The Funduklei Women’s Gymnasium was founded in Kyiv in 1860 as the first secondary educational institution for girls. Its initiator was Ivan Funduklei, who donated his estate to the city and provided financial support. In gratitude, both the institution and the street where it was located — now Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street — were named after him.
The gymnasium became an important center of women’s education: girls from different social backgrounds studied here, and professors from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv taught there, although the university itself remained exclusively male until the 20th century. The curriculum included humanities and natural sciences, foreign languages, music, drawing, and dance. Among the graduates were prominent figures of Ukrainian culture and science — Sofia Rusova, Natalia Polonska-Vasylenko, Maria Donets-Tesseir and others — which made the gymnasium an important factor in the formation of the intellectual elite and a center of quality women’s education.
The building of the gymnasium underwent significant changes in the 20th century: after a fire during World War II, it was rebuilt, preserving some fragments of the historic structure and adding new floors. Today, the building at Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street is part of the modern urban landscape — the main office of Naftogaz of Ukraine is located here — and the building itself remains a silent witness to the history of education, philanthropy, and the women’s movement in Kyiv.