THE RAIS’S HOUSE

Short version for information plate:

Building began in 1870 by Alfred Rais, a financier and merchant of the second guild.
The house is a typical example of a 1-storey residential building in the city. In the
19th century the plot belonged to the Rais family, and around 1870 one of the
brothers built this house.
In the interwar period it was bought by photographer Bron, who lived here and had a
workshop. After the war, it housed a city court, and since 1981 it has been a police
station.
Extended version for the website:
Located on the main street, it is a typical example of a 1-storey residential building in
the city.
Building began in 1870 by Alfred Rais, a financier and merchant of the second guild.
The building was planned as a residence, a place for receiving high-ranking guests
and a summer house for unplanned holidays. After the Romanian occupation of the
city, Alfred withdrew his capital from the city and moved to Austria, where he
became one of the parcels of the world-famous financial institution of the Raiffeisen
family, the Bank Aval, and his former home was occupied by the Khotyn rebels,
where he later placed a military hospital.
In the interwar period, it was acquired by Olexii Bron, a master of artistic
photography who had a home and a workshop there. It is thanks to Bron's talent that
today we can truly imagine the life of local people in the 1920s and 1930s. After the
war, the building housed a city court, and since 1981 it has been a police station.
The prevailing style of architecture is eclecticism. The house has a central-axis
composition. Protruding porch on the axis has a semi-circular entrance aperture. The
drawing of the windows belongs to the modern style. The porch is completed with a
high attic stylized as a defensive tower, giving the house a romantic look. The roof
has three slopes. Interior layout of the western section, with a hall in the courtyard
part. The house was slightly redesigned every time the owner changed its layout. The
hall, dating back to the time of the court, had pilaster separation of the walls, a
cornice, a plafond and five sockets on the ceiling.
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Short version for information plate:
Khotyn Public Library was founded in 1895.
In 1905-1906, the library had a collection of 4 thousand copies.
In 1907-1908 the library was closed by order of the county gendarmerie. It was only
in 1910 that the library reopened its doors to readers, and as of 1918 its collection
comprised 20 thousand books.
During the Second World War the building of the library was also damaged in order
to preserve books, and in 1945-1947 it was taken to Chernivtsi, where most valuable
books are still in use today.
In 1970 and 1990, the premises were rebuilt and expanded. Since 1979, the library
has been functioning as the central library of the Khotyn Centralised Library System.
Extended version for the website:
In 1895, on the initiative of a group of local intellectuals, headed by a sworn attorney
of the second article by Tomashevsky, the Khotyn Public Library was founded. The
room under it was provided by a decision of the local government. It was still a good
enough building, tolerating the shortcomings of barely a decade of these events in the
architectural style of constructivism. The success of this decision surpassed all
expectations. In 1905-1906, the library had a collection of 4,000 copies. A reading
room was opened at the library. However, in 1907-1908 the pro-Russian leadership
of the county made an attempt to turn the library into an institution of «chorna sotnia»
(ultra-right) character, a centre of propaganda of Russian chauvinistic ideas. This was
opposed by the city intelligentsia. There was a fierce struggle around the library, for
which it was closed by order of the county gendarmerie. It was not until 1910 that the
doors for readers were reopened, and as of 1918, its collection included 20 thousand
copies of books.
During the Second World War, the premises of the Public City Library were
destroyed and the book collection partially destroyed. After the war, the library was
moved to another premises.
In 1944, there were fewer books in the Public Library because a large number of
them were transferred to the libraries of Chernivtsi State University and the resulting
regional scientific library. At the end of the year, the Public Library had 5000 books
and served 250 readers.
The revival of the book collection started in the post-war period, when the institution
started working properly again. As early as 1953, it had already produced 18910
copies of books.
In 1970-1980s, the book depository of the subscriptions, use and storage department
of the single library collection was completed. At the beginning of 1990s, the reading
room was completed and the previously existing reading room was reconstructed. In
1979, the library began to serve as the central library of the Khotyn Centralised
Library System.
THE HOUSE OF PRYTCH
Near the temple is the House of Prytch, which was erected in 1877 and consists of
two rooms along the hay. Two more rooms were completed in 1885. It housed a
church office and a lecture hall for clergy. During World War II, the house was
destroyed by a bombing. The attached premises were restored in 1950s.
Since 1963, there has been a local history museum. During 1978-1982, the western
wing consisting of five rooms was completed.
The central axis composition of the primary part of the corner - round pilasters with a
heavy stylised capillary, profiled frames of the side windows indicate the eclectic
style of the building. The primary roof of the building is iron.
Now part of this room is occupied by the cloister of the St. Pokrovkyi Church, while
the other part belongs to the scientific and exposition department of the Chernivtsi
Regional Museum of Local Lore.
