St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Cathedral, Kiev

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Vintage postcard depicting the cathedral with its two 60 meter towers.

The St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Cathedral (Ukrainian: Костьол Св. Миколи; translit.: Kostol Sv. Mykoly) is the second Roman Catholic cathedral built in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It was constructed from 1899-1909 and was built in a Gothic type construction, by Kiev architects V. Gorodetsky and E. Salya. ^[1] During the Sovet period, the was used for various technical purposes and as a KGB service building. ^[2]

[edit] History

A competition was held in 1898 for the designs for a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Kiev, which was won by architect S.Volovskiy. His entry into the competition included a Gothic type construction with two 60 meter towers. The final revision and management of the project was assigned to the Kievan architect Vladislav Gorodetsky, and Emilio Sala added sculptural decoration in artificial stone to the construction. To increase the stability of the construction on the uneven Kiev ground, it was ensured by bore-and-stuffed piles, a newly introduced invention of A. Straus. ^[1] The construction work was carried out by exclusively from voluntary donations, and lasted for ten years (1899-1909).

In 1909, the cathedral was consecrated in the name of Saint Nicholas, however the construction was not yet completed. A Gothic style three-story house was built in the for the parish clergy to the left of the cathedral. In 1938, Soviet authorities closed the cathedral after its Roman Catholic Priest was absent for two years. For some time after its closure, the building was used by the punitive organs for technical purposes, and, at some point, as a KGB service building. ^[2] After its restoration in 1979-1980, commissioned by the Rada of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR, by the architects O. Grauzhis and I. Tukalevskiy, the church was turned into the National House of Organ and Chamber Music of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Національний будинок органної та камерної музики України; translit.: Natsional'nyi budynok orhannoyi ta kamernoi muzyky Ukrainy). For the reconstruction, the building's stained glass windows were manufactured in the Baltics, its furniture was created in Lviv, and the height-quality wood floors were created in the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. ^[1] The company, Riger - Kloss then located in Czechoslovakia, manufactured an organ for the cathedral. Its manufacturer tried to architecturally tie the organ to the building itself.

Since 1992, Catholic divine services and concerts have been held here. The Bishop Jan Purvinski consecrated the cathedral and a Mass was celebrated there on 4 January 1992. Currently, it belongs to the Kievan Municipal Department for Culture, but the Roman Catholic Church hopes it will be returned back to the local community. ^[1]

[edit] References

Inline

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Malikenaite, Ruta (2003). Guildebook: Touring Kyiv. Kyiv: Baltia Druk. ISBN 966-96041-3-3.
^ ^a ^b (Russian) Anisimov, Aleksandr (2002). Kiev and Kievans. Kurch, 88-89. ISBN 966-96120-1-2.