Arendt's house is located in the historical center of Simferopol (Karl Marx street 25, former Yekaterininskaya, or Police) and forms the main part of the 19th century estate, which was built by the famous Arendt family, which played an important role in the culture and history of Crimea. The house is currently under threat of demolition. Local authorities in 1998 transferred the building of the Crimean Tatar organization "Fund of Crimea". The new owners regard the estate not as a monument of history and architecture, but only as a piece of land where they plan to build a new 9-storey building [1]
Story
The founder of the Crimean branch of Arendts, Andrei Fedorovich Arendt, who built the house now under threat, is a famous doctor and humanist. Among his patients were Konstantin Batyushkov, Alexander Pushkin, Vissarion Belinsky, and his brother Nikolai Andreevich, the physician of Nicholas I, eased the suffering of mortally wounded Pushkin after his duel with Dantes.
For more than 20 years, Andrei Fedorovich's son Nikolai Andreevich Arendt, an outstanding doctor and public figure, as well as an inventor and founder of domestic aeronautics, lived in this house. A. F. and N. A. Arendts participated as doctors in the Crimean War; at that time, there was a hospital for the wounded that they had created on the estate.
Also in this house was born an outstanding neurosurgeon, one of the founders of pediatric neurosurgery, Andrei Andreevich Arendt.
The Arendt family was famous for their merits in charity, in Simferopol they founded an orphanage and a kindergarten for the poor, built a Lutheran church.
Therefore, Arendt's house more than deserves the status of a historical monument. The quality of its architecture deserves special mention: built in the mainstream of eclecticism, the house harmoniously combines elements of classicism and baroque.
The current home situation
Arendt's house was not included in the lists of monuments, and now this injustice can lead to his death: recall that in the summer of 2012, the unique building of the Astoria Hotel, located on the same street, was demolished, and other historical buildings of Simferopol are being destroyed. Since 1994, the owner of the building is the organization "Fund Crimea", which chose this site in the city center for the construction of the Tatar cultural center, regardless of the fact that there is a historical building on this site. When the house was bought, it was in a satisfactory condition, but the new owner dismantled the floors, and the condition of the building became emergency.
[2].
We, members of the Arendt family, learned about the situation in which the house found itself from the publications of the Crimean journalist Lydia Mikhailova
[3] [4] [5], and now, together with a group of Crimean human rights activists, we are participating in a campaign to save the house from the threat of demolition hanging over it. Our task is to prevent the destruction of the house and put it on state registration as a monument of history and architecture. Unfortunately, the local authorities do not help us with this. The defenders of the house now work in the archives of three countries - Ukraine, Russia and Great Britain, consult with architects-restorers, provide international information support [6] [7] [8].
If we manage to defend the building, then we plan to create a fund in order to find funds for its scientific restoration.
We are sure that if you save and restore Arendt's house, it will not only decorate the historical center of Simferopol, but become an important tourist attraction, economically profitable for the city.
[1] - Arendt's House in Simferopol. History and chronicle of the struggle // website of the St. Petersburg branch of VOOPIK.
[2] - Pritula V. Krimchan call to vryatuvati the historical "Arendt's booth" in the center of Simferopol // Radio Svoboda (Ukraine), 2013-09-01.
[3] - Mikhailova L. What will happen to Arendt's house? // Crimean Echo, 12.06.2012.
[4] - Mikhailova L. Natalia Arendt: It's a shame that people here are in some kind of lethargic sleep // Crimean Echo, 03.07.2012.
[5] - Mikhailova L."Ekaterininskaya street, Rebets house, opposite the gymnasium church" // Crimean Echo, 14.08.2012.
[6] - Stachinskaya E. Descendants will thank those who will keep the Arendt House for them // Crimean Echo, 09.01.2013.
[7] The cultural heritage of Crimea is under threat. The Arendts' house is in danger! // Crimean news. 2012-25-12.
[8] D. Krutikov. Arendt's house may fall victim to the "address question" // Crimean architectural portal. 09.01.2013.