THE TURKISH BRIDGE
The Turkish bridge is well described in Arab sources mainly by the Turkish traveler
and participant in the Khotyn war, Eviia Chelebi. Here are a few sentences from the
description: "This bridge (meaning the Turkish Bridge) was built by a clear Padishah
and the true Shahid Mullah Ismail, commander of the garrison of the Guard. And the
Frenchman Boplan designed this creation, (the correct name is Guillaume Lavasseur
de Boplan), I will not lie, but local people say that it was in 1052 (according to the
Christian calendar, 1654).
So in the 17th century, the bridge had important military and economic significance.
Boplan must have designed it in the form of two hinged halves, which had an
elongated shape. Most likely in 1654, the bridge was commissioned as a design
bridge. That is, the entire building was made of wood so that something could be
changed later. This was the reason why the crossing was destroyed.
In the spring of 1675, there was a plague epidemic in Khotin, which raged in January
1676. So many people died from it that the dead were thrown into mass graves
without coffins. According to the Armenian chronicler Ion Nekulche, "all wood, from
fences to bridges, was thrown into the tombs". Subsequently, the Turks restored the
bridge to the classical crossing.
In 1812 across the Bucharest world Khotyn became the property of Russia.
Unfortunately, the poor system of documentation kept by Russian officials did not
preserve data on the construction of the bridge. It must have been rebuilt by local
residents.
COUNTY SCHOOL
It is the oldest registered educational institution in the city. It was built in 1903.
However, it is known that there is an educational institution near the modern
secondary school No 1. This was first shown by the famous Ukrainian ethnographer
and folklorist writer AfanasIev-Chuzhbynskyi in his work "Journey to South Russia
in 2 volumes", which was published in 1862 according to the author's descriptions, it
was a small but cozy building. Today, only the contours of this school are preserved.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the school was attended by a famous
Christian educator, Ivan Voloshenko-Mardariev (real name Mardar). He is an active
participant in the political life of Khotyn district, a deputy of Khotyn City Duma and
head of the pro-Ukrainian and later Bolshevik Party. In January 1919, he became
secretary of the Khotyk Directory, and from January 24, 1919, he led the Khotin
uprising against the Romanian regime. After defeating the uprising, he emigrated to
South Ukraine, where he later joined the Bolshevik Party.
The new school building was built on Voiniv Vyzvolyteliv Street and commissioned
in 1990. At present, the school is a general education institution where not only local
students study, but also students from Ataki village and other villages of Khotyn
district.
THE SYNAGOGUE
The Jews, who adhere to the postulates of the Old Testament, remembered well the
biblical parable of the Tower of Babel, in which the reckless people who decided to
build buildings for God Himself were punished by God, who endowed them in
different languages so that the builders could not agree among themselves. That is
why, afraid of losing their linguistic affinity with each other, which was quite
possible given the scattered Jewish population and the complexity of Hebrew writing,
they strictly adhered to the rule that the "house of God" should be much higher than
the household superstructure. But this is not the only explanation for the grandeur of
the synagogue, but the fact that it served as a hostel and sanctuary for the
impoverished local population. Charity dinners were often held here, and temporary
accommodation was provided for orphans and refugees or new Hasidim.
The synagogue was built in 1861. The site of the building was not chosen by chance
as a hill, and serves as a building site for the spiritual structure, which allowed it to be
the most civil structure in the Old Town.
As for the impressive size of the building, there is nothing strange, as according to the
1860 census, 7,000 Hasids (1,076 families) lived in Khotyn. A private Jewish
women's school, a school and a hospital were already operating in the city at that
time, and the opening of the synagogue was not surprising.
In addition, it should be noted that the spiritual structure also served as a shelter for
disadvantaged and lonely Jews, and there was a public canteen.
After difficult war years for the Hasids, the Soviet authorities closed the synagogue
and it stood there for three decades in this form. In the 1970s, a dormitory was
opened here for young families, which later grew into a residential space. Today,
individual Jewish families also live here.
THE INN
The house has been maintained in a constructivism with some deviations as an
entrance portal. Construction of the building varies between the end of the 19th
century and the beginning of the 20th century. The funds for construction and the
owners were formed as a trust (collective fold) between the City Council and landlord
Shabelman (on whose land the Inn was built). The manager of this hotel was also
Jewish Shulim Shapelman.
The hotel rooms were occupied by middle-ranking officials, cooking staff and non-
local factory managers (the so-called "foremen"). For some time, the following
people stayed here: scientists and cultural workers from Chuzhbinskyi, Veltman and
Khydzheu, and later one of the leaders of the Khotyn Uprising, Ivan Voloshenko-
Mardariev.
Despite the great potential of the famous guests, the institution did not become the
centre of the city's cultural environment, as narrow corridors and small rooms did not
provide for a long stay here and were functionally suitable only for a short night.
Shabelman's Jewish nature was said to have been used to saving on living space.
During the Khotin Uprising, the Khotin commandant Zhuravets placed his
administration here.