Poltava Mystic House on Pushkina Street
From time immemorial, there have been beliefs among people as if every home has been a reflection of history, absorbed emotions, feelings, opinions of the dwellers. Our ancestors knew lots of charms not to infuriate the household deities, paid great attention to selecting the right place for the construction of housing. But it was thought the architectural style according to the rules of which the construction was executed had the biggest influence on the home energy.
Each trend in architecture has its clear signs: Baroque – panoply, pageantry, brightness, Classicism – harmony, simplicity, modernism – disengagement, functionality and aesthetic qualities. However, this is Gothic that is most mystical, most mysterious style arousing maximum interest of humankind for centuries. No wonder, as everything related to supernatural forces has attracted attention. That’s why legends, stories, rumors about the gothic style house on Pushkin Street, 40 spread through Poltava.
In 1890 on Kuznetska Street (now Pushkina Street) near the center of the town, attorney at law P. A. Pertsovych commenced construction of one of the early commercial apartment buildings in Poltava. The former borough had turned into a small cozy town long ago. Well-to-do people came there from Kyiv increasingly often striving to have a rest from the hustle and bustle but not to completely lose touch with civilization. It was the reason why the commercial apartment buildings that the visitors could rent spacious, fully furnished apartments in became popular with them. In order to attract their customers the owners of commercial apartment buildings paid much attention to their appearances: decorated facades with stucco, columns or sculptures.
Therefore, P. A. Pertsovych wanted his creation to be the most amazing and inimitable. The house has got asymmetrical shape: the one part is three-storeyed, the other one has four floors. This idea aroused great interest since almost all the buildings in Poltava had had traditional symmetrical appearances yet.
Bricks and metal were chosen for the construction as the most reliable materials. If once you take a look at the house you will see why Poltava people call it “Richard’s Castle”: high walls topped with pinnacles, the massive balconies with forged strong fencing, the roof covered with sheets of black iron ... all of its structure resembles a medieval castle.
The legend tells this is unusual architecture of the building that has attracted a too interesting tenant in 1906. One rainy autumn night an unknown man wrapped from head to foot in his cloak, came to rent an apartment on the top floor. From that day forth he hardly left the apartment and just sent his silent servant with his different errands to the town from time to time. While passing by the apartment door of the mysterious neighbor other lodgers of the house were afraid of looking at it. Probably because of that fear or probably based also on the facts, various rumors related to the new tenant of the commercial apartment building ran through the town. There was a rumor that the horses passing by “Richard’s Castle” neighed frightened, twitched their ears and were reluctant to move. Different accidents happened to the lodgers in the building more and more. However, it was flock of crows inexplicably taking fancy to the roof of the house that caused Poltava people feel real horror. The people considered the mysterious stranger a sorcerer, practitioner of black magic.
It lasted until one evening the servant of the mysterious renter ran out from the house and was back with a doctor one hour later. While overcoming the fear someone of the staff also entered the rooms of the mysterious stranger and saw a terrible picture: a gray-haired man lying on the bed and agonizing. But death did not come, as though it didn’t want to receive him. No doctor could help the poor man. Only old chambermaid guessed how to relieve the dying man: she opened the window. Fresh air and terrible cries of flock of the crows burst into the room. The stranger sighed for the last time and stayed lying in the unnatural position.
Of course, this is all the legend. But till now, you can often see a pack of crows swirling with loud crying in the giant black vortex above the roof of the building located on Pushkin Street, 40.
