Description of the attraction
The House of the Weeping Widow got its name thanks to the sad woman's face sculpted on the facade. When it starts to rain, drops begin to flow down the cheeks of the bas-relief in such a way that it creates the impression of inconsolable sobs. However, it is still not known exactly who was depicted on the bas-relief. Also, experts disagree on whether the "crying" effect was specifically conceived by the creators of the house, or is it just some kind of interesting side effect.
The mansion was built in 1907 in the then popular Art Nouveau style. The customer of the house was the Poltava merchant Sergei Arshavsky, the architect was the famous specialist Eduard Bradtman, who by that time had built up a significant part of Kiev with houses. So, the most famous creation of the architect was the Solovtsov Theater, which now bears the name of Ivan Frank (it was in this theater that almost all tours of Russian and foreign troupes took place until 1917). Upon completion of construction, in order to pay off debts, the second floor of the house was rented out. The customer himself lived in this house until 1913, when he resold it to another merchant, Tevye Apstein. During the revolution, the mansion was nationalized and given to various organizations. Now the house houses government structures.
The Weeping Widow's House was designed in such a way that each facade is different. The front facades of the house are finished with gray granite, labradorite, artificial stone, ceramic tiles, stucco decorations, intricate brickwork and wrought metal. On one balcony you can see the carved monogram of the first owner of the house - SA (Sergei Arshavsky). Not far from the front entrance to this mansion, there is a magnificent wrought metal gate with geometric patterns that harmoniously complement this unusual structure.
