Lutheran 23 house of the weeping widow. Kyiv

The main feature of this two-story building is the sad female face sculpted on the facade. When it rains, drops flow down the stone cheeks of the inconsolable beauty and it seems that she is crying. It is because of this bas-relief that the house received its name. However, who is depicted on the bas-relief and why the “widow” is crying still remains a mystery to the city’s historians.

The Story of the Weeping Widow's House

This Art Nouveau mansion was built in 1907 by order of the Poltava merchant of the 2nd guild Sergei Arshavsky. The architect was Eduard Petrovich Bradtman, who built many houses in Kyiv, among them the building of the Solovtsov Theater, now the theater named after. Ivan Frank, in which all Russian and foreign celebrities toured until 1917. After construction was completed, Arshavsky rented out the entire second floor of the mansion to pay off his debts. Arshavsky lived in the mansion with his wife and four children until 1913. In August 1913, he sold it to the famous Kyiv merchant of the first guild, Tevye Apstein.

In 1918, the mansion was nationalized, it housed the Federation of Foreign Groups under the Central Committee of the RCP (b), the Special Department of the 12th Army, the trade union of the South-Western Railway, and from the post-war period to the present day - government structures.

Each of the four facades of the building has its own solution. The two front facades, which overlook the intersection of Bankova and Lutheranskaya streets, are finished with labradorite, gray granite, rusticated artificial stone blocks, brick moldings, olive ceramic tiles, yellow brick of complex masonry and forged metal. Above one of the balconies of the main facade there is a carved monogram of the former owner of the mansion - SA (Sergei Arshavsky). To the right of the main entrance to the mansion is an exquisite wrought iron gate with a geometric pattern.

There are buildings and architectural landmarks that attract with their appearance, but in reality turn out to be “dummy” with no interesting legend or history. There are buildings that you will pass by and not notice, but once you dive a little into its history, every stone in this building immediately comes to life and takes you on a long journey. And there are architectural pearls that attract the gaze of passers-by and carry them away into the whirlpool of their secrets, mysteries and history. This is exactly what the House of the Weeping Widow in Kyiv is like. The Art Nouveau facade, crowned with an unusual sculpture of a woman, the legends that surround the appearance of this female mask on the building and even the history of the mansion itself are worthy of devoting enough time to it.

How did the story of the “crying widow” begin?

The Arshavsky Mansion was exactly what it was called, and even today this house is called not far from the Mariinsky Palace. Once in its place there was a small one-story dilapidated house, which was bought by the merchant Sergei Arshavsky. In its place in 1907, a two-story mansion appeared for the merchant and his family. At that time it was not yet called the House of the “Weeping Widow”, but was called “Arshavsky’s Mansion”, as evidenced to this day by the merchant’s initials on the façade: AS. True, it so happened that immediately after the completion of construction, the merchant’s family was forced to live on the first floor and give the second floor for rent, because all the money was spent on the construction of the building.

After complete ruin in August 1913, the mansion was sold to the merchant Tovius Epstein and his wife. It was his wife Grunya who was the only widow whom the mansion saw. She outlived her beloved husband by 5 years. And it is with Grunya that the legend that attracts tourists to the House of the Weeping Widow in Kyiv is connected. It talks about the great suffering of Grunya, who found a way to see her late husband. To do this, she put on a special mask brought from an Indian temple. At the moment when the mask was on the widow, the “third eye” lit up in the middle of the forehead, which illuminated the darkness and the spirit of her husband appeared before Grunya. When the widow became ill and could not get up, she ordered a mask to be created so that the visiting spirit of her husband could see the appearance and think that it was his beloved. After death, Grunya's heart was walled up in the same mask.

This legend has enveloped the mansion so tightly that the mascaron in the form of a woman’s face today is more than just an original solution by the architect. By the way, the building was built according to the design of the architect Eduard Bradtman.

House of the Weeping Widow- illusion or mysticism?

