The building of the National Bank of Ukraine is an architectural pearl of Kiev and the perfect example of the achievements of science and technology in the construction in the beginning of the twentieth century. The construction of the National Bank, built by the demand of time, is the embodiment of experiments with different historical epochs of the chief architect Alexander Kobelev. The architect, with amazing design, combines the northern Italian Gothic and the early Florentine Renaissance. The artistic design of the bank is the merit of the Italian master Elio Sala, the author of the famous fantastic creatures on the House with chimeras. Outside the National Bank building is romantic, and inside it is an exact mechanism designed for the effective work of the country's main bank. The rooms are spacious and comfortable, the constructions are durable, ventilation and the fire protection systems - safe and technologically innovative. Architectural sophistication and technical perfection of the building emphasizes the special role of the central bank, designed to manage the financial system of the state.

The history of the building

At the end of the nineteenth century, the intensive development of banking demanded the modernization of the business premises in Kyiv. The double-storied building of the Kiev office of the State Bank, built in the Empire style in 1841, became too small.

The searching of a solution of the problem was started in 1891. Director of the Kyiv Office of the State Bank Georgi Afanasyev has studied the design of Deutsche Bank in Berlin, Credit Lyonnais in Paris, and the Moscow Office of the State Bank. But only in autumn of 1902, the foundation of the current building of the National Bank of Ukraine was started.

Architect Oleksandr Kobelev won the competition for the best project of the future bank. He made the best plan of the office space based on the number of employees and number of the necessary operations, which had to be made quickly and conveniently for all the participants. The creators of the building tried to take into account the needs of the bank development for the next 50 years!

The implementation of the project was entrusted to the best masters of the construction business. Various kinds of works were performed by about twenty contractors carefully selected at the competition.

By that time the building became the peak of technical perfection. The Bank was equipped with central steam heating, electric lighting, and also the first fire safety system in Europe. The most amazing is the complicated system of the ventilation, which was one-nineth of the total project budget. There are a number of special air collectors, which have previously delivered the scent of roses in the bank's office. Now it is impossible to use them, because in Soviet times, instead of a magnificent rose garden in the yard of the bank, there were the garages built.

In 1934, Kiev regained the status of the capital of Ukraine. It became clear that the premises of the main bank no longer met the new requirements of time. In the same year, Alexander Kobelev, together with his student Valeryan Rykov, again implemented a risky, but extremely successful project on the superstructure of the second floor of the bank.

The complexity of the reconstruction is unbelievable: during the reconstruction, the roof was not removed, but it was cut by the autogenous into seven parts and gradually raised with the help of  the jacks. The weight of the roof, raised to a height of 12 meters, was 330 tons, the perimeter - 400 meters. At the same time, the third and fourth floors were supplemented. After the laying of the walls was completed, parts of the roof were installed on cast-iron pillows and connected again.

Guarded by Gods and Angels

The purpose of the building emphasizes not only the practical functional part, but also the symbolism of its decoration.
The facade of the building was designed by the architect Alexander Verbitsky. On the facade he placed the symbols of three provinces, which at that time the bank was serving - Kyiv, Podolsk, and Volyn. Also there are four pseudo-guardians of different activity fields that is necessary for a bank loan:

- The rod of Mercury caduceus symbolizes trade;
- Gear wheels, compasses and reuschins (symbols of engineering) - industry;
- Chain and sheaves of spikelets - agriculture;
- Anchor, wheel and wings - transport.

From the facade of the building, griffins watch the traffic on the Institutska Street. According to the ancient mythology, the Griffins guarded the gold mines of the Scythians.

The luxurious Operations hall of the bank is decorated with sculptures of ancient gods.

- Hermes helps in gaining profit and trade;
- Demetra takes care of farming and fertility;
- Athena Pallada gives a wisdom;
- Hephaestus helps routine everyday to refine the skills and professionalism.

At the top of the ceiling, Archbishop Mikhail, the protector and patron of Kyiv, rises in the armor of the Roman commander. This is the third image during the existence of the building, performed by Lviv masters in 2006. The first did not survive after the reconstruction of 1934, the second - appeared in 1995 after the overhaul of the Operations Hall.

New page in history

In 1991 the question of expansion of the premises of the National Bank of Ukraine was again raised. The first building of the bank was expanded, a portico with columns was returned to it, bringing the facade closer to its original appearance.

Kievans and the guests of the ancient capital are fascinated by the building of the National Bank of Ukraine, by its design, created by the architect Kobelev and thousands of unknown masters. Due to its artistic perfection, the building is considered to be one of the most artistic and best preserved architectural monuments of Kiev.

History of the Central Bank of Ukraine 

100 years of the Ukrainian revolution of 1917-1921 - 100 years to the Ukrainian State Bank

During the period of the national liberation struggles of 1917-1921, the introduction of the national currency and the creation of the independent banking system were very important for the development of the independent sovereign Ukrainian state.

On December 22, 1917, the Central Rada adopted a law to transform the Kyiv office of the State Bank of Russia into the Ukrainian State Bank. His first director was Mikhail Krivets'kyi. This was he who signed the first banknote of an independent Ukrainian state - a national credit card, worthing 100 rubles (karbovanets), which was issued on January 5, 1918.

The cost of one ruble (karbovanets) amounted to 17,424 shares of pure gold (1 share = 0.044 g of gold). The official name of the bill is the "State Loan Ticket." In total, it issued 55,000 with a total cost of 5.5 million rubles. The author of the sketch of the banknote is the well-known Ukrainian graphic artist Georgy Narbut.

These were difficult times. At the end of January 1918, the Bolsheviks occupied Kiev. In all cities, they "broke" the safes of Ukrainian banks and their departments, transferred funds to the State Bank of the RSFSR, confiscated gold in bars and coins.

From March 1918, the State Bank was headed by a member of the Kievan "Old community", "financier" and "sincere Ukrainian", Volodymyr Ignatovich. During his presidency Volodymyr Ignatovich signed six banknotes of independent Ukraine.

During the Hetmanate during 1918, the State Bank jointly with the Ministry of Finance had been conducting an active work for the formation of its own national financial system in Ukraine and for the separation from the Russian ruble zone. In addition, through the State Bank, the government of the Ukrainian state had made international financial transactions.

The last director of the Ukrainian State Bank was one of its first employees and co-founders - Konstantin Klepachevsky. In 1920, after the series of relocations, he had to organize the evacuation of the State Bank outside the UNR - to the Polish city of Czestochow. Unfortunately, the fate and the location of the documentation and archive of the State Bank are unknown. Everything was taken out by the Germans in August 1944.

The National Bank of Ukraine is the main bank of Independent Ukraine

The creation of the National Bank of Ukraine became possible after the proclamation of the state sovereignty of Ukraine on July 16, 1990. The legal basis was the Law "About Banks and Banking", adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on March 20, 1991, according to which the Ukrainian Republican Office of the State Bank of the USSR was transformed into the National Bank of Ukraine with the status of the central issuing bank of the state. This document also proclaimed the creation of an independent two-tier banking system with the market type, in which the first level is the NBU, and the second - other banks.

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