Real Estate Articles - Page 8

The origin of the name Dmytrivska Street. The history of the street

Dmytrivska Street: from “tramp” shop to cinema “Komunar” Having appeared under the name of Dmytrivska, the street, which starts from Pobeda Square, was successfully preserving its name till 1939 and then the name was returned again in 1993. It is supposed that the street was named in honour of a merchant A. Dmytriyev, who supplied Moscow with cereals, walnuts and apples from Kyiv, and also fabric, jewelry, weapon and other goods purchased in European countries in the second half of XVII century. The merchant dwelled exactly in the area where Dmytrivska Street is situated. But during the period from 1939 to 1993 the street was called after Vyacheslav Rudolfovych Menzhynskyi, a Soviet party and statesman. It is noteworthy that at the time of German occupation (1941-1943) the street was named after a Ukrainian writer Vasyl Stefanyk. Tramcar MTV-82 in Menzhynskogo (Dmytrivska) Street. 1960-ies Intersection of Menzhynskogo (Dmytrivska) and Pavlovska Streets. 1970-ies XX century The street starts from former Galytska Square. In the past there was situated a market of the same name and later it was called a Jewish one (at the pre-revolutionary times this district was identified by authorities as one of the places of a dense Jewish settlement), or in short Yevbaz (Eng. Jewish market). Now the Kyiv circus is situated at this place. The street ends on Lukyanivska Square. Till 50-ies of the last century a very fine building with a mansard in the style of the Venetian Renaissance was situated here. On the ground floor there were a commission shop (shop where second-hand goods are sold on commission) and a chemist’s shop with a French title “Pharmacie”. In the past the so called “Iron Church” (the church of John Chrysostom) was situated here; it went through the fire in 1884, however, in 1934 when Kyiv started to be the capital of Ukraine, it was pulled down like many other churches at that time. At the intersection with Pavlivska Street there was situated a sausage department of Сarl Bullion’s factory. At that place on the patch there were famous butcher’s, greengrocer’s and fish shops. In May, 1916 in the heat of the First World War the small Theatre of Miniatures was opened on the ground floor of the building at 1 Dmytrivska Street, belonged to colonel’s wife Vera Kolyadko. And after 1918 there was a cinema here, which was re-equipped as a grocery store, named by people as a “tramp” one. This shop existed till 70-ies. Nowadays a joint-stock company “Kyi Avia” is situated here. At the post-war times there were refuges for thieves and their showdowns in basements of buildings located in this area…Once the police organized a round-up here. But having entered a basement, the policemen themselves were trapped: bandits got out through a hatch, coming out to one of apartments on the ground floor, and then closed the entrance to the basement with a huge padlock from the outside. Today in the courtyards in Dmytrivska Street pensioners play dominoes under shady nut wood trees. By tram to “Komunar” Passing a post office building at the intersection with Poltavska Street, a tram was approaching to the cinema “Komunar”. Saving 3 kopecks on a tram ticket, dozens of children from the nearest districts were hurrying here to watch children films for 10 kopecks every Sunday. Because of saved kopecks, before the movie they could buy not a watery milk ice-cream for 9 kopecks, but a tasty so called plombir ice-cream with cream roses in a cone or a choc-ice in a shining silver foil. Nowadays a cinema “Kyivan Rus” (Artema Street) is situated at the place of the loved by children “Komunar” cinema. But that old cinema is remembered with nostalgia, there supporting columns prevented from watching a film in a big hall and shielded the screen, and there was no rise of the floor in a small hall, and seats were situated diagonally, but not one by one. Based on the materials of the book “Forgotten Pages of Kyiv life” written by Vitaliy Bakanov

The Opening of the Palace of Sports (Ukr. Palats Sportu) – one of the best sport buildings in Ukraine

