Buildings of workers’ clubs from the years 1920–1930 in the context of contemporary needs of residents of Ukraine

Małgorzata Milecka, Viktor Myronenko

doi:10.5277/arc140305

Abstract

Protection of architectural objects erected in the 20th century, which due to their origins are often perceived as a difficult heritage, in the current social conditions constitutes a complex restoration problem. The article outlines attempts to develop and therefore protect from devastation this group of structures which in the countries of the former Eastern Bloc were commonly referred to as palaces of culture or cultural clubs. In the minds of Poles they are usually associated with the enormous edifice that was built after the Second World War in the centre of Warsaw changing its image for years. This “gift from a befriended nation” is a poke in the eye of the Polish people but at the same time it is recognised as a big tourist attraction by visitors from abroad. Although this is the only structure of this type in Poland, in the territory of Ukraine this problem affects a large number of the so called workers’ clubs built in the years 1920–1930, which until today in various ways perform the function of centres of “spending free time”, similarly to those which appeared in the former USSR in the first half of the 20th century. The article present attempts at adaptation of “workers’ clubs” to new conditions in Ukraine.