The Kharkiv City Council building, located at Constitution Square, 7 shares a similar history with the Regional Council building. It is also an architectural landmark that has undergone two renovations in different architectural styles, but the building’s walls date back to 1885.
The City duma was built on Nikolayevskaya Square between 1883 and 1885, based on a design by architect Bolesław Michałowski.
This architect is best known for his designs for the Kharkiv church and the renovation of the drama theater in the Neo-Renaissance style.
The building housed the City Duma and the City Council—local government bodies.
Between 1930 and 1932, the building was renovated in the Constructivist style according to a design by V. Trotsenko, V. Pushkarev, and V. Peti.
The structure was expanded, its decorative elements were removed, and a large corner tower with a clock was added. The original design also called for the construction of a second tower with walkways in the alley, modeled after the Gosprom building.
Nevertheless, in the central part of the building, traces of the old house were still visible after the renovation in the bay windows and the shape of the windows.
The new project showed signs of Art Deco influence.
Starting on June 22, 1942, the building also housed the city administration during the Nazi occupation. On November 10, 1942, the administration building burned down due to the Germans’ careless handling of a stove they had installed on the fifth floor.
The administration building was restored and renovated between 1946 and 1954 according to a design by architects and engineers V. Kostenko, Y. Chebotarev, V. Kharlamov, and D. Zelikhenko.
The tower grew by one story, and Constructivism gave way to Stalinist (socialist classicism) style, still retaining those same Art Deco touches.
The Kharkiv city hall building has been decorated with Ukrainian folk patterns.
Traces of the bay windows from the first building, constructed in 1885, are still visible.
Unlike the similar bas-relief on the Regional Council building, the City Council did not replace the Soviet state symbols with Ukrainian ones in the 1990s.
The Kharkiv City Council building was damaged as a result of a Russian missile strike on the Palace of Labor on March 2, 2022. Shrapnel damaged the facade, and the blast wave shattered the windows and doors.