Opened in 1960 and designed by architects M.T. Grechyna and O.I. Zavarov, the Kyiv Palace of Sports (Ukr. Kyivskyi Palats Sportu) became immediately one of the best sport buildings in Ukraine. Well-situated in the city center , it started to be the place where sport events of the highest level took place – there were held not only championships of the USSR, but also important international hockey, basketball, gymnastics, wrestling, box contests. In the course of time city authorities successfully started to use the Palace for other purposes. Depending on the type of an entertainment event, its tribunes seat from 8, 2 to 11, 7 thousand people, and that means a great profit on ticket sale. Here they started to organize concerts, public and political events, exhibitions and to show films and etc. For instance, a Kyiv première of a comedy “Caucasian captive”, filmed by L. Gayday, took place exactly in the Palace of Sports. At the end of 60-ies, a Yugoslavian singer Đorđe Marjanović won the Kyiv audience (especially female one) by his uncommon performances, singing on this stage. There was not an inch of room at his concerts! It was interesting to know that afterwards Marjanović married a Kyiv woman. In the 70-ies on the stage of the Palace of Sports there was hold annually a popular at that time variety show “Friends’ Melody” with the participation of singers of socialistic countries. Since that time there were singing all the time on the stage of the Palace of Sports! And having carried successfully the anniversary of the international song contest “Eurovision” it was totally incomprehensible, why the Palace is still called sports one. Today there is still a hope that numerous sanitary engineering exhibitions and building materials fairs give some space and Ukrainian sportsmen will be able to come back here. Based on the materials of the book “Forgotten pages of Kyiv life” written by Vitaliy Bakanov Real estate agency “Teren Plus” offers apartments for daily and long-term rent not far from the Palace of Sports. 12B, Saksagans`kogo St 29, Chervonoarmiis`ka St

