House with Chimeras, Kiev

This is the house mentioned in an earlier posting, the Jugendstil masterpiece on Bankova built around the turn of the 20th century by Wladislaw Horodecki, an imaginative if eccentric businessman. If you look carefully at the top centre, between the two posts, there is a weeping or screaming face. The storm drains are shaped like elephant trunks, and on the grounds are statues of gigantic frogs, antelope and mermaids built of cement, a state of the art material around 1900.

The grounds and house seemed to be closed at least the day I was there, so I was only able to appreciate this place from the outside. A fine example of the style of architecture I prefer, and who would expect to find it in Kiev?