On the night of August 2, the roof of the 200-year-old Krasytsky Palace in Volodymyrka, Rivne region, collapsed, as a floor beam snapped. The building is an architectural monument of local significance. This was reported to Suspilne by Oksana Samkovska, head of the Department of Economics and Investments of the Volodymyrets Village Council, UNN reports.
According to her, the headmaster of the school, which owns the architectural monument, informed her about the collapse of the ceiling.
"Due to the negative impact of weather conditions, the wooden load-bearing structures have been constantly deteriorating for more than 10 years. Since this is an architectural monument, every move must be justified by design and estimate documentation with the appropriate permits. Unfortunately, we can't even dismantle anything without the appropriate permits. We plan to fence off the dangerous area, of course," Samkovska said.
In the spring, a restoration project was developed for the Krasicki Palace, including sketches of the facades and interior spaces, and the estimated cost of the work was calculated. The project was part of the national architectural hackathon 100 Ideas for Cities. According to Oksana Samkovska, it was a competition of architects' ideas.
"Let me remind you that the essence of the Hackathon was not to develop and implement design estimates for the restoration of the palace. The architects chose the buildings for their visualization at will. We provided all available graphic and descriptive information about the palace building. This project is not about immediate restoration, but about long-lost opportunities," she added.
What is known about the Krasicki Palace
According to the tourist portal discover.ua, the Krasicki Palace is the oldest building in Volodymyrets.
The building in the style of provincial classicism with elements of the Empire style was built in the 20s of the nineteenth century for Count Vincent Józef Krasicki.
The name of the architect is unknown. The authentic appearance of the building can be found in the surviving descriptions and photographs.
There was a carved portico above the entrance on the columns, a small balcony on the second floor, and a porch with columns on the left side of the façade. All these elements have been destroyed and have not survived to this day.
On the ground floor there was a dining room, a living room, and a guest room; on the first floor there were the owners' rooms and possibly another living room or ballroom. A park with exotic plants and wide alleys was laid out around the palace. There was also a distillery and outbuildings.
The Krasicki family owned the estate until the early twentieth century. In 1914, it was bought by the de Pourbaix family, who used the palace mainly for administrative purposes, not as a residence.
Under Soviet rule, the estate was looted, and in 1957 an orphanage was opened there, and some of the premises were used for the needs of the local collective farm.
In 2002, a church operated here for six years. In memory of this, a cross is still preserved on the pediment.
Today, the Krasicki Palace is in a state of disrepair. From time to time, local youth and activists try to draw attention to the building through artistic events.