| The Pyatnytska Street | The Triumphal Gate | The building of
the Ukrainian Polish Magistracy |
| The restored building. Detail | The restored building in Dovga Street. |
Monuments of civil architecture in Kamyanets-Podilsky are represented by several monumental structures, as well as by varied housing estates. The oldest of them is the building of the Ukrainian Polish magistracy situated in the Central Square, former Ukrainian (later Polish) Market. The Market Square was begun prior to the Batu Khan invasion, while the city hall appearance was the result of the construction work in the mid-or the latter half of the 14th century. The city hall in Kamyanets is the oldest one preserved in the Ukraine. Its exterior appearance manifests different architectural idioms, subsequently applied to the original Gothic-style structure. One of the construction periods in the mid-18th century was associated with the activities of Jan de Witt, a military engineer and architect, commandant of the fortress.
Another structure beautifying the market square is the Triumphal Gate which leads into the grounds of the Roman Catholic Cathedral Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. The Gate was erected in 1781 in honour of the visit of the King Stanislas II Augustus. The inscription under the arch reminds our contemporaries of this event. The author of this arch executed in the late Baroque style may also have been Jan de Witt.
In the 19th century a number of massive administrative buildings were erected which, to some extent, destroyed the harmonious unity of the medieval city. Among such constructions were the edifice of the First Russian Gymnasium (1837-1841) which replaced the structure of the Jesuits' Roman Catholic Church (in Karl Marx Street), the building of the Noblemen Assembly (1857-1893) in the former Armenian Market, the building of the Commercial Bank in the Neo-Renaissance style (late 19th century) not far from the Stephen Bathory Tower. The workshops of the local brewery present an interesting example of industrial architecture in its traditional form.
The residential area in the medieval city deserves special mention. The section was begun as early as the period of Old Rus (its remnants were unearthed in the grounds of the Ukrainian Market).
The major portion of the dwellings had vaulted foundations, which made an extensive underground system of chambers and corridors. The dwelling architecture was varied ranging from small-size houses, richly-embellished stone-houses with galleries for the exhibiting and selling of goods, to the three-storeyed, tower- styled stone mansions of the well- to-do citizens which were situated mainly on the market place. Old registers and engravings dating to the medieval times describe the .exteriors of these buildings.
In the 19th century the architecture of the residential section was adapted to classicist, Art Nouveau, or mixed style. During extensive and frequent reconstruction works some peculiar features of ancient dwellings were lost beyond recall.
| Designed by Vasyl' Bats' (c) 1998 KhmelnitskInfocom |
(c) 1990 Publisher "Art" |