Detachable Subdivision
"Rivne Professional College of
National University of Life
and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine"
As part of the Week of Construction Disciplines, group 41-B conducted an inspection of the buildings of the city of Rivne, which belong to the architectural and historical monuments of our city and ghost houses that are on the verge of extinction. Of course, each of them has its own fate, like people, but they, fate, are impressive.
We started our tour with a building that is now included in the list of architectural and historical monuments – the former Neptune bathhouse (the memoirs of old-timers also say that this building housed a brothel) built in the city center. This bathhouse was built at the beginning of the 20th century by a local Jewish merchant, owner of numerous Rivne real estate and the city theater, and philanthropist Aria Leiba Iolevych Zafran. When there was no sewage system and no water was supplied to houses, people washed themselves in basins. Zafran realized that there was a normal opportunity to make money by making such a bathhouse. By the way, it is interesting that the walls of the building are one meter thick and are “stuck” with ventilation ducts.
The highlight of our city is the former estate of a wealthy Jew Perla Vigdorovich (he was engaged in selling furs), built in 1903 in the style of “art nouveau”, or “early modern” with floral motifs. The architect is Kryzhanivsky, who at that time was perhaps the most popular in construction. It is also called the “house with chimeras”. A hundred years ago, the top of the facade of this house was crowned with decorative elements, which, together with the lower part and a large round window, resembled a harp. In the middle of the house is a mirrored vestibule-hall with bizarre stucco molding on the walls and stained glass on the entrance door. Carved wooden doors, semicircular stoves in the lobby are decorated with decorative tiles, and the doors to them are with figured molding. The decoration of the house is the staircase to the second floor – made of white marble, with oak railings. The ceiling is decorated with a colored stained glass window, through which the staircase is illuminated by daylight. The ceiling of the room is especially impressive - wooden (probably oak), covered with varnish, carved with patterns.
The next house once belonged to the respected family of doctors and philanthropists, the Prokhorovs. Although somewhat neglected, it dominates the old street, attracting attention with its interesting architecture. Heart surgery was performed in Rivne a hundred years ago. Mykola Prokhorov was buried in the old Grabnyk cemetery, and his son, also Mykola, continued his father's work, taking up the position of chief physician in the maternity hospital on what was then Bandurskogo Street (this building now houses the Court of Appeal; a building was built for the needs of the county health insurance fund in 1929, and the premises also housed a maternity hospital).
A kind of open-air museum of Rivne's military past is the military town complex, which, although not completely, has survived to this day. Solid tenement houses have served the city for almost a century and a half. The first buildings, erected in the then popular brick style, appeared as early as 1887. There were no problems with building materials. The main one was brick, which was produced by local brickyards. At the end of the 19th century, there were five of them in Rivne. In 1912, the first power plant was built at the expense of the city owner, Prince Lubomirsky, which could not yet cover the entire city, so electricity was first brought to the barracks. Soon, a water tower (it has survived to this day), a bathhouse, a hospital, and houses for the officer corps were built on the territory of the town.
Dubenska Street is a good example, where many interesting brick-style houses from the late 19th century have survived. One of these is house No. 31, built in 1895, with a commemorative plaque that says that it is the home of the Musman family, whose grandson, Amos Oz, became a famous Israeli writer.
I would like to show you some more small gems of the city's ancient architecture at the end. These are not masterpieces, but for Rivne they are unique local landmarks that not only preserve memories, but also tell about an entire era. The bizarre brick patterns laid out by the hands of ancient masters are not repeated. Fortunately, such houses can still be seen in Rivne, although every day they become fewer and fewer, and some have disappeared altogether...
Alla PETRYKOVSKA,
teacher of construction disciplines