Sagaydachnogo Street – the street without a single tree

In 1955 this street was identified for the first time in its present boundaries; it became a separate one and was named in honor of A.O. Zhdanov – the Soviet party and statesman. Today Sagaydachnogo Street connects Poshtova Square with Kontraktova. Starting from the XVIII century it was sequentially called Mostova, Velyka Mostova, Oleksandrivska, Revolyutsii, Kirova, Zhdanova, and, finally, Sagaydachnogo. It would be interesting to know that it also included present-day Grushevskogo Street and Volodymyrskyi Uzviz. The street acquired straightness and empire style of buildings according to the plan of an architect Heste after the fire in 1811, and meanwhile, of course, lost its primordial lightness and beauty, but preserved the character – there were always major sales offices. The street starts with Poshtova Square, where one can see the restored Church of the Nativity. It was built in 1810-1814 years according to the project of A. Melenskyi and destroyed by Bolsheviks in 1935.The church was pulled down in spite of the fact that it was the place where was read the burial service for Taras Shevchenko, a great Ukrainian son and poet-revolutionary, from the 6th to the 8th of May in 1861. So it is more symbolic that today it is rebuilt again! Today Sagaydachnogo Street is one of the major highways of Podol which is considered to be a tourist center of the capital of Ukraine. In 1989 it was renamed in honor of a national hero of Ukraine, hetman Petro Konashevych Sagaydachnyi, who was a proponent of Orthodoxy and Ukrainian culture. In 1620 he became famous for the victory of the Cossack troops over the Turkish-Tatar army near Khotyn … The status of the Bratska School was strengthened under his patronage. In 1622 Sagaydachnyi died and was buried in the courtyard of the Bratskyi monastery (the tomb did not remain). Nowadays at the end of the street one can see a bronze picture of the hetman and his coat of arms, made by the sculptor A. Kusch. The type of the street is also considered to be commercial, merchant and progressive because of the fact that in 1896 there appeared an electric tram for the first time in the Russian Empire, which connected the city center with Podol. In 1977 this historic tramline was dismantled. In 1904 there was built a funicular that connected the upper part of the city with Poshtova Square. The street acquired its present architectural image in the course of the development in 30-40ies of the XIX century. Modern architects supplemented this eclecticism and built a bank building in the contemporary style near the entrance to the funicular. Kuprin In 1894 a retired lieutenant and not so popular at that time writer Oleksandr Kuprin arrived to Kyiv. Arriving to Kyiv, he asked to drive him from the railway station to the cheapest furnished rooms. It was a long way and, finally, going down a steep slope, they appeared at this place. It was morning. Having left his luggage in the room, Kuprin headed to the Dnipro and helped to unload a barge with watermelons and was paid a ruble and a half for it. That was enough for lunch and dinner. It was the start of Kuprin’s Kyiv life. At the end of the XIX century there were situated low cost hotels " Dniprovska harbour" (building №4) and "Serbia" (building №2, now pulled down) at the beginning of the street. Olexandr Kuprin dwelled in these hotels in 1894-1896. Merchants, craftsmen, civil servants, students, actors and disabled people often stayed in the rooms. These were the people who became the characters in Kuprin’s stories in his first book “Kyiv types” and then in another one called “Miniatures”. His famous book “Pit” was based on Kyiv material. It is interesting that it was the street where Dolzhnikov’s well-known “Bookshop” with a library (called by people “chemist’s for soul”, “room for reading” and etc.) was situated and at that time it was attended by many people. Dry Jam Factories At the crossing of Sagaydachnogo and Adriyivska Streets buildings № 27a and 27b preserved its original forms. They belonged to a famous family of Kyiv confectioners the Balabukhs. Their heirs owned a well-known factory of dry jam in Kyiv till the revolution. It started in 1787. Empress Catherine II visited Kyiv and was accompanied by a Swiss confectioner Bailli. He stayed there for treatment because of his broken leg. He dwelled in Priork, where there were lots of orchards and he concluded that local fruits are unique ingredients for “dry jam”, candies and candied fruits. So he taught Kyiv residents, including the Balabukhs, his occupation of confection. Later the Emperor kitchen was supplied with famous Kyiv jam. Spanish duke Monpansie exported a few poods of the Balabukhs’ confection in 1888. In 1889 merchants from Paris suggested to the Balabukhs to open a dry jam factory in France. “Jolly Street" At the post-war times a problem where to get alcohol in Sagaydachnogo Street was solved quickly. A corner food store, located in the building №41, was considered to be central and the best on Podol. Aquariums with living fishes that appeared later in customers’ bags, red caviar and sturgeon black caviar, salmon, chocolate soufflé, ham, Bulgarian wine in braided bottles, and also well-known “Negro de Purcari”, “ Fetyaska”, “Lidiya”… In this food store there was no foul smell and nobody heard dirty language in the cloud of alcohol smell at the department of wines and liquors. The smell of Zhytniy Market also didn’t reach this place Buying a port wine “Tavrychnyi” for 3 rubles 27 kopecks (the era of so called “Fruit- Berry” port wine for 1 ruble 2 kopecks hadn’t come yet), young people were going along the street to Poshtova Square. One could have a nice time in the shop “Gastronomy” (building № 37), and also in a cosy café (building №14), and especially in a summer café overgrown with wild grapes (building №2). This side street remained till present nice and native though it lost trees, the main pride of Kyiv streets, after the reconstruction. But still one can always distinguish this street from streets without trees in Moscow or Kharkiv, because Kyiv spirit flies here… Based on the materials of the book "Forgotten pages of Kyiv life" written by Vitaliy Bakanov

Where is Kyiv?

