The home of the Swedish consul, Adolf Münch—which for a long time was mistakenly associated with the “Camellia” tea house—is actually located in the very heart of the city, at Kostyuryns’kyi Lane, 1.

The building is a architectural landmark. It is a fine example of Kharkiv Art Nouveau.

The two symmetrical gables are lavishly decorated with stucco moldings featuring floral motifs. Particularly striking is the large semicircular transom above the main entrance—the only glazed element in the house that has retained its original frame.

Unfortunately, the architect’s name and the date of construction remain unknown. It is known for certain that the house was built before 1908 (probably between 1903 and 1907).

It is also known that the merchant Adolf Albertovich Münch did not own the building outright (at that time, it was located at number 3 on the side street). In the 1909 list of property owners, the owners of the house, in addition to Adolf’s father, included his son, Albert, and his business partner, Richard Eduardovich Neff. All were German subjects. Münch and Neff were in the shoe business—it is known that their company had branches (at least in Rostov-on-Don). The production and sale of rubber galoshes, which were a real lifesaver given the dirty and unpaved roads and sidewalks of the time, was a very profitable business in those years.

It appears that the partners had business ties to the “Provodnik” Russian-French Partnership of Rubber, Gutta-Percha, and Telegraph Manufacturing Plants (the main facility of which was located in Riga, Latvia). The “Provodnik” warehouse had been located in the same building since 1908.

In 1909, Adolf Münch became head of the Kingdom of Sweden’s diplomatic mission in Kharkiv—the building housed both his residence and the Swedish consulate. Today, the building is home to Kharkiv City Dental Clinic No. 4.