The building of the National Bank of Ukraine at 9A Instytutska Street is one of the first monumental banking buildings in the country. The building is characterized by the high quality of architectural plasticity, richness of forms and textures, and artistic solution.
History
The building of the modern National Bank of Ukraine has an interesting history. Back in 1839, a two-story building was built nearby, where the Kyiv office of the State Commercial Bank operated. In 1902, the foundation for a new building was laid nearby, and in 1905 it was opened. The impressive bank building was designed by civilian architects Oleksandr Kobelev and Oleksandr Verbytskyi. As an old photo shows, the original building had two floors, but in 1934, architect Valerian Rykov added two more floors to keep up with the country's economic growth.
Architecture
The National Bank building is considered to be one of the best in the twentieth century for its high artistic features. The building is brick with a large 720-square-meter operating room in the center. The main façade is designed in the early Renaissance style with elements of Gothic and Romanesque. On both sides are passageways with decorative wrought-iron lattices. The interiors are decorated in the same stylistic vein, with widespread use of stucco in the form of Renaissance Gothic ornaments, colored stained-glass windows with exquisite floral designs in the transoms of Gothic windows, and so on.
However, the most striking thing is the facade of the building, which looks more like a Venetian palazzo. It is lined with artificial stone imitating diorite and sandstone, and the columns are made of labradorite. The building is decorated with rich stucco moldings made by the Italian sculptor Elio Sala. In particular, here you can see images of lions, which symbolized the guarantee of the safety of deposits. In Greek mythology, the griffins that support the turrets are guardians of treasures.
Interesting things
In the old days, in summer, the bank used to smell like roses, and all because the ventilation shaft overlooked the courtyard, where there was a rose garden.
