House of the Archbishop (archive)
The House of Archbishop was erected in 1780 next to the former Sts Borys and Hlib monastery in the most ancient part of Chernihiv dytynets.
The House of Archbishop is a vivid example of late classicism. The facade is decorated with a six-column portico with capitals of the Ionic order and a strict and solemn triangular pediment over it.
First, the main entrance was located on the western side of the structure, closer to the nearby monastery. A sloping wide ramp led to the central room on the second floor.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the building was reconstructed: the ramp was pulled down, the entrance door on the second floor became a window. Now, the entrance was on the eastern side. The portico supported by six columns was built on the porch.
For a period of time, the building placed the printing house and the editorial office of the newspaper “Chernihiv Gubernia Vedomosti”. Writer and ethnographer Oleksandr Shishatskyi-Illich, historian Oleksandr Lazarevskyi, poet Leonid Hlibov, folklorist and ethnographer Opanas Markevych, historian Mykola Markevych and others published their research works there.
After revolutionary events of 1917-1921, various institutions were located in the building, including the military base. During World War II after German air strikes, the bomb hit the building and it burnt out inside. The building was restored after the war period.
Nowadays, the House of Archbishop hosts State Archives of Chernihiv Oblast. More than eight thousand units of database, one million four hundred and fifty thousand cases have been stored in the repositories since the 17th century.
Documents of the former Chernihiv civilian governor, provincial government, police, court and prosecutor's offices, financial and tax authorities, banks and educational institutions are of great value.
Unique universals of Hetmans of Ukraine and Chernihiv colonels, letters of Taras Shevchenko and Myhailo Hlinka, autographs of many prominent figures, writers, and scholars are being kept here. Scientific reference library is rich with about ten thousand books.
Books of the 17-18th centuries, editions printed in Cyrillic, Latin, civil script, the collection of church songs, written with hooks are among the most precious publications. Both "the Bible of the Red Book of the Holy Writ of the Old Testament and the New Testament" and "the Core of the Chronological History of the World from the Beginning of the World to the Death of Catherine II" are unique in artistic and polygraphic execution.