A mansion in the courtyard of the “Salamandra” apartment building

Sometimes it’s really worth taking a stroll through the courtyards of Kharkiv.

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Surrounded by tall apartment buildings or new developments, you can spot small houses from earlier eras that are completely hidden from view from the street.

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Some of them have been forgotten and abandoned, while others are still inhabited. These photos show an old, abandoned mansion sandwiched between Sumska and Rymars’ka Streets by the massive apartment building built in the 1910s by the “Salamandra” insurance company.

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Previously, there were claims that this wing belonged to Dr. Bronstein’s clinic and was built by architect Velichko in 1899.

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According to more recent research by A. Paramonov, this was a residential building constructed by the merchant Lavrenty Sokolov based on a design by Fyodor Kondratyev in the late 19th century on the site of Ferdinand Dobert’s furniture factory. Even earlier, this property had belonged to the noble Baranov family.

The construction of the Salamandra Insurance Company’s most profitable building was completed in 1916.