Nikolaev

Officer Assembly

Buildings

Description

  • The House of Flag and Commanding Officers, or the Winter Nobility Assembly, was constructed by order of Aleksey Greig, the Admiral and Chief Commanding Officer of the Black Sea Navy and Ports, Military Governer of Mykolaiv and Sevastopol.

The House of Flag and Commanding Officers, or the Winter Nobility Assembly, was constructed by order of Aleksey Greig, the Admiral and Chief Commanding Officer of the Black Sea Navy and Ports, Military Governer of Mykolaiv and Sevastopol. The purpose was to make a cultural leisure site for officers and their families. Nowadays the Officer Assembly is a landmark of national significance.

The House of Flag and Commanding Officers, or the Winter Nobility Assembly, was constructed by order of Aleksey Greig, the Admiral and Chief Commanding Officer of the Black Sea Navy and Ports, Military Governer of Mykolaiv and Sevastopol. The purpose was to make a cultural leisure site for officers and their families. Nowadays the Officer Assembly is a landmark of national significance.

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HISTORY

  • A.S. Greig’s dream was to make Mykolaiv a Southern cultural center and provide the Black Sea Fleet officers with an opportunity of cultural and intellectual leisure time.
  • That caused a decision to build a special establishment for meeting needs.
  • The matter was that many officers used to stay for a winter period in the city, and in the long winter evenings they had no choice but to get drunk and end up in the police stations.
  • So, in 1824, according to the project of architect F. Wunsh, the House of Flag and Commanding Officers was built with a purpose to "organize cultural leisure time".

A.S. Greig’s dream was to make Mykolaiv a Southern cultural center and provide the Black Sea Fleet officers with an opportunity of cultural and intellectual leisure time. That caused a decision to build a special establishment for meeting needs. The matter was that many officers used to stay for a winter period in the city, and in the long winter evenings they had no choice but to get drunk and end up in the police stations. So, in 1824, according to the project of architect F. Wunsh, the House of Flag and Commanding Officers was built with a purpose to "organize cultural leisure time". Later the house got a definition of the Winter Nobility (Navy) Assembly. It is a two-storey building with a semi-basement built from stone in the style of classicism, has a rectangular shape in plan view. The center of the main facade has a portico with six columns of a large Tuscan order and a triangular pediment. The windows are arched, having a triangular shape, decorated with jamb lining. Windows on the first floor are accented by shelves - cornices. Large cornices crown facades as well.

Since its very establishment the House has held social events, balls, concerts, family dance evenings, lectures. There was a school of musicians and singers, cadet classes, a library. Officers of the highest ranks of all departments, who served or were retired, nobles, honorary citizens with hereditary surname and first-guild merchants could become members of the Navy Assembly. Underage boys and girls (17 and 16 years old, respectively), lower-ranking officials and persons being prosecuted were not allowed to attend the event, even as guests. In December 1917, the Council of People's Commissars adopted a decree "On equal rights of military personnel" This decree abolished all ranks, orders, as well as all officers’ organizations of Imperial Russia, including Navy Assemblies.

Starting from 1924 the House of flag and commanding officer got the name “Sailors Cultural Center. After World War II it became the Naval Officers Club and Center for culture, leisure and education of the Navy.

In 2004 the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine handed over the building into the communal property. The regional Philharmonic Hall was planned to house in the building, but its emergency maintenance state interfered into the plan. In 2010 the architectural monument was handed over to the city community.

Nowadays this architectural monument is in state of failure and needs to be reconstructed. Every summer residents of Mykolaiv have an opportunity to spend leisure time at outdoor venues next to the building: festival movies performance, concerts, meetings, exhibitions, etc.

A.S. Greig’s dream was to make Mykolaiv a Southern cultural center and provide the Black Sea Fleet officers with an opportunity of cultural and intellectual leisure time. That caused a decision to build a special establishment for meeting needs. The matter was that many officers used to stay for a winter period in the city, and in the long winter evenings they had no choice but to get drunk and end up in the police stations. So, in 1824, according to the project of architect F. Wunsh, the House of Flag and Commanding Officers was built with a purpose to "organize cultural leisure time". Later the house got a definition of the Winter Nobility (Navy) Assembly. It is a two-storey building with a semi-basement built from stone in the style of classicism, has a rectangular shape in plan view. The center of the main facade has a portico with six columns of a large Tuscan order and a triangular pediment. The windows are arched, having a triangular shape, decorated with jamb lining. Windows on the first floor are accented by shelves - cornices. Large cornices crown facades as well.

