Klov Palace, Architectural heritage monument in Pechersk District, Kyiv, Ukraine
Klov Palace is a three-story building with yellow and white facades, symmetrical wings, and detailed architectural ornaments throughout. Today it houses the Supreme Court and sits within a formal administrative quarter surrounded by government buildings.
Built between 1752 and 1756 with funds from the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, the palace was meant to host the Russian royal family during visits to the monastery, but no royalty ever stayed. After a fire in 1858 it was rebuilt with an added upper story and side wings; it burned again after the 1917 revolution and was restored in the 1970s. Since 2003 it has housed the Supreme Court of Ukraine.
The palace owes its name to the Klov tract, land that belonged to the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. The Lavra funded the Baroque residence, and its printing house occupied the building in the 1760s. The main hall's ceiling was painted in 1760; the reconstruction of 2003–2009 for the Supreme Court removed the original interior and layout.
The building sits in the central administrative district and is easily reached by public transport. Access inside is limited since it is an active government building, but the exterior and surrounding architecture are clearly visible from the street.
The palace was never used by the royalty it was built for: Catherine II, passing through Kyiv in 1787, chose the Mariinskyi Palace instead. A lime alley planted alongside the construction gave the Klov tract the name Lypky, which did not stick as the city grew and many trees were felled for new buildings.
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