Hostynnyi Dvir (Trading Arcade) (19th – 20th centuries)

The national architectural monument is located in the heart of the Kontaktova square – the main trade center of old Kyiv. During the times of Kyiv Rus, there were wooden trade ranks, where the guests-merchants stopped, stored goods and, directly, traded.

In 1760’s  the first building of the Hostynnyi Dvir was built on the project of architect I. Hryhorovych-Barsky. In 1809 the construction of the new Hostynnyi Dvir started under the project of architect Luigi Rusca in the style of Classicism. The Hostynnyi Dvir was planned as a two-story building in the form of a closed rectangle with open arcades-galleries and an inner courtyard, which was led by six gates. But the fire of 1811 and the war of 1812 prevented the Kyiv magistrate from completing the construction . Only the first floor has been erected. The Hostynnyi Dvir had about 50 shops that were grouped into certain rows: iron, silk, cloth, fur, etc.

After another fire in 1828, the reconstruction of the Hostynnyi Dvir was carried out by architect A. Melensky. In the second half of the 19th century the building was rebuilt again (arcades-galleries were immured; openings were made in random order).

In 1980-1982, for the 1500^th anniversary of Kyiv, a large-scale reconstruction of the building was carried out under the guidence of architect V. Shevchenko, who found original drawings by L. Ruska in archives of  Leningrad (St. Petersburg) and implemented his original plan.

Since then and until 2012, in this building had been located various state institutions, commercial and cultural establishments, such as the Kyiv Academic Drama Theater on Podil, the Zabolotny State Scientific Architecture and Building library and others.

In 2011, the building of the Hostynnyi Dvir  was excluded from the list of architectural monuments of Ukraine for the purpose of  its further restructuring in a shopping and office center. An active public position has suspended the illegal rebuilding of the building. In 2016 the status of an architectural monument of national significance was returned to the building of the Hostynnyi Dvir. For today, the city authorities are planning to introduce the Hostynnyi Dvir to the proper state.