Since its very establishment the House has held social events, balls, concerts, family dance evenings, lectures. There was a school of musicians and singers, cadet classes, a library. Officers of the highest ranks of all departments, who served or were retired, nobles, honorary citizens with hereditary surname and first-guild merchants could become members of the Navy Assembly. Underage boys and girls (17 and 16 years old, respectively), lower-ranking officials and persons being prosecuted were not allowed to attend the event, even as guests. In December 1917, the Council of People's Commissars adopted a decree "On equal rights of military personnel" This decree abolished all ranks, orders, as well as all officers’ organizations of Imperial Russia, including Navy Assemblies.

Starting from 1924 the House of flag and commanding officer got the name “Sailors Cultural Center. After World War II it became the Naval Officers Club and Center for culture, leisure and education of the Navy.

In 2004 the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine handed over the building into the communal property. The regional Philharmonic Hall was planned to house in the building, but its emergency maintenance state interfered into the plan. In 2010 the architectural monument was handed over to the city community.

Nowadays this architectural monument is in state of failure and needs to be reconstructed. Every summer residents of Mykolaiv have an opportunity to spend leisure time at outdoor venues next to the building: festival movies performance, concerts, meetings, exhibitions, etc.

INTERESTING FACTS

  • Andrey Gorenko, father of famous poet Anna Akhmatova, gave lectures in the House of Flag and Commanding Officers. Well-known composers M.Mussorgsky and N.Rimsky-Korsakov performed their concerts here. Prominent figures, such as P.Nakhimov, F.Bellinshausen, A.Greig, M.Lazarev, G.Butakov, M.Arkas, S.Makarov did lecturing here.
  • On August 30, 1890 there was centenary celebration of Mykolaiv.
  • There was a special dress code policy to attend a ball in the Officer’s Club: officers should wear tailcoats, women should wear ball dresses. Local mass media notified on dress code for a forthcoming event in advance, for example in Mykolaiv newspaper dd. 1907 the following announcement could be read: On December 6, January 22, February 6 it is required that army men dress uniforms, civilians wear tailcoats; on December 31, January 6, February 15 - army men dress froak coats with shoulder marks, civilians wear froak coats.”
  • Financial contributions at the assemblies consisted of membership fees and income from various events. A significant part of revenue was income from playing cards and penalties per game after the set time.
  • In a short period of time the Navy Assembly became a center of educational work not only for the Black Sea Fleet, but also for residents of Mykolaiv. The stage of the Winter Navy Assembly became a center of activity for various cultural, artistic and charitable societies of the city; the board of the establishment willingly rented the building out for charity purposes.


  • Andrey Gorenko, father of famous poet Anna Akhmatova, gave lectures in the House of Flag and Commanding Officers. Well-known composers M.Mussorgsky and N.Rimsky-Korsakov performed their concerts here. Prominent figures, such as P.Nakhimov, F.Bellinshausen, A.Greig, M.Lazarev, G.Butakov, M.Arkas, S.Makarov did lecturing here.
  • On August 30, 1890 there was centenary celebration of Mykolaiv.
  • There was a special dress code policy to attend a ball in the Officer’s Club: officers should wear tailcoats, women should wear ball dresses. Local mass media notified on dress code for a forthcoming event in advance, for example in Mykolaiv newspaper dd. 1907 the following announcement could be read: On December 6, January 22, February 6 it is required that army men dress uniforms, civilians wear tailcoats; on December 31, January 6, February 15 - army men dress froak coats with shoulder marks, civilians wear froak coats.”
  • Financial contributions at the assemblies consisted of membership fees and income from various events. A significant part of revenue was income from playing cards and penalties per game after the set time.
  • In a short period of time the Navy Assembly became a center of educational work not only for the Black Sea Fleet, but also for residents of Mykolaiv. The stage of the Winter Navy Assembly became a center of activity for various cultural, artistic and charitable societies of the city; the board of the establishment willingly rented the building out for charity purposes.