The Hlukhiv Boys’ Gymnasium is an architectural and historical monument of national significance, located within the territory of the National Reserve “Hlukhiv” in the historic center of the city. It stands adjacent to the building of the former Teachers’ Institute and forms part of the Humanitarian and Educational Complex.

The Gymnasium was originally constructed in the 1860s as a zemstvo (local administrative) building. It was later adapted for educational use in 1874 and 1889. The Hlukhiv four-grade and subsequently six-grade boys’ gymnasium was established on the basis of the local county school. In 1889, it was reorganized into a full eight-grade gymnasium.

Recent research has revealed that the building was designed by architect O. I. Hross, who enjoyed the patronage of the prominent merchant family Tereshchenko. Their cooperation lasted for several years. At the request of Artemiy Yakovych Tereshchenko, Hross designed the Tereshchenko family mansion in 1869—later transformed into the boys’ gymnasium. Today, this building serves as the central structure of the Oleksandr Dovzhenko Hlukhiv National Pedagogical University.

The Hlukhiv Boys’ Gymnasium is of great historical and architectural interest as a well-preserved educational building of the historicist era. It also has significant memorial value, as many distinguished Ukrainians were among its graduates.

The Gymnasium was a prominent cultural center of the region and even had its own symphony orchestra. Among its notable alumni were:

• writer Yu. K. Smolych;
• distinguished Ukrainian historian and director of the Kyiv Central Archive of Ancient Acts V. A. Romanovsky;
• historian and archaeologist M. L. Ernst;
• futurist poet and director of RATAU V. I. Narbut;
• archaeologist M. V. Sibilov;
• botanist H. M. Vysotsky.

Memorial plaques on the building’s façade commemorate several of its famous graduates:

• artist Heorhiy Narbut, founder of Ukrainian graphic art of the 20th century and second rector of the Ukrainian Academy of Arts;
• art historian and monument preservationist F. L. Ernst, a defender of Ukrainian heritage during the harsh years of Bolshevik terror;
• historian, jurist, and Minister of Education of the Ukrainian State M. P. Vasylenko, co-founder and second president of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences;
• composer, conductor, and People’s Artist of the USSR Yu. O. Shaporin.

The two-story building with a basement occupies one of the city’s central quarters. In front of the south-facing main façade lies a forecourt, now shaded by tall trees. The building’s layout is nearly U-shaped, with symmetrically placed rectangular risalits on both the front and courtyard façades. The first floor features a corridor plan with classrooms on both sides, while the second floor follows a nearly enfilade layout. Two vestibules are equipped with staircases leading to the upper level.

Architecturally, the building reflects the classicist trends of historicism. The low first floor serves as a pedestal for the higher second floor, which features tall arched windows with archivolts separated by unfluted pilasters. The risalits on the second floor are accentuated by wall porticoes with four Tuscan columns, a full entablature, and a decorative attic. The first-floor surfaces are rusticated (board and diamond rustication), and the small rectangular windows are framed with simple moldings. The ceilings are flat on wooden beams; the floors are made of planks; the hipped roof rests on wooden rafters and is covered with roofing steel.

The structure has undergone no significant reconstruction or loss. During the Soviet period, some internal modifications were made: stove heating was replaced with a central water heating system. In 2001, the façades were repainted in a two-tone red-and-white color scheme, replacing the earlier terracotta background with white architectural details.

The building was officially registered as a monument of architecture and urban planning of local importance by decision of the Sumy Regional Executive Committee dated May 20, 1988, No. 112 (protection number 114/2-Sm).

According to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated October 10, 2012, No. 929, “On the inclusion of cultural heritage sites of national importance in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine,” the “Hlukhiv Men’s Gymnasium” received the status of a monument of architecture and history of national importance (protection number 180031/2–N).

The most recent restoration work was carried out in 2001. The total area of the building is 2,056.2 m², with a total volume of 9,046 m³.

Currently, the monument houses the rector’s office and administrative departments of the O. Dovzhenko Hlukhiv National Pedagogical University, as well as the Rare Editions Hall of the university library. The library’s collection consists of books, periodicals, dictionaries, and encyclopedias from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, forming the core of the library since the establishment of the Hlukhiv Teachers’ Institute in 1874. The Rare Editions Hall holds over 7,000 items, including reference works and literature in psychology, pedagogy, mathematics, natural sciences, philology, history, and the arts.

In 2015, the Museum of the History of Ukrainian Cossack Law of the 17th–18th Centuries was established within the university library at the initiative of Honored Citizen of Hlukhiv, academician and lawyer Yuriy Serhiyovych Shemshuchenko. He donated a number of rare publications of significant bibliographical and historical value, including:

• M. P. Vasylenko’s Selected Works in Three Volumes;
• Codification of Civil Legislation in Ukrainian Lands;
• Ukraine: Coats of Arms and Flags;
• Ukrainian Cossacks and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania;
• Universals of Ivan Mazepa (1687–1709), Part II;
• Universals of Ukrainian Hetmans from Ivan Vyhovsky to Ivan Samoilovych (1657–1687);
• Rights by Which the Little Russian People Are Judged;
• Descriptions of Left-Bank Ukraine of the Late 18th – Early 19th Centuries, and others.

The museum functions as an educational and research center devoted to the study of the Hetmanate’s role in the formation of Ukrainian jurisprudence. It also hosts historical and cultural events and promotes local heritage.

Both the Humanitarian and Educational Complex as a whole and the Hlukhiv Boys’ Gymnasium in particular are integral parts of the guided tours “Hlukhiv of the Tereshchenkos” and “City Sightseeing Tour”, organized by the National Reserve “Hlukhiv”.

References

1. Passport of the Cultural Heritage Object “Hlukhiv Men’s Gymnasium”, protection number 180031/2-N. Scientific Archive of the National Reserve “Hlukhiv”, inventory number 8.
2. Vechersky, V. V. Monuments of Architecture and Urban Planning of Left-Bank Ukraine: Identification, Research, Documentation. Kyiv: A.S.S. Publishing House, 2005. 586 p.
3. Miroshnychenko, O. M. The Architectural Heritage of Oleksandr Hross. Cathedral Square, No. 6, pp. 2–3.
4. Pechena, A. V. The Library Fund of the Hlukhiv State Pedagogical University as a Source for Research on the History of the Hetmanate. Severshchyna in the History of Ukraine, 2008, No. 7, pp. 217–218.