Although its first inhabitants are unknown, historians assume that one of the first owners of this manor could be Mykhailo Oleksandrovych Moliavko, who according to the documents resided on Siverianska street, today’s Kotsiubynskoho street. The relation of Mykhailo Moliavko to this exact house is deduced from the words of the street’s elderly residents who remembered his last name when talking about the old owner of this house. Besides, it remains a mystery whether it was him or somebody else who built the house.
Mykhailo Moliavko was the General councilor of both the Chernihiv governorate and district territorial assemblies, as a nobleman – a deputy of the Chernihiv governorate nobility assembly; he came from a wealthy Cossack family known from the middle of the XVII century.
Even though the exact construction date remains unknown, the period within which the house was erected can be easily traced from the history of origination of this architectural style and its appearance in our part of the world. The house was built in the style of Vienna Secession – a form of Jugendstil which emerged in Austria on the verge of the XIX and the XX centuries. This style pilgrimized from Western Ukraine to Chernihiv at the beginning of the XX century.
Mykhailo Moliavko left Chernihiv in 1917, which was followed by the expropriation of the house by the government. For some time, the building remained residential; however, later it started to be used by various Soviet institutions. During the war, it served as an establishment for entertainment and rest of Wehrmacht officers, and after the war transformed into a local office of the Communist Youth Union. Today, Communal Enterprise “Chernihivoblagrolis” is located here.
The house is abundantly decorated with curvy elements. According to the general idea of the architect, an unusual window geometry, as well as the presence of smooth circular elements should trigger the association with the curves of a female body. This is what makes the Vienna Secession stand out sharply among other examples of modern architecture.
The house has a complicated asymmetrical composition with several entrances. The central entrance is designed with romantic motives, among other things, with a stylized harp. Its twisted astragal is adorned with a well-made woman’s portrait – an image of goddess Vesta, the guardian of hearth and eternal beauty. The porch is decorated with a forged laced roofing and has preserved the original Mettlach tile of a Kharkiv-based company of Bergenheim. You can still see a hundred-year-old letter plate in the door.
Special attention should be paid to the attic floor with a balcony and a trapezium-shaped roof covered with the so-called “fish scale” – a figured roof tile popular at that time. The mansard has several interesting roof windows. The balcony, damaged in the course of time, was renovated in accordance with a project of Andrii Karnabida. All window and door panels, banisters and other decorative elements are original. Lost details of the manor include a garden and a fountain which as recalled was situated in the backyard.
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