In addition to the legend that is firmly associated with the mansion, there are others. Some say that V. Gorodetsky built the estate for his sister, who did not find personal happiness. Other stories tell of a duchess and a sailor in love who hid within the walls of the house. Ever since the Duchess's loved ones and children died at sea, the crying mask has been a reminder of her suffering.

But such mysterious explanations for the unusual mascaron are not the only ones available. During the research, several historical images were compared with the image on the facade of the estate. Some attributed to him the image of the Gorgon Medusa, others to the Alkonost bird from Vasnetsov’s painting, because wings are clearly visible behind the woman’s face. But the most plausible was the comparison of the mascarons with the mythical image of Gamayun, also depicted by Vasnetsov in 1897. This is the image of a bird that knows everything, which revealed knowledge of the future only to those who have the gift of seeing it.

It would seem that what is special about this mascaron, because there are also houses with chimeras, why is the widow so interested not only in tourists, but also in specialists from various fields? To understand this, it is enough to see the House of the Weeping Widow in Kyiv during the rain. Even people with a complete lack of imagination will be able to see tears running down her face. What is this illusion? Magic? Or just a well-designed rainwater collection and drainage system?

Luxurious architecture and famous guests of the mansion

Whatever mysterious secrets and legends surrounded the estate, its architectural style remains no less attractive to everyone. The building is designed in Art Nouveau style, as evidenced by strict lines softened by certain finishing made from various materials. The facade, made of yellow brick, is perfectly complemented by forged products, stucco, as well as granite and tiles. Above the main line of the facade one can see the much-talked-about mascaron of a woman’s face, which only emphasizes the Art Nouveau style. The main staircase is made of marble, which cannot go unnoticed. On each floor there were rooms, a kitchen and a buffet. In the basement there was a wine cellar and a laundry room.

Since 1994, the walls of the “hospitable widow” have been visited by many famous people, including Condoleezza Rice, Madeleine Albright, and ex-President Leonid Kuchma was a frequent guest in the billiard room of this house.

This is just a grain of interesting facts, secrets and mysteries that the House of the Weeping Widow keeps. Kyiv is full of amazing sights that can reveal a lot of unknown things to you. Scrolling to the bottom of the page, you will find a unique product that will immerse you in the history of the mysterious house - this is an audio guide. The free version contains some basic information. If you want to find out what is not available on the pages of books and Internet portals, then the paid version is waiting for you. With an audio guide, you will truly enjoy traveling through clues and interesting facts about the creation and history of the estate. And unique photographs of the attraction, which are a bonus to the paid version of the audio guide, will help invigorate your imagination. A guide in your pocket is not only convenient, but also very exciting!

The mysterious and beautiful “House of the Weeping Widow” (it is also often called the “House of the Inconsolable Widow”) is located in the very center. It is not known exactly why the house received such a poetic name, but a woman’s mask can be seen on the facade. When it rains in the capital, tears flow from the woman’s stone eyes.

History of the house

Previously, on the corner of Lutheranskaya (Grafskaya) and Bankova streets there was a wooden one-story estate, which was acquired by college adviser Andrei Gerbanevsky in 1882. In addition to the house, on the territory there was a small garden with a fountain, a stable, and a carriage house. In 1902, this house was inherited by Lev Gerbanevsky, a landowner from Piryatinsky district.

In 1905, this one-story house, along with the surrounding territory, was bought by the Poltava merchant Alexander Arshavsky. It was thanks to him that a luxurious house appeared on the site of a small house, which was later called the Arshavsky mansion.

Immediately after the deal, Arshavsky ordered the design of a new house to be developed by the Kyiv architect Eduard-Ferdinand Bradtman. In order to immortalize his name in the history of the capital, Alexander Arshavsky decided to leave behind a masterpiece of architecture, so he did not skimp and threw away a lot of money on work and materials. Two garages for cars, rooms for servants, 2 cellars were also built, and all this luxury was decorated with a large garden.

