From Kyiv to Lviv: Where to discover Ukraine's coolest architectural wonders

Legendary Horodetsky House in Kyiv

The most famous example is the House with Chimeras on Bankova Street in Kyiv, created by Vladyslav Horodetsky between 1902 and 1903.

Its facade is adorned with sculptures of animals and mythical creatures (elephants, rhinoceroses, frogs, fish, and more) crafted by sculptor Elio Sala based on Horodetsky's sketches. Throughout the twentieth century, the building served various purposes.

Today, it has an official function, and tours are partially available. It is a true symbol of Ukrainian modernism and has become one of the capital's landmarks.

House with Chimeras in Kyiv (photo: Wikipedia)

House of sculptor Holovan in Lutsk

This is the second most famous house with chimeras in Ukraine. The building is the private workshop and home of local sculptor Mykola Holovan. The facade and courtyard are decorated with hundreds of stone sculptures, mythical figures, gargoyles, fairy-tale characters, and religious motifs.

House of architect Holovan (photo: Wikipedia)

Stone fantasies on facades in Lviv

In Lviv, you can find several buildings where architects used bizarre sculptures and grotesque mascarons. For example:

The Shprecher Building on Svobody Avenue is decorated with sculptures of lions and fantastical creatures.

Villas on General Chuprynka Street. Their facades are adorned with decorative masks, dragons, and mythological imagery.

The townhouse Under the Owls on Heroiv Maidanu Street is a neo-Gothic modernized townhouse with rich sculptural decor, including owls, griffins, and other creatures.

Lviv architects of the early twentieth century actively experimented with modernism, incorporating elements into residential buildings that resemble those found in Kyiv's chimeras.

Townhouse Under the Owls in Lviv (photo: Wikipedia)

Modernism with fantastical details in Kharkiv

In Kharkiv, there are preserved buildings from the modernist era where you can see sculptural decorations in the form of mythical creatures. One example is the building on Chernyshevska Street, whose facade features grotesque masks and decorative bas-reliefs.

The building was constructed between 1912 and 1913. Its architects were Volodymyr Pokrovskyi and Petro Velychko. The façade features numerous sculptures, including birds, griffins, and human-monkey hybrids. Today, it houses a private girls' gymnasium.

House with Chimeras in Kharkiv (photo: Wikipedia)

Odesa and its seaside chimeras

Odesa, known for its eclectic style, also has buildings with chimeralike details. On the facades of old mansions in the city center, you can find mythological creatures, sea monsters, and decorative mascarons reminiscent of the Kyiv example.

House with Chimeras (Shemialkin) in Odesa (photo: Wikipedia)

House with Chimeras in Ivano-Frankivsk

The city has several buildings that locals and journalists call the "house with chimeras" due to unusual sculptural details (angels, frogs, and other figures). One of these landmarks dates back to the early twentieth century, and its facade was restored in the 2010s.

House with Chimeras in Ivano-Frankivsk (photo: galka info)

Chimeralike private house in Nyzhnie Solotvyno, Zakarpattia

This private house features a facade artistically decorated by its owner with various items: doll heads, frying pans, porcelain, old clocks, and handmade face casts. Local media have called it the "House with Chimeras." It is an independent artistic project rather than an architectural monument, more of a local attraction.

Chimeralike house in Zakarpattia (photo: Zakarpattia Online)

Sources: Wikipedia, LocalHistory, Galka.if.ua, zakarpattya.net.ua.