Kharkiv Central Post Office

The Kharkiv Central Post Office was built between 1927 and 1929 to a design by architect A. Mordvinov.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2013

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2015

This is one of the most recognisable buildings of ‘Constructivist Kharkiv’, as is the case with the Derzhprom.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2020

This building features decorative balconies that serve no functional purpose. They are reminiscent of elements in the designs of German architect Walter Gropius, one of the founders of the Bauhaus school.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2016

One of Walter Gropius’s designs

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2015

Modernism was particularly popular in Europe at the time; perhaps the Soviet school of Constructivist architecture merely picked up on the ‘trend’, but was not its pioneer.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2015

The building is now occupied by Ukrposhta, the national postal service of Ukraine.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2015

There used to be a clock on the building, but it has not survived. For the filming of the movie ‘Dau’ in 2008, the signs and a replica of the clock were restored, but they were dismantled after filming.