Construction began in 1907, and already in 1908 a two-story mansion in the Art Nouveau style stood on Grafskaya. However, Arshavsky spent a huge amount of money on the construction of all this luxury, so he was forced to rent out the second floor to V. Slatvinsky. However, when the mansion became too expensive to hold, Alexander Arshavsky sold it to the wealthy merchant Tevye Apstein in 1913. After 4 years, the merchant dies, and his widow, Trunya Iosifovna, lived with her family in this mansion for another 2 years. Who knows, but perhaps she missed her husband so much that the mansion began to be called the “House of the Inconsolable Widow.”

In 1918, the “House of the Weeping Widow” in Kyiv was nationalized and then closed for reconstruction. Various organizations have been located here for decades. However, since 1994, the former Arshavsky mansion has become the official residence of the President of Ukraine. Today foreign delegations and guests of the head of state stay here. The entrance is closed to ordinary visitors, but the opportunity remains to admire the architectural masterpiece from the outside.

How to get there

“The House of the Weeping Widow” is located on Lutheranskaya Street, 23. The nearest metro station is “Khreshchatyk”. You need to walk along Gorodetsky Street, through Ivan Franko Square to Bankova Street, where there is another architectural masterpiece -. Then go to the intersection of Bankova and Lutheranskaya streets, where the “House of the Inconsolable Widow” is located.

The House of the Weeping Widow - a mansion in the Art Nouveau style - was built in 1907 with the money of the Poltava merchant Sergei Arshavsky, according to the design of the architect Eduard-Ferdinand Bradtman.

The legend of the weeping widow was invented by Kyiv tour guides to attract tourists. They say that the widow of the last owner Tevye Apstein, merchant Trunya Apstein, lived in the house and wept bitterly. If this is true, then she did not cry in this house for long. All of the Apsteins' real estate was nationalized by the Bolsheviks six months after the death of the head of the family.

And all the widow's fuss is because of the plaster head of the Gorgon Medusa, which adorns the façade of the building. When it rains, like many other monuments, it “cries” and characteristic marks remain on its cheeks. But “The House of the Weeping Jellyfish” does not sound very romantic, and someone invented a legend about an inconsolable widow.

In the first years of Soviet power, the house alternately housed the Federation of Foreign Groups, a special department of the 12th Army and the board of the railway workers' trade union. In the 50-60s, the then first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine and the future chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR N.V. Podgorny lived there.

Currently, the building is on the balance sheet of the Administration of the President of Ukraine.

There is a lot of mystery and mystery in Kyiv. This also applies to metropolitan architecture. We are exploring the mansion of Podol entrepreneur Sergei Arshavsky, built on Lyuteranskaya Street. The people of Kiev call it “The House of the Weeping Widow.”

Perhaps this building does not need any special introduction - the House of the Weeping Widow is one of the top ten most famous Kyiv houses, appears in all guidebooks, and is one of the leaders in the number of legends. And yet, the real history of the Weeping House is not only unknown, but as if lost behind the haze of romantic legends and city gossip.

Rich and noble townspeople willingly settled on Lipki, near the Tsar's Palace and the residences of the region's highest dignitaries. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, numerous mansions appeared there, belonging to local sugar refiners and other successful entrepreneurs.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Kyiv, immersed in greenery, amazed with its beauty, and Lutheranskaya Street (original name - Grafskaya), the most picturesque, located among vineyards and mulberry trees, gave a feeling of privacy; the Kiev elite loved to stroll here. In 1905, Poltava merchant of the 2nd guild Sergei Arshavsky bought a one-story wooden house on this street from second lieutenant Lev Gerbanevsky and commissioned the design of a new house from Kyiv city architect Eduard Petrovich Bradtman, a talented architect known for his unconventional approaches to work and European taste.

Apparently, the house was originally planned as a family nest. At least the merchant of the second guild proudly placed his monogram on the facade (the intertwined letters AS - Sergei Arshavsky).

