The building of the Kharkiv Regional Palace of Children’s and Youth Creativity at Sumska Street, 37 is one of the oldest on the street and was originally built to house the Veterinary School.
The veterinary school traces its history back to 1805, when the Department of Veterinary Medicine was established at Kharkiv University.
In 1839, a practical veterinary school was established at the university, which was reorganized into a college in 1848.
Between 1851 and 1855, a separate building in the late Neoclassical style was constructed for the school, designed by architect M. Lvov.
In 1873, the veterinary school was reorganized into an institute. The building served as the institute’s academic building until 1960. Nobel laureate Ilya Mechnikov worked in the building.
In 1961, the building was renovated according to a design by B. Klein for the Palace of Pioneers, where he began working in 1962. The building was clad in small-format tiles and decorated with bas-reliefs depicting children.
Originally (from 1935 to 1941), the Palace of Pioneers was located in the building of the Nobility Assembly, which was destroyed during WWII.
In 1945, the palace resumed operations on the former Yuzefovich estate (now Wedding Palace).
The Palace currently operates 8 departments covering 10 areas of extracurricular education:
- Department of Ecology and Natural History
- Department of Fine and Decorative Arts
- Organizational and Public Relations Department
- Research and Development Department
- Department of Tourism, Local History, and Sports
- Art and Aesthetics Department
- Department of Folk Dance
- Department of Contemporary Choreography
The building was damaged by a rocket strike on the Regional Council on March 1, 2022.
