Attractions of Lviv

The State Museum of Natural History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Lviv is considered one of the oldest natural history museums in Europe.

Founded in 1870 by the naturalist-collector, count of Ukrainian origin Volodymyr Didushytsky in a reconstructed building in the early neoclassicism style of the early 19th century. In 1880 Didushytsky donated the museum to the Lviv community, and since 1940 it has been under the jurisdiction of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

Since 2013, the State Natural History Museum has been creating a new main exhibition "Symphony of Life", the paleontological part of which was opened in 2019 under the name "Ice Age". Among the most interesting exhibits: skeletons of a mammoth and woolly rhinoceros from the ozocerite deposit in Starun, bones of other fossil animals, a Cro-Magnon figure of the late Stone Age, reconstruction of a primitive man's dwelling. The exhibition is complemented by interactive multimedia kiosks.

A kind of museum exhibit is the oldest operating mechanical elevator in Ukraine, equipped back in 1870 by Count Didushytsky, who was partially paralyzed in old age and moved in a wheelchair. For the smallest visitors, there is an interactive children's area.

Stryiskyi Park is one of the oldest and most beautiful parks in Lviv, a monument of garden and park art of national importance.

Before World War II, it was considered one of the most beautiful parks in Poland.

Founded in 1879 by Arnold Rehring on the site of the cemetery. Now it occupies an area of 56 hectares. It consists of three parts: the zone of the lower parterres (at the bottom of the beam), the forest park zone (on the slopes of the beam), the upper terrace.

The Lviv Children's Railway, a monument to Yan Kilinsky (participant of the Polish uprising under the command of Tadeush Kostyushko) and a monument to Ukrainian football (in honor of the victory of the Lviv club "Sokil" over the Krakow team) are located in Stryiskyi Park.

Stryiskyi Park also boasts a decorative pond and beautiful alleys.

Free entrance.

The monument to the outstanding Ukrainian poet and public figure Taras Shevchenko was opened in the center of Lviv only in 1992.

The construction issue was resolved for 5 years, the winner was not determined at two design contests, and as a result of a compromise, it was decided to use the "relatively better" project of sculptors Volodymyr and Andriy Sukhorsky and architects Yuriy Dyba and Yuriy Khromey.

The monument was made in Argentina. The ceremonial opening took place on the anniversary of the adoption of the declaration of independence of Ukraine. After 4 years, the second element of the monument was opened - the 12-meter bronze "Wave of National Renaissance".

The Taras Shevchenko People's Museum opened in Lviv in 2004 in the Lviv Arts Palace to mark the Kobzar's birthday.

The museum room contains thousands of exhibits donated by Lviv residents and guests of the city over the past twenty years. The collection is based on over 100 unique paintings by 26 artists who traveled along Shevchenko's path to Ukraine, Vilnius, St. Petersburg and Kazakhstan.

In total, today the collection includes about 7,000 volumes of books, over 5,000 paintings on the theme of Shevchenko, sculptures, a collection of numerous editions of "Kobzar", embroidered towels, folk clothing, a bandura by the famous Kobzar from Kaniv, Oleksa Chupryna, as well as a unique philatelic collection - Shevchenko in stamps and envelopes, including those issued by the underground post of Ukraine in 1961.

The museum of the outstanding Ukrainian sculptor Theodosia Bryzh opened in 2000 in the workshop where she worked since 1954, after graduating from the Lviv Institute of Applied and Decorative Arts.

Honored artist of Ukraine Teodosia Bryzh created more than two hundred sculptures during her lifetime, including monuments and monuments, tombstones and park sculptures.

The museum exposition presents the entire range of her creative pursuits: from historical portraits to images of contemporaries, images of literary heroes, symbolic and metaphorical compositions, in total - more than a hundred works. A series of images from Lesya Ukrayinka's extravaganza drama "Forest Song" deserves special attention.

The museum retains the creative atmosphere of a workshop with a wooden table and bookshelves, sketches and photographs.

The Museum of Theodosia Bryzh is a branch of the Lviv National Art Gallery.

The Lviv branch of the museum in the dark "Third After Midnight" opened in 2023.

Here you can visit the exhibition "Art by touch" with a tour in complete darkness and accompanied by a blind guide. Such an excursion will give an opportunity to explore in a new way 25 exhibits representing famous works of architecture, painting and cinematography, which most people are used to perceive only visually.