The architectural style of the house traces the combination of innovative, even avant-garde ideas and elements of ancient buildings from past eras, which was popular at the beginning of the 20th century. In this case - the Renaissance, it was precisely such houses - austere and beautiful in the old days that were called "kamenitsa" ...
Its unusual appearance, complex silhouette, and intricate architectural details serve as an excellent example of the Art Nouveau style. The facades of the mansion are finished with a variety of materials: granite, concrete, forged metal, brick or ceramic tiles similar to brickwork. The permanent fence of the site forms an inextricable whole with the house.

But the main mystery of the house is the large stone bas-relief installed on the pediment of the front facade. The bas-relief depicts a sad female face, crowned with a wreath of maple leaves. In rainy weather, drops flow from these leaves along the stone cheeks of the inconsolable beauty, and it seems that she is crying... The people of Kiev call the woman on the bas-relief the “Weeping Widow”
But why is she "crying"? Why "widow"? The most interesting thing is that the owner of the mysterious face on the bas-relief and the reason for her tears remain a mystery to historians.

It goes without saying that the history of the building is legendary.
One of them says that there is a tank installed on the roof of the house, which during rain is filled with water and through the gutters connected to the beauty’s eyes, it flows in streams from the eyes onto the cheeks and it seems that the beauty is crying.
This looks amazing! The process itself evokes romantic feelings in many!
Another version is that a couple in love, the captain and the duchess, were hiding in the house, but a tragedy happened: the lover and the duchess’s children died at sea and her inconsolable face, bathed in tears, was immortalized on a bas-relief. There is also a version that after Apstein’s death, his wife lived in the house for 5 years; they said that she was very sad and mourned her husband.

In fact, documents and memoirs of contemporaries contain reliable information about both the customer and the builder of the mansion on Lutheranskaya, 23. It is known that its owner was a businessman, Poltava merchant of the 2nd guild Sergei Arshavsky.
The customer, apparently, was a “new type of businessman.” The house was conceived as a perfect work of art, designed in the same style outside and inside. So, the same mysterious “medieval” style was present in the interior decoration - oak panels, elegant stucco, and, of course, a black granite staircase.

According to all the laws of merchant chic, the mansion had to correspond to the latest trends of progress. The house had water heating, running water, and a telephone. There were wood and coal warehouses, as well as a two-story servants' house.
Also on the territory there were two car garages and a room for the driver. Each floor was an independent apartment with ten rooms and all kinds of amenities - kitchen, pantry, ice room (refrigeration room), laundry, wine cellar...

From generation to generation, they retell that in the courtyard of the “House of the Weeping Widow” there was a carriage in which Arshavsky left guests who had been partying until late to spend the night; they provided bed linen and served tea in it, and sometimes even rocked it, imitating the movement of a train.

Luxury real estate cost the merchant-builder truly exorbitant prices! At first he took out considerable loans, which were still barely enough, and later he even mortgaged the property. As a result, finding himself on the verge of ruin, S. Arshavsky was forced to sell his dream to the wealthy industrialist Tevye Apstein, the owner of a large metal products trading company, Apstein and Sons. It is curious that the new owner of the building, most likely, was not embarrassed by other people’s initials on the wall: the eldest sons, companions and heirs of the merchant Apstein were called Solomon and Samuel.

The “House of the Weeping Widow” belonged to the Apstein family until the revolution.
So, the design of the mansion on Lutheranskaya is not connected with any “crying widow”. What then does a spectacular mascaron symbolize?

For some reason it is believed that this is an image of Medusa the Gorgon. This refers to the Gorgon Medusa from the famous myth of Perseus.
But it is difficult to agree with this - if only because in artistic depictions of Medusa her snake-like hair always catches the eye. The “crying widow” has nothing like this to be seen.

Gorgon Medusa. Sculptor L. Bernini. 17th century

Meanwhile, it is not difficult to see that the mascaron on the façade of the mansion is not just a portrait of a woman. Here is a winged creature, whose outstretched wings are clearly visible behind. A bird with a woman's face? Well, such images can be found in art. Let's remember the birds of paradise from Slavic mythology. In 1896, artist Viktor Vasnetsov painted the painting “Sirin and Alkonost. A song of joy and sorrow." On the right is the bright bird Sirin, radiant with happiness. On the left is the dark bird Alkonost, wearing a heavy golden crown. She has the head of a beautiful woman, from whose eyes tears flow.

