House of the Weeping Widow

The House of the Weeping Widow (Ukrainian: Дім невтішної вдови, Дім вдови, що плаче) is an architectural landmark in the city of Kyiv, capital of Ukraine, located at 23 Lyuteranska Street.

House of the Weeping Widow
Дім невтішної вдови
The front façade of the House of the Weeping Widow.
Alternative namesSerhiy Arshavskyi Building
General information
Architectural styleArt Nouveau
Town or cityKyiv
CountryUkraine
Coordinates50°26′37″N 30°31′40″E
Construction started1907
Completed1907
Design and construction
Architect(s)Eduard Bradtman

History

Constructed in 1907 in the early Art Nouveau style by architect Eduard Bradtman, it was commissioned by Serhiy Arshavsky, a wealthy merchant from Poltava, who occupied it before the Bolshevik Revolution. The building kept its first owner's name long afterward, and even today is sometimes referred to as the Serhiy Arshavskyi Building. Following the revolution it was occupied by the International Group Federation of the Central Committee of Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik).[1]

Currently it is one of the President of Ukraine's official residences,[2] used to house state visitors, among them: U.S. Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Condoleezza Rice, and the Presidents of Lithuania and Brazil.[3]

The building earned its nickname because when it rains water pours over the woman's face on the facade, running down her cheeks like tears.[2]

References
  1. "House of the Weeping Widow". Issue №209(17395) (in Ukrainian). Vechirnii Kyiv. 2004-12-09. Archived from the original on 2006-06-17.
  2. Druh, Olha; Dmytro Malakov (2004). Osobnyaki Kyieva. Kyi. p. 192. ISBN 966-7161-60-9.
  3. Ostapa, Svitlana (2007-06-07). "President has opened door for journalists. But not his" (in Ukrainian). Telekritika. Archived from the original on 2008-02-26. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
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