Excursions in the dark are held for groups of up to 3 people and last 45 minutes. After that, visitors are offered to spend time with interesting activities in the recreation room – learn to write Braille, play sensory games, etc.

For children under 10 years of age, a team quest is offered, which allows you to learn interesting facts about the senses and understand the peculiarities of perception of the world by blind people.

In addition to the institution in Lviv, there is also a Third After Midnight Museum in Kyiv.

The Church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ was built in Lviv in 1875-1898 according to the project of the architect Sylvester Havryshkevych on the site of the former Church of the Holy Trinity and the Trinitarian Monastery.

In 1783, the order of the Trinitarians was abolished by the Austrian authorities, and the monastery buildings were transferred to the university. Burnt during the bombardment of the city in 1848, the university buildings stood in ruins for a long time. It was decided to build the Church of the Transfiguration in their place. Well-known Lviv painters and sculptors Andriy Koverko, Teofil Kopystynskyi, Mykhaylo Osinchuk, Antin Pylykhovskyi, Tadey Popel, Leonard Markoni took part in the decoration of the church. The solemn consecration of the church took place in 1906.

After the Soviet authorities banned the Greek Catholic Church, for a long time the temple was under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church.

In October 1989, the Transfiguration Church became the first shrine in Ukraine that was returned to the believers of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church.

Neo-Gothic palace on Pekarska Street in Lviv, known as Turkulo-Komello Palace, built in 1840-1843. Count Henryk Didushytskyi.

The authorship of the project of the building in the early neo-Gothic style of the Venetian type is attributed to Fryderyk Bauman, a Polish architect of the Romantic era. Gothic elements here are large pointed arches and crucifixes. The main facade of the building, unfolding towards a small park, emphasizes a portico on two columns that support a balcony with lace railings, thanks to which the building resembles a romantic medieval house.

In the second half of the 19th century, the palace belonged to CountessFelitsiya Komello. In the 1920s and 1930s, the building was owned by lawyer Batytskyi, and his daughter, the artist Sofiya Batytska, was the first to be awarded the title of "Miss Polonia".

The Ukraine Liberation Struggle Museum is located in the historical building of the former Lviv Rifle Association (1869-1871), in the southern part of the Park "Znesinnya". Opened in 2012 on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army as a department of the Lviv Historical Museum.

The exposition in chronological order reveals the main stages of the struggle for an independent cathedral Ukrainian state and covers the period from the 19th to the end of the 20th century.

In particular, here you can learn about the activities of the sports organizations "Sokil" and "Sich", the purpose of which was to educate physically healthy and nationally conscious Ukrainian youth of Galicia and Bukovyna. The history and combat path of the Legion of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen are highlighted by documents, photographs and fragments of weapons found in the area of ​​the USS battles on Makivka Mount. In the exhibition about the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917-1921: samples of contemporary weapons, reconstruction of the military uniform of the Army of the Ukrainian People's Republic, the original coat of a soldier of the Ukrainian Galician Army, documents of the Central Council and banknotes of the Ukrainian People's Republic, etc.

A significant part of the exposition is dedicated to the activities of combat units of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. In the interiors stylized as forest thickets, materials are presented about the main stages of formation and organizational structure of the UPA, the activities of the "Buh" Military District, senior and sub-senior schools, the medical service of the UPA, publishing and propaganda work. Of great interest is the section dedicated to the history of the Ukrainian Galicia Division: personal belongings of divisional members, commemorative combatant awards, camp publications.

The following expositions tell about the Bolshevik repressions in Western Ukraine, the Sixties movement, the activities of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, the democratic processes of the late 1980s and the declaration of Ukraine's Independence.

The sectors of the Ukraine Liberation Struggle Museum are the Museum of UPA General Roman Shukhevych Museum (Lviv) and the Colonel Yevhen Konovalets Historical and Memorial Museum (Zashkiv).

The UPA General Roman Shukhevych Museum in Lviv was created in 2001 with the assistance and financial support of the Association of UPA Soldiers in the USA named after General Taras Chuprynka. It is a department of the Lviv Historical Museum, sector of the Ukraine Liberation Struggle Museum.

It is located in an old building on the territory of the former village of Bilohorshcha (now district of Lviv), where in 1950 the last headquarters of the UPA commander-in-chief was located.

The exposition on the first floor tells about the Shukhevych family, Roman Shukhevych's youth, his military and political activities and the armed struggle of the Ukrainian liberation movement. In particular, an autobiography written by Shukhevych's hand is presented, as well as objects related to his field activities.

