THE ARCHITECTURAL BOOM AND THE CONSTRUCTION PYRAMID IN 19TH-CENTURY KYIV
Hotel «Continental» in Kyiv, between 1890 and 1905 / wikipedia.org
At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, Kyiv experienced an industrial revolution, gradually transforming from a modest town into a charming European city. Unlike most Eastern European cities, which retained their old medieval layouts with narrow, winding streets, Kyiv had pretty large open spaces. And then, one day, a construction boom began.
AT THE PACE OF CHICAGO
Kyiv first saw the arrival of the railway. Before that, even a trip from Kyiv to the neighboring Chernihiv was a long and unpredictable journey. The transportation of that time — stagecoach and steamboat — offered neither adequate comfort nor timely arrivals. Trains were already running from Odesa to Olviopol (now Pervomaisk in the Mykolaiv region) and to Yelisavetgrad, but the line to Kyiv was still under construction.
In 1868, trains from Kursk arrived at the critical station in Darnytsia, a Kyiv suburb, but the central station appeared only in 1870 when the bridge across the Dnipro River was completed. Industrialists and merchants began flocking to Kyiv, while workers were drawn to the new factories and plants, all of whom naturally needed housing. As a result, multi-story buildings sprang up in the city center, tiny shacks appeared on the outskirts, and the picturesque suburbs were soon filled with luxurious dachas.
By the 1900s, Kyiv was being called the «European Chicago» — the city’s growth rate was astonishing and closely resembled that of the American metropolis. The statistics tell the story: in 1865, the city had a population of 70,000, in 1901 — 260,000, and by 1911, it had exceeded 450,000! Kyiv was poised to become a prominent Eastern European metropolis, but the outbreak of World War I, the Civil War, and the 1917 Revolution disrupted that trajectory.
FOCUS ON THE CITY CENTER
The epicenter of Kyiv’s construction boom became the city center — today’s streets of Horodetsky, Olhynska, Zankovetska, and Luteranska. Near Khreshchatyk, the estate of Professor Mering appeared, and within less than ten years, multi-story income-generating buildings, the city theater, and Krutikov’s circus sprang up nearby.
The first surge in construction occurred in the 1890s, while the second began in 1911 when, due to population growth, real estate prices skyrocketed. This boom continued until 1914, just before the start of World War I. During these three years, the most luxurious, upscale buildings were erected. The new buildings were equipped with elevators, centralized air conditioning, and garages. Citywide infrastructure development was not neglected either.
After the first wave of the construction boom, hardly any green spaces remained in the city center, which greatly angered the residents. In the late 1900s, city authorities stepped in to address this issue. Additionally, sewage systems were actively being built; water pipes were laid, mainly supplying artesian water, and a network of tram routes — both municipal and private — spread across nearly all districts of the city. Parks, gardens, and boulevards were also planted and developed.
IDEA AND EXECUTION
However, the rapid construction boom came with its nuances. Rumors began circulating about the possibility of creating a «Kyiv Housing Construction Society». Its shareholders would invest in shares and later receive substantial profits proportional to their contributions. The profits promised to be significant, given the Society’s chartered objectives: it had the right to build and reconstruct houses, buy, mortgage, and sell properties, lease and rent, own land plots, and much more.
The idea seemed feasible. After all, it wasn’t devised by swindlers — at the initial stage of forming the corporation, prominent Kyiv entrepreneurs were involved. Among them were the «father of Kyiv’s tramway», Amand Struve, engineer and landowner Viktor Golubev, and millionaire David Margolin. However, soon others joined in, and they painted such dazzling prospects that even seasoned businesspeople preferred to stay as far away from the Society as possible.
MIKHAILO’S MIRACLE
The «tempter serpent» for the Housing Construction Society was none other than Mykhailo Mering — the son of the renowned Kyiv doctor, Fyodor Mering. Professor Fyodor Mering was wealthy and incredibly popular (patients came from far and wide; he charged the rich hefty fees but treated the poor for free).
