Derzhprom, Constructivist office building in Freedom Square, Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Derzhprom is a 13-storey reinforced-concrete office complex on Freedom Square, 63 metres tall, with nine towers of six to thirteen floors linked by three large blocks and covered walkways. Its grey concrete and glass facades form horizontal bands of rectangular windows; a 45-metre television mast added in 1955 stands on the roof.
A 1925 competition for the House of State Industry drew 19 entries; the winning project "Uninvited Guest" by Leningrad architects Serafimov, Kravets and Felger was built between 1925 and 1928. Chief engineer Pavel Rottert mechanised about 80% of the work, and the building opened on 7 November 1928. From 1928 to 1934 it housed the Council of People's Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR.
The name was shortened from House of State Industry to Derzhprom; from 21 November 1926 it was officially the Dzerzhinsky Building, and the current name returned once the square itself bore Dzerzhinsky's name. Writers nicknamed it the house-mountain, the ark and the human anthill. Since 2000 it has been one of twelve official symbols of Kharkiv.
The building currently houses government offices and administrative institutions visible from the square. Visitors can explore the exterior architecture and square layout, though direct access to interior areas may be restricted.
During the German occupation of 1941–1943, the ground floor housed a stable and the upper floors sheltered monkeys that had escaped from the nearby zoo; three rhesus macaques survived in the building until 23 August 1943. A monument to them was unveiled at the zoo in August 2008, on the 65th anniversary of the city's liberation.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,622 contributors worldwide.
