In 2020, it was announced that one of the oldest buildings on Sumska Street, at number 28, was set to undergo a major renovation (see the rendering in the last photo).

This Neoclassical-style house was built in the early 1850s for State Councilor Friedrich Albert and is known for having been the home of Edward Bortkiewicz family from the 1880s onward.

We are more familiar with his son, Sergei (1877–1952), who became a composer. Guests of Kharkiv History Night will surely recall his music, which we played during the coffee breaks. Bortkiewicz, who settled in Austria after the 1917 revolution, was erased from Soviet historiography and has essentially been rediscovered over the past 20 years. The house at Sumska Street, 28 was not designated as an architectural landmark and had been abandoned in recent years.

Sergei Bortkiewicz’s Second Sonata, as well as other works:

As a result of Russian missile strikes in the spring of 2022, the building lost what remained of its windows.