The capital of an independent European country. Located in the north of the central part of Ukraine and built on the hills along the river Dnipro, which divides the city into two parts, the capital of Ukraine passed a long way to its independence. Since 1991 Kyiv is the capital of independent Ukraine. New buildings, huge shopping malls, chic shops and restaurants, renovated Maidan cardinally change the post-Soviet face of Kyiv. Kyiv. This short, dynamic word means one of the oldest centers of the Slavs with the history spanning over 1500 years. An ancient legend says that Kyiv was founded by three brothers: Kyi, Schek and Khoryv approximately in the V century and since that time it has been considered to be the main cultural, religious and political center of the East Slavic civilization. The city is still called "Mother of Russian cities" because of its historical importance as a center of Kyivan Rus from IX to XII century. Today Kyiv is the sixth most populous city in Europe after Moscow, London, St. Petersburg, Berlin and Madrid. One can visit numerous monuments and historical sites, green and shady botanical gardens, theaters and clubs. Kyiv also attracts tourist attention due to the fact that it is the "cradle" of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and can "boast" with a huge number of cathedrals, churches, monasteries, that admire everyone with its antiquity and uniqueness. Rent apartment in Kyiv. First-class hotels also give the new face to the modern European capital. But not everyone can afford it. Question “where is accommodation” or "where to stay in kiev" is actual especially in anticipation of the upcoming Euro 2012 championship that will be held in Kyiv. To rent an apartment in Kyiv center is cheaper and better. This is a fairly common alternative of kiev accommodation, which has many advantages, starting from the availability of location and interior choice of the apartment and ending with affordable price and excellent service. Welcome to Kyiv!

The History of the Kyiv Underground

On November 6, 1960, on the eve of the 43d anniversary of the October revolution, at the demonstration there was solemnly opened the Kyiv underground of V.I. Lenin in front of “Khreschatyk” station. The first section with length of 5,2 km connected five stations – from “Vokzalna” to “Dnipro”. 4,6 mln passengers were already carried for the first two months of its functioning. Work on projecting the Kyiv underground started right after the Second World War. I remember that there were 120 enterprises of the former Soviet Union which took part in the construction of the third underground (after the Moscow and Leningrad ones) in USSR. So, escalators and cables were delivered from Moscow and Leningrad, electrical equipment – from Ural, low-voltage equipment – from Ufa, engines and generators – from Kharkiv, rails and hardware – from Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhya, glazed tiles – from Lviv and etc. Tunnels were built of combined tubing made at the Kyiv plant “Leninska forge”. The ground area of “Khreschatyk” station was occupied with a restaurant and a café with outdoor area. There was also an inexpensive bar here. It turned to be one of students’ favourite places in Kyiv. If to stand in front of “Khreschatyk”, one can see a cheap bouillon café on the left hand, and a café on the right hand, where hot milk with buns were sold. On the left side of the station façade there was a shop “Gastronomy” in the depth of the yard and there was a free water closet. Does a poor student need anything more? Based on the materials of the book “Forgotten Pages of Kyiv Life” written by Vitaliy Bakanov Real estate agency “Teren Plus” offers apartments for rent in Kyiv downtown in Khreschatyk Street.