He invested his money wisely: purchasing a vast estate in the very heart of Kyiv and arranging it like a city dacha — complete with a garden, orchard, pond, and bathing area. However, after the doctor’s passing, Mering Jr. inherited the estate. He decided to use it as his ace card to enter the construction business.
For modern developers, such a project could only be a dream. The Mering estate spanned ten and a half hectares and was situated in an ideal location between Khreshchatyk, Instytutska, Bankova, and Luteranska streets. Now, just imagine all that land was put up for sale!
Naturally, Mykhailo Mering was immediately elected chairman of the Kyiv Housing Construction Society. The Society decided to purchase the entire estate from him for 1.8 million rubles. This capital was raised through the issuance of 3,600 shares, each priced at 500 rubles.
The plan was for the Society to divide the Mering estate into separate plots and sell them independently. For the convenience of investors, a street network was pre-planned across the estate. These streets still exist today: Architect Horodetsky Street (formerly Mykolaivska), Zankovetska (formerly Meringovska), Olhynska, and Franko Square (formerly Mykolaivska Square).
ARCHITECTURE AT ITS FINEST
The Society’s charter was approved, and the shareholders held their first official meeting, brimming with optimism. They agreed that it would be more profitable to construct the buildings themselves and then either sell them or earn rental income.
The buildings rose at an incredible pace. Most of them were designed by civil engineer Heorhii Schleifer, who became the Society’s managing director and sought maximum profit. However, credit must be given where it’s due: Schleifer’s buildings (some co-designed with architect Eduard Bradtman) dazzled with their grandeur and refined detailing. Among them was the Hotel «Continental,» regarded as the best in Kyiv at the time, as well as a theater building promptly leased by the famous impresario Solovtsov.
Kyiv residents were undoubtedly astonished by the transformation of the Mering estate. As for the wealthy citizens — they were preparing their funds. Two banks, with their luxurious façades, faced directly onto Khreshchatyk. Further down Mykolaivska Street, monumental buildings were erected by Lev Ginzburg and Kyiv’s furniture magnate, Joseph Kimaer, a subject of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Meanwhile, tucked away on a plot purchased cheaply from the Society, architect Vladyslav Horodetsky quietly began building his masterpiece — the House with Chimeras — on the slope.
END OF THE GAME
So, what exactly did the Society lack to achieve complete success and guarantee its shareholders fabulous dividends? It missed one crucial thing — the ability to stop in time and assess the market conditions. Meanwhile, prices for building materials and labor had skyrocketed, and the market was already oversaturated. The more cautious investors decided to wait and invest their capital elsewhere.
But Mykhailo Mering, being a gambler by nature, continued building recklessly. When it became clear that the expected profits from the new buildings were insufficient to complete the next project, he decided to take out a loan. He borrowed a substantial sum from the multimillionaire Lev Brodsky. But even this couldn’t save the situation, and soon, there wasn’t enough money to pay the interest on the loan.
Brodsky took the matter to court. Eventually, in early 1902, the assets of the Kyiv Housing Construction Society were sold off at a public auction. Brodsky acquired the most valuable pieces — the theater building (now the Ivan Franko Theater) became his property and remained so until the October Revolution.
Over time, the new streets of Kyiv’s center were filled with large income-generating buildings. But only the owners reaped significant profits. The shareholders, who had been lured by the promises of young Mering, were left with nothing…
The grand construction pyramid of the Society, headed by Mykhailo Mering, collapsed like a house of cards. But, as it turns out, even his father didn’t believe in his commercial talents…
The famous statesman Sergei Witte, who knew both father and son, recalled: «I remember old Mering, who was a respected man, speaking to me about his son with great regret. He said that his son would amount to nothing… that he had the character of a gambler, and that undoubtedly, with such a character, he would end up poorly because, by nature, he was a gambler…» And so it happened.
More than a hundred years have passed, and Kyiv’s districts have changed their appearance multiple times. The city expanded westward, southward, and eastward; some old neighborhoods were demolished, while others remained. New residential areas were built farther and farther from the center. Yet Kyiv always seemed unfinished — there was never enough time to complete all the plans.
And somehow, it seems the city has never stopped and continues to build, even in times of war…
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