The second floor of the museum reproduces the daily life of the UPA commander-in-chief in this underground apartment: stairs, living room, hiding place. It was here that on March 5, 1950, Roman Shukhevych's last battle with the MGB unit took place. In the room where Roman Shukhevych lived and worked, original furniture (a table, four chairs, an armchair) made in the mid-1930s in Western Europe, which was presented to the museum by the daughter of General Mariya Trylovska, is presented.

On January 1, 2024, the Roman Shukhevych Museum in Lviv was completely destroyed by a fire caused by a Russian air terrorist attack. The lost memorial items of Roman Shukhevych: a table, armchairs, an armchair, a piano, as well as a bust of Roman Shukhevych by Mykhaylo Chereshniovskyi and a sculpture of Stepan Bandera by Yaroslav Trotsko. The remaining approximately 600 pieces of exhibits from the beginning of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war were moved to another place.

A monument to the Ukrainian composer Volodymyr Ivasyuk was opened in Lviv in 2011 at the initiative and at the expense of the musician Svyatoslav Vakarchuk.

Volodymyr Ivasyuk, the author of the most famous Ukrainian pop song "Chervona Ruta", is considered one of the founders of Ukrainian pop music. His mysterious death in 1979, according to the latest information, was organized by the KGB on the instructions of the top leadership of the USSR.

The 3.5-meter-high bronze sculpture was made by sculptor Serhiy Oleshko. Ivasyuk is depicted walking along a Lviv street.

The museum of the Ukrainian modernist artist Volodymyr Patyk opened in Lviv in 2024. It is located in the premises of the Potulitsky villa, built in 1891-1894 according to the design of Ivan Levinsky's bureau in the late neo-baroque style.

The Volodymyr Patyk Museum is a branch of the Lviv Regional History and Local History Museum.

The museum has a hall, a terrace, two interactive rooms, an exhibition hall and a corridor with changing exhibitions. In one of the rooms, the workshop-studio of Volodymyr Patyk is recreated.

The wife of the artist Roman Vasylyna donated to the museum about 100 of his paintings and graphic works, sketches, archives, as well as the artist's personal belongings. This collection became the basis of the museum exhibition.

Castles (Knyazha) Hill in the central part of Lviv (413 meters), on top of which the fortified residence of Prince Danylo Halytskyi was built in the 13th century. It is called the High Castle (Vysoky Zamok) as opposed to the Lower Castle (Citadel).

Initially, the fortress was wooden, with earthen ramparts. In 1362, it was rebuilt in stone by the Polish king Kasymyr, who captured Galicia. The castle, rectangular in plan, had four towers at the corners, the highest of which was a watchtower. Inside was the princely palace, barracks, ammunition depots and a deep well. In 1648, the castle was taken by the troops of Maksym Kryvonos.

In the 19th century, it was almost completely dismantled, the "High Castle" (Vysoky Zamok) park was built in its place, and an observation deck was built, which offers the best views of the city. A fragment of the southern stone wall with loopholes that protected the entrance to the castle territory has been preserved. A long staircase leads to the top.

Currently, there is a regional television center and a relay tower on the mountain.

The Way of the Cross in Lviv is an architectural complex that reproduces the main moments of the sufferings of Jesus Christ.

It is located on the northern slope of the High Castle (Vysoky Zamok) Hill. It consists of 15 stations (parking lots) with sculptures made by architect Bohdan Hretchak in 2010-2013.

The Way of the Cross complex also includes a cave temple, above which the figure of the Mother of God is installed, as well as the spring of the Virgin Mary.

A monument to the famous Galician Yuriy Kulchytskyi was opened in Lviv in 2013.

Yuriy Kulchytskyi, a native of the village of Kulchytsi, Sambir district, became famous during the Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683. Disguised as a Turk, he managed to sneak out of the besieged city through the Turkish camp and convey the news to the Allies, thanks to which the city received military aid, and the Turks were soon defeated at the Battle of Vienna.

According to legend, as a reward, Kulchytskyi asked to give him 300 bags of trophy Turkish coffee, which at that time was practically unknown in Europe. Having such a significant supply of product, the enterprising Galician opened the first coffee shop in Austria, "Under the Blue Flask". He is considered the inventor of the classic Viennese coffee recipe (with cream and sugar).

The people of Lviv are sure that Kulchytskyi also delivered coffee beans to Lviv, and since then coffee has become a cult drink in the city.