The history of Saksaganskogo Street

Panas Karpovych Saksaganskyi (the real surname is Tobilevych) was born 150 years ago. He was an outstanding Ukrainian actor and a stage director, an honored artist of the USSR. Kyiv executives changed the name of Leonida Pyatakova Street to Panasa Saksaganskogo after the actor’s death in 1940. Actually, the history of renaming this street and many others is quite scandalous. In the Soviet times names of numerous streets were repeatedly changed. Let’s take Yaroslaviv Val Street as an example. It got its name in 1869 in memory of the defensive rampart (Ukr. “val”) stretching along it in the XI century. Here is the chronology of renaming: 1923-1928 – Rakovskogo, 1928-1957 – Voroshylova, 1957-1962 – Polupanova, 1962-1975 – Velyka Pidvalna, and, finally, since 1976 – again Yaroslaviv Val. The great artist In the XIX century all three brothers Tobilevych, namely Saksaganskyi, Sadovskyi and Karpenko-Karyi, glorious leading figures of the Ukrainian theatre, started to work together after a long break in one troupe in the Theatre of brothers Bergonie (nowadays it is the place of Lesya Ukrainka Russian Drama Theatre). It was an associate society of artists under the leadership of the above-mentioned brothers. They succeeded in acting . It would be interesting to know that Saksaganskyi performed solely comic roles, for example, the role of Golokhvastov (the play “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” (Ukr. “Za dvoma zaytsyamy”)), the role of Omelyan Grygorovych (the drama “Burlachka”), the role of Geraska (the vaudeville “After the inspection” (Ukr.“Po reviziyi”)) and the role of the huntsman Kharko (the play “Palyvoda of the XVIII century”). The actor dwelled in Zhylyanska Street, in the building № 96. The memorial plaque with the years of his dwelling in Kyiv (1912-1940) is placed on its front. Zhylyanska (Zhadanovskogo) is situated at the distance of one quarter and parallel to Saksaganskogo Street. B.P. Zhadanovskyi was a participant of the revolution in Kyiv in 1905-1907, a member of the Bolshevik party since 1917. He died in 1918 in Crimea at the times of warfare. At that time nobody would have dared to rename Zhadanovskogo Street, where Saksaganskyi dwelled and died in 1940. Present-day Saksaganskogo Street was called Velyka Zhandarmska on the old plan of Kyiv at the end of XIX century. Then it was named Mariyino-Blagovischenska Street after the church, situated in the mansion № 64 and consecrated in 1893. And after the revolution the Street was named after Bolshevik Leonid Pyatakov, who died in 1918. Kyiv residents started to name it Pyatakova Street. But in 1937 Pyatakov’s brother was shot as the public enemy, and the name was specified; new street signs appeared: “Leonida Pyatakova Street”. When a famous artist Panas Saksagankyi died in 1940, the authorities decided to bury in oblivion Pyatakovs and to name the street after Saksaganskyi. The name remained till present days. And Zhadanovskogo Street, where the great actor spent his last days, got its pre-revolutionary name again, namely Zhylyanska. Saksaganskogo Street changed greatly since those days. Kyiv residents, whose childhood fell on the far post-war years, remember well that so-called Summer Circus was functioning successfully at the crossroads of Saksaganskogo and Chervonoarmiyska Streets. But in 1960 there was built a stationary brick building of the circus with 2000 seats on Victory Square (Ukr. Ploscha Peremogy), projected by the architect V.A. Zhukov. Built at the place of the former Jewish market, it turned to be the true decoration of the city. Elderly residents also keep in mind a cosy cinema “Raketa”, situated at the end of Saksaganskogo Street at that time, in the building №102. It was closed soon, but at the beginning of the street in 1974 a new four-storey building of the “Cinema House” was built. There were 3 cinema halls (with 50, 150 and 720 seats), a library, a café and etc. Unfortunately, tram ways were removed from here; tram was inseparably linked with the street in the memory of some generations of residents. But let’s come back again to the post-war times of the street. The last quarter. Odd numbered side. The Jewish Market is not far from and still not closed. Captive Germans are building the penicillin plant. It stands still here, though gloomy and grey. There was a smell of penicillin for a long period here – a smell of childhood for people, who grew up at these places. I remember those small wares shops, where powders “Carnation” and “Red Poppy”, creams “Youth” and “Strawberry”, perfumes “Silver Lily of the Valley” and “Red Moskov” were sold. Here is the kindergarten in the courtyard in Tarasivska Street (it crosses Saksaganskogo Street). There are a wooden mushroom (white circles on the red background), a ship “Aurora” made of boards and a green lorry in the yard. There are yards with washing tubs and hanging linen. Here everybody knew each other.  Here people were always together both in grief and happiness… According to the materials of the book “The forgotten pages of Kyiv life” written by Vilaliy Bakanov

