Odesa, Reformed Church, 1895-1900

In 1850, the Evangelical community of Odesa, founded in 1842, was authorised to build a church at number 62, today's Via Pasteur. In 1895, the parish, which had in the meantime grown and accumulated sufficient resources to build a church adequate to its needs, committed to building a place of worship capable of accommodating up to 800 people. From 1895 to 1896, Aleksandr Bernardazzi was in charge of its construction, together with the architect Adolf Minkus and the engineer Christian Skveder, based on drawings by the German-born Petersburg architect Viktor Schröter (1839-1901). The building draws inspiration from the Gothic and Renaissance brick architecture of Northern Europe and has an elementary yet well thought-out ground plan. The entrance is located on the right side of the main elevation, within a slightly projecting volume that defines a kind of tower and accommodates the generous staircase leading to the upper floors. The church hall is located on the main floor, surrounded on two sides by matronei, and occupies the entire depth of the building. The double facing, along the longer sides, and the large windows provide it with ideal natural lighting.

Author: Guillaume Nicoud
Version dated: 03.07.2022