Attractions of Lviv region

One of the most interesting examples of Lviv Renaissance architecture in the ensemble of Rynok Square is the Lorentsovych house, better known as the "Black House" (Chorna Kamyanytsia). The black color sharply distinguishes this building from the other buildings of the square and creates a sharp contrast with it.

The "Black House" was built in 1589 in the style of the late Renaissance by the architect Petro Krasovsky on the order of Sofia Ganel.

During the XVI-XIX centuries, the house changed owners many times, as well as completed and rebuilt. Initially, the building was not black, but under the influence of precipitation, the sandstone masonry was greatly darkened, and now it is specially painted black.

Back in 1926, the city bought the "Black House" from the last owner and opened the Lviv History Museum, which is now a department of the Lviv Historical Museum. The almost 800-year history of the city is represented on three floors by authentic objects of XIV-XX centuries: symbolic keys to the city, seals of the magistrate, inaugural chains of the president and mayor, benches from the conference hall, portraits of city leaders, coats of arms of Lviv in different historical periods. You can see a model of princely Lviv of the XIII-XIV centuries and a model of the Renaissance town hall.

In the courtyard and the first floor there is a Lapidarium - an exposition of stone monuments of Lviv: carved from stone architectural and sculptural fragments, parts of old monuments, epitaphs, etc. In total, about 50 samples of stone sculpture from ancient, mostly non-existent, buildings in Lviv.

The building of the Lviv House of Scientists was built by the firm "Felner and Helmer" in 1897-1898 according to the project of the Viennese architects Ferdinand Fellner and Herman Helmer.

This creative tandem also worked on the George Hotel in Lviv, the Opera House in Odesa, and the City Theater in Chernivtsi.

The construction project was commissioned by the Club of Horse Stud Owners. The imposing appearance of the facades of the house is maintained in the neo-baroque style.

From 1918 to 1939, the People's (aristocratic, count, noble) casino (gathering) was located here. Since 1948, the Lviv House of Scientists has been located here.

Perfectly preserved interior elements - grand staircase, stucco, alabaster fireplaces, original transparent ceiling, elegant balcony - all this makes the former casino one of the most beautiful and architectural buildings in Lviv.

It was here that the scene from the movie "D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers" was filmed, where D'Artagnan climbed the stairs to the cardinal to play chess with him.

The museum of the Lviv National Academy of Arts represents the stages of formation of the Lviv art school and the history of the educational institution. His collection began to form simultaneously with the first edition of the academy in 1953.

In the museum's funds, works of art of graduates of the academy's departments, made in ceramics, glass, wood, metal, and artistic textiles, of different shapes and materials are preserved. All of them have great artistic and historical value.

The most valuable exhibits are diploma works of famous artists: the decorative plate "Bohdan Khmelnytskyi" by Sofiya Karaffa-Korbut (1953) and the entrance door to the museum by Semen Odnopozov (1955).

Lviv National Art Gallery named after Borys Voznytskyi is one of the largest art museums in Ukraine. Its funds number more than 62 thousand works of art from different eras.

It was founded in 1914 as the Lviv Art Gallery and has since been housed in a house built in 1874, which belonged to the prominent historian and collector Vladislav Lozynskyi.

Now the administration of the Lviv National Art Gallery and its department "European Art of the XIX-XXI Centuries" are located in the Lozynsky Palace. About 400 works by French, Austrian, German, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian masters are presented in 24 halls.

The pearl is considered to be the only work in Ukraine by Georges de la Tour "The moneylender", one of the most expensive and most valuable paintings of world importance in the country. Only 32 paintings of this mysterious European master have survived in the world. There are also several portraits of Artur Hrotther, "Portrait of a Daughter" by Henrykh Rodakovskyi and others.

The art halls of Lviv of 1900-1930 acquaint with the works of artists who were members of the associations ANUM, ARTES, "New Generation".

Branches of the Lviv National Art Gallery are:
- Potocki Palace (Lviv);
- Museum of Modernism (Lviv);
- Olesky Castle (Olesko);
- Pidhoirtsi Castle (Pidhirtsi);
- Zolochiv Castle (Zolochiv);
- Zhovkva Castle (Zhovkva);
- Johann Georg Pinsel Museum (Lviv);
- Boim Chapel (Lviv);
- John the Baptist Church (Museum of the oldest monuments) (Lviv);
- Theodosia Bryzh Museum (Lviv);
- Museum-Reserve "Rusalka Dnistrova" (Lviv);
- Pyatnychany Tower Museum-Reserve (Pyatnychany);
- Markiyan Shashkevych Museum-Reserve (Podlyssia);
- Mykhailo Dzindra Modern Sculpture Museum (Bryukhovychy);
- Hetman of Ukraine Ivan Vyhovskyi Museum-Reserve (Ruda);
- Zhydachiv Land Museum (Zhydachiv);
- Museum of Old Ukrainian Books (works in stock mode).