The history of Shovkovychna Street

Shovkovychna Street Shovkovychna and Lypska Streets can be called “dormitory streets”. Here one won’t find neither fashionable shops, nor loud restaurants, but due to its central location and a great amount of greenery, they can be rightfully considered to be ones of the most prestigious streets for dwelling. Shovkovychna Street got its current name from a mulberry garden that grew once at this place and was cut down according to the general-governor Levashov’s order at the beginning of the XIX century. It used to be called Levashevska Street, as there was the residence of the governor exactly here. Lypky started to be under development with fashionable buildings after his order in thirties of the XIX century. In the Soviet times this street was named after Karl Libknekht. And at the beginning of the XIX century it was called Aptekarska (Ukrainian word “apteka” is a chemist’s shop in English), because there used to be one of the first chemist’s shop in this street. Many buildings in this street have both interesting history and architecture. For example, there is a building №25 with the lyceum of foreign languages “ Klovskyi” in it. In its yard archaeologists found remains of the annalistic Klovskyi cloister of the XI-XII centuries, founded by the former pecherskyi Father Superior Stepan. The building №19 with its Gothic forms, thrilling the imagination, belonged to the Baltic baron Ikskul-Hildenband. The present-day building facing the building №26 was built in 1970 for the first secretary of the central committee of the Ukrainian communistic party V. Scherbytskyi. One of the nicest buildings in Shovkovychna Street is № 17/2. The building was probably constructed by V. Nikolayev in 1901 in the style of the Venetian Renaissance. It was named “ a chocolate building” because of its brown colour and belonged to the timber merchant and patron S. Mohyl’ovets, who was keen on dog breeding,  that’s why sculptures at the building are in the form of dogs’ muzzles. After the revolution such people dwelled here: a famous politician of the Ukrainian revolution times I. Kistyakivskyi, who became a minister at hetman’s times, the head of Council of Peoples Commissars in 1918-1923 Kh. Rakhovskyi and also a number of scientists. Since 1960 there used to be the Palace where marriages were registered. Then this nice building was given for children’s picture gallery. Across the street there is one more building № 15/1, built in 1912 by the architect P. Aloshyn. This building with its mighty forms resembles a medieval Romanic castle, where every detail is worked up diligently and even to the smallest window. This building was erected for an entrepreneur and public figure M. Kovalevskyi. According to the legend, he was not married for a long period of time, searching the right person, and found his future wife during the regular travel. That’s why one of the rooms, where Ministry of Foreign Affairs is situated, is designed as a compartment of a railway carriage, where, as it is said, the first meeting of the couple happened. On the opposite side there is a refined building №14, built in 1912 for the entrepreneur M. Shestakova, N. Tereschenko distant relative. There used to be Institute of Marxism-Leninism. Institute of Jewish Culture under Ukrainian Academy of Science was situated in the similar building №12, not so generously decorated and so greatly rebuilt in 1930s. According to the materials of the book “My city – Kyiv” written by V. Kyrkevych Real estate agency “Teren Plus” offers long-term and daily rent apartment service at 20 Shovkovychna Street, 30 Shovkovychna Street and 32/34 Shovkovychna Street.

Kyiv or Kyiv?

What is the capital of Ukraine – Kyiv or Kyiv? What is the correct spelling in English for the capital of Ukraine? Today these two names are equally used in the official sources as well as in press. Let’s see why. What do we know about Kyiv (Kyiv)? Returning to the history, Ukrainian capital was named Kyiv in honor of the oldest brother Kiy or Kyi (in Ukrainian pronanciation) in the V century and since that time it has been considered to be the main cultural, religious and political center of the East Slavic civilization. The main reason of difference depends on the choice of language – Russian or Ukrainian. Kyiv is the recognised transliteration of the name of the city in Russian, and also the old Ukrainian name which has been used for centuries right back to the times of Kyivan Rus. Kyiv meanwhile is the transliteration of the modern Ukrainian name of the city and the official name as far as all legal and political issues are concerned. We can find the word “Kyiv” on the pages of Ukrainian newspapers in English such as Kyiv Post and Kyiv Weekly. They proclaim the modern Ukrainian name while most English speakers are still far more familiar with the old Russian one. This transliteration problem is common to many Ukrainian toponyms, e,g., Dnipro or Dniper, Kharkiv or Kharkov. But it doesn’t change the point. Is it Kyiv or Kyiv, it is still beautiful and ancient capital of Ukraine that always greets you.