fortress architecture in the Gothic style. It is a detailed and closed architectural ensemble consisting of a house with a bridge at the second floor level. The space in front of the house is built up with one-story services (former icehouse, laundry, barns), the roof of which served as a courtyard-garden for the inhabitants of the house. From the street to the house, because of the large height difference, there are stone steps leading up to the house, surrounding the former janitor's office with a round watchtower. All small architectural forms of the complex (retaining walls and parapets) are made of yellow Kyiv bricks. Today the decorative finish of the facades and interiors of all structures has significant losses.
