Drohobych

The Roman Catholic Church of Saint Bartholomew was founded in Drohobych in 1392 by the Polish king Vladyslav II Yahaylo, but it was consecrated only in 1511.

The massive Gothic building of the church was built on the basis of the princely palace of the Galicia-Volyn principality. A powerful defense tower located nearby, which was part of the city fortifications on Castle Hill, began to serve as the bell of the church. Over the centuries, the building was rebuilt several times.

In Soviet times, the church premises were used as a warehouse. In 1989, the temple was returned to the Roman Catholic community of the city.

Gothic white stone portals, wall paintings and stained-glass windows of the 19th century based on drawings by famous artists Yan Mateyko, Stanislav Vyspyansky and Yuzef Mehoffer have been preserved in the interiors.

The walls are reinforced with buttresses. On the northern wall of the church there are unusual white stone reliefs - three windows depicting a palm, foot and head in a papal tiara. Some sources call them symbols of Catholic rule, others consider these symbols to be pagan.

The marble decoration of the door with two swords reminds of the inhabitants of the city who died in the Battle of Grunwald.

The historical and memorial complex "Prison on Stryiska" was opened in 2013 in the former torture chamber of the NKVD, which was located in the inner courtyard of the District Court building in Drohobych.

During the Second World War and in the first years of the Soviet occupation, at least 1,200 residents of Drohobychchyna were tortured and shot here.

The former building of the Imperial District Court in Drohobych is one of the most beautiful in Drohobych, but at the same time it is a symbol of totalitarianism and repression of the four occupation regimes. The three-story building in the historicist style was erected at the beginning of the 20th century, becoming one of the largest courts in Galicia. In addition to 20 judges, there was a court office and a temporary prison. In the interwar period, the Polish authorities placed a city court here.

The same premises were also used as a court during the German occupation of 1941-1944. But the most terrible glory of the "Drohobych torture house" was acquired in the years 1939-1941 and 1944-1959, when the Drohobych Directorate of the NKVD was located here with an internal prison, where local residents were tortured and shot en masse.

Currently, it is the building of the Institute of Physics, Mathematics, Economics and Innovative Technologies of the Drohobych State Pedagogical University.

In 2013, on the site of the former torture chamber, the memorial "Prison on Stryiska" was created according to the project of Drohobych architect Maksym Chirka, and a museum, which is a subdivision of the Drohobychchyna Museum, was opened.

The exhibition tells about Stalin's terror and repression in the western Ukrainian lands: the occupation and establishment of Soviet power in Drohobych region, the creation of Drohobych region, the repression of the NKVD-NKGB in Drohobych region. A photo-martyrologist of NKVD-NKGB victims is presented. The review of the personal belongings of the tortured, instruments of murder and torture, found during the research of the territory of the former torture chamber, causes special excitement.

The Basilian Monastery of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Drohobych is one of the best examples of sacred architecture in the city of the 19th century.

The monastery was founded in 1775. The current complex was built in 1828 on the initiative of hegumenYosafat Kachanovsky, after the old wooden Peter and Paul monastery of the Basilian fathers burned down.

During the Soviet rule, the monastery was closed, many monks were tortured in the torture chambers of the NKVD.

Since 1992, the Basilian Monastery of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Drohobych has been operating again.

The villa of Burgomaster Reymond Yarosh, who ruled Drohobych from 1909 until the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is the decoration of Tarasa Shevchenko Street (former Panska Street).

A two-story house in the style of Viennese secession, richly decorated with stucco, built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by entrepreneurs Shpitsman , local oil magnates. When the Shpitsman left Drohobych, located on the most prestigious street of the city, on the eve of the First World War, the villa was bought from them by burgomaster Reymond Yarosh.

In the period between the First and Second World Wars, Yarosh not only contributed to the strengthening of the economy of Drohobych, but also initiated the rapid development of the resort of Truskavets.

Until recently, Yarosh's villa was used as a city palace for schoolchildren. Currently, the dean's office and classrooms of the Faculty of Biology of the DrohobychState Pedagogical University are located here.

The largest synagogue in Eastern Halicia was built in 1842-1865 for the numerous Jewish community of Drohobych, which played an important role in the economic life of the city.

Neo-Romanesque elements characteristic of the German "Rundbogen" style are used in the architecture of the temple. The synagogue in the German city of Kassel was taken as a model for the design. Along the perimeter of the inner walls, in each of the fields, there are 12 semicircular arches that correspond to the number of tribes of Israel. The combination of annexes and pylons gives the facade of the synagogue a monumental appearance.

After the end of the Second World War, a salt warehouse was placed in the premises of the Choral Synagogue, then a furniture store, and food warehouses were located in the annexes.

After Ukraine gained independence, the synagogue was returned to the local Jewish community. After the restoration, the synagogue was opened in 2018, and on July 3, 2019, the Torah was solemnly brought to the synagogue.