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Great Podil fire

1811 disasters in the Russian Empire1811 fires in Europe1811 in Ukraine19th century in KyivDisasters in the Russian Empire
Fires in UkraineJuly 1811 eventsUrban fires in Europe
Comparison of Podil before and after 1811
Comparison of Podil before and after 1811

The 1811 Great fire of Podil (Ukrainian: Велика пожежа, Velyka pozhezha) occurred on the morning of July 9, 1811 in the historical and commercial neighborhood of Podil in Kiev (Kyiv), the capital of Ukraine. The fire lasted for three days and almost destroyed the whole neighborhood. Before the fire, Podil was the city's most densely populated neighborhood; out of 3,672 households in the city, 2,068 were located in the Podil.It was speculated that the fire was set by French spies or by their local collaborators on the eve of the French invasion of Russia. The fire's power was strengthened with high winds and the season's severe droughts, from which even the nearby Dnieper River was reported to have been dried out. The city's official version of events regarding the cause of the fire, however, was said to be children playing with fire.More than 2,000 homes, magistrate buildings, 12 churches, and 3 monasteries were destroyed in the fire. However, some buildings were spared destruction, including the House of Peter I. Smoke from the fire was reported to have been seen more than 130 km (81 mi) away. In response to the fire, the Director of the Kiev Myshkovsky Gymnasium No. 3 stated: [that it's the] third since the historic city's foundation, and the first since the times of Batyi [Khan]. In 1812, a new plan for the reconstruction of Podil was drawn up by architects Geste and Melensky. The plan had redrawn the neighborhood's curved streets into straightaways, thus creating the square city blocks that exist to this day. The fire showed the vulnerability of the city's wooden buildings, some of which would later be reconstructed in stone. Reconstruction after the fire brought about the construction of many architectural landmarks currently standing, including the Contracts House and Gostnyi Dvir, among many others. Nevertheless, some streets remained in the shape they were in before the fire. These are Borychiv Tik, Pokrovska, Pritisko-Mykilska, per.Khoryva.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Great Podil fire (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Great Podil fire
Voloska Street, Kyiv Podil

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 50.469167 ° E 30.515278 °
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Address

Voloska Street 31а
04071 Kyiv, Podil
Ukraine
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Comparison of Podil before and after 1811
Comparison of Podil before and after 1811
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Old Cathedral of St. Sophia, Kyiv
Old Cathedral of St. Sophia, Kyiv

The Old Cathedral of St. Sophia (Polish: Katedra św. Zofii w Kijowie, Latin: Sancta Sophia, Capitulo et Canonicis Cathedralis Ecclesiae Kioviencis ) also called Catholic Cathedral of St. Sophia is the name given to a Catholic cathedral that was in the city of Kyiv, the capital of the European country of Ukraine. It was transformed into an Orthodox church and later demolished during the Soviet era. The current main Catholic cathedral is now dedicated to St. Nicholas. It is the oldest and historical Latin cathedral in Kyiv, the seat of the Bishop of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Kyiv which was part of the metropolis of Lviv since 1412. It began as a wooden chapel burned down in the year 1017.A brick church was built only between 1614 and 1633 on efforts of Krzysztof Kazimirski within a Dominican monastery. With start of the Khmelnytskyi Uprising, the local Dominican Order was liquidated and the cathedral was robbed. Since 1650s it was used by the Muscovite voivode as a guard house. In 1691 Metropolitan Varlaam of Kyiv consecrated as the Eastern Orthodox temple, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul. At first it did not have own staff and was assigned to the Saint Sophia's Cathedral. It was rebuilt in 1724 and in 1784 it was transformed into a separate temple. In 1744-50 the church was restructured and Ivan Grigorovich-Barsky built a three-story belltower next to the church. The Sts Peter and Paul Church was damaged during the 1811 Great Podil fire and top level of belltower was taken apart. In 1832 at the court of the church compound was built the Kyiv-Podil Theological School. In 1920 the church was closed to worship and its building was planned to be used as a warehouse for the Central Archives of Ukraine. However, around 1935 the church together with its belltower was destroyed.