In early 2015, we posted a tongue-in-cheek piece about Kharkiv’s beautiful buildings, which are in terrible condition and urgently need “restoration” or a new, caring owner. Among the buildings featured in that post was an architectural masterpiece on Oboronnyi Val Square (known as Feuerbach Square from 1922 to 2024)—the building of the former outpatient clinic of the League for the Fight Against Tuberculosis.

This enigmatic private mansion in the Neo-Gothic style was built on what was then Voznesenskaya Square, likely in the early 1890s. The architect of the building has not yet been definitively identified, although it is speculated that it was designed by S. Zagoskin in collaboration with V. Krychevsky. The building changed hands many times; the last pre-WWI owner transferred it to the Kharkiv branch of the All-Russian League for the Fight Against Tuberculosis. From 1912, the house served as a tuberculosis sanatorium, treating thousands of Kharkiv residents, refugees, and WWI veterans. They were treated free of charge by some of Kharkiv’s best doctors. Until the late 1930s, the building housed the Koch Central Tuberculosis Dispensary. In recent decades, the building’s facade had been in extremely poor condition. Many of our “Alluring Kharkiv” tours included this Gothic Revival mansion, and each time we lamented its condition. In 2015, restoration of the building began, during which its color changed from yellow to green.

The house may have lost some of its rustic charm, but the stucco work and sculptures have been restored to perfection, and in any case, it’s now a place we can proudly show to visitors.

It is worth noting that, in addition to the facade renovation, the side wall was plastered and painted, even though its brickwork had previously been exposed.