Lviv National Medical University named after Danylo Halytsky traces its history back to 1784, when Emperor Yosyp II restored the university in Lviv with four faculties, including the medical one.

In 1891-1898, new educational buildings were built: anatomo-physiological, patho-anatomical, chemical, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, internal diseases, dermatovenerology, otorhinolaryngology and others. The main building of the university was built in 1892 by the architect Yozef Braunzays in the Neo-Renaissance style. The other three buildings (anatomy, hygiene and pharmacology) are located opposite in the shape of the letter П around the open courtyard-curdoner, creating a single ensemble. The central link of the ensemble is the body of anatomy, with its main facade facing Pekarska Street.

In 1900, the first graduation of doctors took place in the number of 16 people, among whom there were two Ukrainians.

A monument to the medics who died during the Second World War has been installed in the park.

Currently, the Lviv National Medical University includes 79 departments, which make up seven faculties. More than 5,000 students study at the university.

Lviv National University named after Ivan Franko is one of the leading higher education institutions of Ukraine, one of the oldest in Europe. It was founded in 1661 by decree of the Polish king Yan Kazymyr.

The building of the main building of Lviv University was built in 1877-1881 (architect Yuliush Hokhberger). Initially, it housed the Regional Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria. The facade is decorated with a majestic portico with columns and a loggia, sculptural allegorical groups "Work" and "Education" at the entrance, "Galicia, Vistula and Dniester" - on the attic (sculptor Theodore Rieger). In 1920, the building was transferred to the Lviv University of Yan Kazymyr.

Currently, Ivan Franko Lviv National University occupies high positions in many international and all-Ukrainian university rankings. More than 20,000 students study at its 19 faculties. The university has its own botanical garden and a collection of old prints in the scientific library.

The History Museum of Lviv University operates in two halls of the main building. Here is presented a gallery of portraits of rectors, diplomas of graduates and scientists of different times, documents and personal belongings of prominent people, manuscripts and editions of scientific works, scientific instruments, photographs and other items related to the history of Lviv University. Museum employees conduct tours.

In addition, the main building houses the Archaeological Museum of Lviv University, which highlights the material and spiritual culture of the population of Volyn and Prykarpattia from the Paleolithic to the princely era.

The Museum Complex of the Lviv National University also includes the Archaeological Museum, the Zoological Museum, the Paleontological Museum, the Mineralogical Museum, and the Museum of Ore Formations.

The first oceanarium in Lviv opened in 2020 in the city center, on Tarasa Shevchenko Avenue, in the former premises of the "Kyiv" cinema. This is one of the projects of a team of professional aquarists led by Oleksandr and Yana Yanovsky.

On three floors there is a labyrinth with more than 20 aquariums of various sizes, as well as an underwater tunnel 18 meters long. At the time of its opening, the collection included more than 3,000 different sea creatures. In particular, blacktip sharks, three types of rays, spotted gars, porcupinefiseh, clownfishes, yellowface angelfishes, red lionfishes, Midas cichlids, giant gouramis, piranhas and other types of fish and sea turtles live in the oceanarium.

Excursions are conducted in Ukrainian, Russian, English and Polish. A souvenir shop is open, orders for aquarium fish are accepted.

The Lviv Puppet Theater was founded in 1946. It is located in a building that was built in 1913 as the "Craft Chamber" according to the project of architect Yan Protshke.

The building is made in the Neo-Renaissance style. Nowadays, fragments of authentic stained-glass windows in the Secession style and incredible forging are still preserved on the ceiling.

The Lviv Puppet Theater began its activities with the premiere of the folk tale "Ivasyk-Telesyk" based on Ivan Franko's fairy tale.

The Lviv Railway History Museum is dedicated to the creation and development of the oldest railway line in Ukraine. It was founded in 1973 and became the first railway museum in Ukraine. It is located in the Palace of Science and Technology of the Lviv-West locomotive depot next to the railway station.

The exposition of the museum tells about the birth and construction of the Lviv Railway in Halychyna, Volhynia, in the Carpathians and further south to the city of Chernivtsi during the times of Austria-Hungary, Poland, the USSR and at the current stage of Ukraine's development.

Among the exhibits are rare documents, photographs, tools, devices, models, equipment and uniforms of employees of railway professions from different times. The pride of the museum is the album "Volodymyr-Volynskyi - Sokal Line" published in 1916, trilingual passenger tickets from 1918-1921, as well as the Koptomir counting machine, which was used until 1939.

The Lviv Region Electrification History Museum was opened in 2018 at the initiative of Lvivoblenergo PJSC. The exhibition is located on the first floor of the "Lvivoblenergo" building near the "Zalizna Voda" park.

