More than 40 cultural heritage facilities in Kyiv are in a dangerous condition, a deputy of Kyiv City Council, Oleksandr Bryhynets, has said, referring to information in the 2011 report of the Main Cultural Heritage Department of Kyiv City State Administration.
"There are thousands of facilities in Kyiv that have the status of monuments or cultural heritage. When we talk about the 25 facilities that have been added to the Red Book, or the almost 50 facilities mentioned by the Main Cultural Heritage Department, we’re talking about the worst of the worst. This means that other facilities could stand for one or two years, while these need to be repaired as soon as possible," Bryhynets said.
The deputy’s press service informed that among those mentioned in the report are buildings at 22а Andriyivsky Uzviz (Karas Gallery, Eco Art, Soviart), 22 b Andriyivsky Uzviz, 9 Borychiv Tik Street, 23/3 Borychiv Tik Street (a house with the status of the architecture monument that was built in 1819), 32 Velyka Zhytomyrska Street (the house with snakes), 28/12 Verkhniy Val Street (the house with shops of merchant Novikov built in 1893 by architect Mykola Kazansky in an eclectic style), 14 Zlatoustivska Street,12а Mala Zhytomyrska Street(the house of painter Oleksandr Murashko), 12 b Mala Zhytomyrska Street, 33/19 Mezhyhirska Street (a house over 130 years old, a monument of architecture, and a typical example of a neorenaissance commercial apartment building), 4 Alla Tarasova Street (a 105-year-old modern style building, a monument of architecture), 40/1 Khreschatyk Street (the building of the central grocery), 98 Chervonoarmiyska Street (additional storey on a historical building), and 15 b Yaroslaviv Val Street (the house of aviation designer Ihor Sikorsky).
"Unfortunately, this report will be hidden in officials’ files and will never be used for everyday work. The leadership of the city and the state continually ignore the fact that historical Kyiv is collapsing due to the fact that buildings have not been repaired for decades, the environment is worsening and due to mass development of the city center," Bryhynets said.
The deputy added that only determined action, involving experts in the sphere of the preservation of monuments and sponsors, could change the situation.
"Stop presenting the city with Christmas trees, scandalous department stores over the Teatralna subway station or other such stuff – you’d be better restoring Murashko’s house, Sikorsky’s house, the house with snakes or the baron’s castle," the deputy added.
The press service noted that Bryhynets is a member of the main council of the Ukrainian Association for Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments and chairs the commission for culture and tourism at Kyiv City Council.
