St. Nicholas Church (Kiev)

The construction of the Church of St. Nicholas began according to a competitive project of the architect S.V. Valovsky in 1899 . The development and construction of the building was carried out under the guidance of the famous Kiev architect V.V. Gorodetsky . The church, built in stylized Gothic forms with tall lancet towers and spiers, is distinguished by slender proportions, lightness, clarity of compositional structure. Complicated construction conditions and architectural decisions prompted architects to apply innovative engineering technologies at that time. For the first time in the then building practice, engineer A. E. Straus proposed laying the foundation on concrete piles, and reinforced concrete , a new building material, was widely used in structures. The church was richly decorated with both wall paintings and stained glass windows, of which there were 40 (not preserved).

In 1909, the church was consecrated.

The temple was closed and looted around 1933 , the clergy was subjected to repression. The building housed warehouses. In 1943, during the war , the temple was badly damaged by shelling and burned.

In the postwar years, the church building was partially restored and rebuilt to meet the needs of the Kiev State Regional Archive.

In 1978, a decision was made by the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR on the creation in Kiev of the Republican House of organ and chamber music and the conversion into a concert hall of the premises of the former Nicholas Church. At the same time as the restoration, a partial reconstruction of the building was carried out. Since 1980, the Nikolaev Church began to function as a concert hall of the House of Organ and Chamber Music.

Authority

The organ of the Kiev House of Organ Music was specially created by the masters of the company “Rieger-Kloss” in the city of Krnov in Czechoslovakia . When designing, the organic nature of the combination of instrument shapes with the interiors of the former Nicholas Church was maximally taken into account. The body has 55 registers distributed across three manual keyboards and pedals, 3846 pipes of various diameters and lengths (from 13 millimeters to 6 meters) made of metal and expensive wood ( black and red were used ). The organ has a wide timbre palette and it successfully performs works of various styles and directions from ancient music to modern authors. The organ, which was created not for the current church, but for the concert hall, is located unconventionally: not in the choirs, but in the altar of the cathedral, turned into a stage.

Creative groups

The creative team of the House of Organ and Chamber Music is composed of: B. Lyatoshinsky Classical Music Ensemble , Ravisan Trio, Lysenko Quartet , Kiev Chamber Ensemble, Kiev Brass Chamber Ensemble, organists, instrumental soloists and singers.

The Roman Catholic church community, which developed at the beginning of the 20th century , suffered greatly during the events of 1917 , repressions of the 30-50s of the XX century and practically disappeared by the middle of the century.

The revival of the church life of the community began in the late 80s of the XX century. Since 1992, church services have been regularly held in the church, alternating in agreement with the concert activities of the House of Organ Music. However, the building itself, included in the list of structures not subject to return to religious associations, belongs to the state. June 25, 2001 the church was visited by Pope John Paul II . In 2003 - 2006, the head of the church was Radoslav Zmitrovich , Missionary Oblates of the Immaculate Virgin Mary .

• Official website of the House of Organ and Chamber Music
• The official website of the parish of the Church of St. Nicholas (Ukrainian)
• (see Rieger-Kloss Concert Organ)