The museum tells about the history of energy development in Lviv from the end of the 19th century. In particular, the model of the first electric tram, which was launched in the city in 1894, is presented. Visitors are offered to set the tram in motion with the help of a dynamo.

You can also see a plan for the laying of cable lines of the city of Lviv from 1908, a copy of a street arc lamp from 1909, a model of a coal mine and its electrical equipment, electric meters from different times, working tools and remains of electricians.

The interior of the laboratory of engineer-inventor Nikola Tesla is reproduced in the museum, and the work of the Tesla coil is demonstrated.

In front of the entrance to the museum, there is a stand dedicated to the memory of Taras Krukenytskyi, director of the Lviv City Electricity Networks. A landmark for visitors is the mural depicting Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison on the fence.

Visiting the museum is possible only with a guided tour and by prior appointment.

The Historical and Local Lore Museum in the city of Vynnyki is a communal institution of the Lviv Regional Council. It was opened in 1991 in the former mansion of doctor Yakiv Nahlyak (1935). The exposition is located in three halls.

The archeological collection presents everyday objects of primitive hunters, finds from the Trypillian period, a unique treasure from the Hallstatt-Laten era and a mysterious stone statue. Among the archaeological artifacts of the western region of Ukraine are a Viking sword, one of three cauldrons in the world with the image of Swabian warriors, a fragment of a stone tile with a "smiling face", etc.

The expositions of the "History of the Middle Ages" and "Modern History" departments tell about the origin and development of the city of Vynnyky. In particular, items from the Vynnyky Castle and the first tobacco factory of Galicia, a collection of ancient printed publications of the 17th-19th centuries, personal belongings of the famous opera singer Oleksandra Lyubich-Parakhonyak, ministers of the Ukrainian People's Republic of Ukraine Ivan Lypa and Ivan Ohiyenko are presented.

The museum also has exhibition halls in Vynnyky, which are located in a building at 5 Ivasyuka Street. Personal, scientific, ethnographic and artistic exhibitions, thematic lectures, seminars and symposia are held here.

The departments of the Lviv Regional Historical and Local Lore Museum are:
- Volodymyr Patyk Museum (Lviv);
- Weaving and Carpet Making Museum (Glyniany);
- Lord Homestead Museum (Zhuravnyky).

Before the arrival of the Bolsheviks, the romantic palace in Rozdil belonged to the Lyantskoronsky count family.

The palace was built in 1874 by Count Karol Lyantskoronsky on the site of the old manor house founded in 1704 by the Lviv Zemstvo judge Mikhal Zhevusky.

The building in the style of the French Renaissance, designed by the architect Ivan Levinsky (according to other sources – Yulian Zakharevych), has been well preserved to this day. The galleries of the palace are decorated with medallions depicting the Olympian gods.

Count Lyantskoronsky, fascinated by ancient culture, traveled a lot in Asia Minor and collected a rich collection of sculpture and painting. A large part of the collection later ended up in the Drohobych Museum of Local Lore, and recently discovered ancient sculptures in the park, which were considered to be plaster copies, are currently kept in the Lviv Art Gallery.

In Soviet times, a sanatorium functioned on the territory of the manor.

Currently, the Zhevusky-Lyantskoronsky Palace in Rozdil is in private ownership, restoration is planned.

The Lyantskoronsky manor in the city of Komarno was founded in the 18th century opposite the old castle. The palace in the style of classicism was built at the end of the 19th century.

Until 1939, a Polish school was located in the estate. During the Second World War, the palace was badly damaged and has not been restored since then, now it is in ruins. The park is in a very neglected state.

The Lyantskoronsky Palace was built in Tartakiv in the 19th century on the site of the Potocki Castle, founded in the 18th century by the Polish magnate Feliks Kazymyr Potocki. Fragments of ramparts and walls from the southwest side of the old defensive castle have been preserved.

A new palace in the French neo-baroque style was built in Tartakiv by Zbihnev Lyantskoronsky. It is believed that the model for the architectural project of the Tartakiv Palace was the Casino de Paris (Casino de Paris) in Monaco. The two-story palace with a risalite and a balcony has a side tower. An L-shaped utility building is attached to the house from the south.

In Soviet times, a school was located in the Lyantskoronsky Palace. In 2010, the architectural monument was handed over to a private investor under the condition of restoration and creation of a tourist center.

The elegant Renaissance building of the palace was built for Count Sapeha, but later architect Yan de Vitte rebuilt it for the Lyubomyrskyi family.

Since the 19th century, the building belonged to the Ukrainian society "Prosvita".

Currently, the premises of the Lyubomirskyi Palace house the exposition of the Museum of Ancient European Furniture and Porcelain (680 items) - a branch of the Museum of Ethnography and Art Crafts of the Institute of Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.