Standard buildings for the 1-228 series

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

The rows of houses between Valeriia Romanovskoho Street and Seminarskaya Street are very picturesque.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

There is a widespread belief among Kharkiv residents that these structures were supposedly built by the Germans themselves during the WWII or by prisoners of war afterward.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

But this is just one of the many myths that architects and local historians have debunked.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

These are standard-design buildings, Series 1-228, designed by Soviet architects in 1948.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

This series included 10 different house types, mostly two-story. The rarest house type is 1-228-10.

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

In 1950, the design was revised, and balconies began to appear on the buildings

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

All the components of the houses were standardized and can be found in similar houses throughout the former Soviet Union

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022

In Ukraine, there are such places in Dnipro, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, and other cities

Photo: Ivan Ponomarenko, 2022