Alkonost. Fragment of the painting “Sirin and Alkonost. A song of joy and sorrow." Artist V. Vasnetsov. 1896

Isn't this an analogy with the “weeping widow”? But no, Sirin and Alkonost are singing birds, and the mascaron has closed lips.
However, the same Vasnetsov in 1897 presented another similar mythological image on canvas - Gamayun. This is an omniscient bird that can reveal the secrets of the future, but only to those who are able to perceive them.

Gamayun, the prophetic bird. Artist V. Vasnetsov. 1897

Vasnetsov’s painting “Gamayun, the Prophetic Bird” made a strong impression on the poet Alexander Blok. In 1899 he wrote a poem of the same name:
On the surface of endless waters,
Sunset in purple,
She speaks and sings
Unable to lift the troubled ones with wings...
The yoke of the evil Tatars is broadcast,
Broadcasts a series of bloody executions,
And coward, and hunger, and fire,
The strength of the villains, the death of the right...
Embraced by eternal horror,
The beautiful face burns with love,
But things ring true
Mouths clotted with blood!..
The relief on the facade of the mansion is really close to the image of things of the Gamayun bird, so popular in the era of fascination with symbolism and Art Nouveau. Deep, penetrating gaze. Sadness is the constant companion of “much knowledge.” And one more characteristic detail: the woman’s face is crowned with chestnut leaves, which radiate from one point in the forehead. Architect Elena Sidorova points to this point as “the place of the “third eye,” that is, the “ajna” chakra, which gives the ability to foresee the future.” Let us note that the concept of the eyebrow chakra, associated with clairvoyance, drawn from Hinduism, was known at the time of the construction of the house on Lutheranskaya from the then fashionable esoteric teachings of Helena Blavatsky.

There is a legend that this characteristic detail was made according to a sketch by M. Vrubel. So far this legend has been neither confirmed nor refuted. However, the thin “Vrubel” face surrounded by old branches really gives the building a touch of some decadent tragedy.

This impression is intensified after the rain, when streams of “tears” flow down the cement face. It’s not for nothing that the House of the Weeping Widow is also called the “black pearl of Lime”, although perhaps this is due to the black granite and labradorite with which the building is decorated...

Whatever the interpretation of the unusual mascaron, now we still don’t know to whom and in what connection the idea to crown the house with such an image belonged - to the homeowner, the architect or the sculptor unknown to us who participated in the design of the mansion. But the beautiful female face turned out to be in complete harmony with the architectural design, the author of which was the talented Kiev architect Eduard Bradtman.

But time passed...
A luxurious mansion, along with all the Lipki, was carried into the abyss of revolutionary vicissitudes. In a short period of time, the house was visited by a federation of Comintern groups, a special department, a military headquarters, a trade union of railway workers...
In the new classless state, a class of party officials was confidently forming, and they soon set their eyes on the house. Well, the “selfless servants of the people” could not pass by the architectural pearl with all the amenities! Since then, the mansion has been firmly registered in the special fund of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine.

However, since the 50s, no one lived there permanently. The mansion was mainly used as a residence for distinguished guests and a recreation area for dear party comrades. There are still vague legends about a mysterious sauna with a massage parlor in the basement...
Today, the mansion with a cozy small courtyard, surrounded by greenery of trees and fir trees, with a charming pond and a small fountain, was “inherited” by the Presidential Administration. Guests are welcomed here again. But the trailer is no longer there. The restored “House of the Weeping Widow” is the official residence of the President of Ukraine, where the most senior foreign guests stay.

Maybe it’s for the better, in the current circumstances - it certainly won’t be demolished, and it will amaze tourists and even native Kiev residents for a long time with its stunning architecture, legends and mysteries.

Photos taken from the Internet