On Saturday, 22 March 2025, employees of the GDIP organised a walking tour of an architectural monument of local significance — the mysterious Podgorski’s House, also known, under its imaginative folk name, as the Baron’s Castle.
The tour participants included Australian Ambassador Paul Lehmann, employees of the Embassies of Canada, Denmark, Mexico, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, and representatives of international organisations, the EU and the European Investment Bank.
The House of Michael Podgorski is an old architectural decoration of Kyiv at the corner of Lysenka and Yaroslaviv Val streets, near the Golden Gate. In 1898, Polish landowner Michael Podgorski commissioned to erect the building designed by Mykola Dobachevskyi in the popular modernised Gothic style of the time. The house is known as the Baron’s Castle among the townspeople, but no baron has ever lived there. It is only another house next door, much more modest in appearance, that belonged to Baron Maksym Steingel, and it was assumed that he owned both buildings.
During the tour, foreign guests entered the mysterious building in the city centre and learned what function it served throughout its existence. From the beginning, the Podgorski House was a revenue house. The first floor accommodated private and commercial facilities, like stores, hair salons, and pastry shops. Moreover, in the early 20th century, the building had a working cinematograph — an early motion picture film mechanism. Later, the building became a place of gatherings for the local Czech and Slovak communities. The premises served as a newspaper office, a bakery, and shared flats. Yet, despite time and a series of events, the Baron’s Castle retains its charm and still impresses the city’s residents and visitors.
The expressive architecture, fairytale-esque romanticism, and harmonious combination of gothic and renaissance elements of the Podgorski’s House are fascinating. One of the building’s most interesting features is its main entrance, which lies behind a gate. On both sides, the gate is flanked by statues of winged demons that support the oriel window. An elegant stucco vault in the passageway, massive set gate leaves and front doors impress visitors. At the threshold, guests are greeted by the mosaic inscription ‘Salve’, which means ‘Greetings’ in Latin, made using the terrazzo technique.
The diplomats were spellbound by the refined decorations of the interior and the architectural choices of the craftsmen. Yet the participants gained even greater aesthetic satisfaction thanks to the chance to view Kyiv from the secret balcony of the castle’s tower. The balcony offers a marvelous view of the ancient city’s main gates — the Golden Gates, visible in all their glory from a bird’s eye view.
