Attractions of Lviv district

The architectural ensemble of Lviv's main shopping square began to take shape in the 14th century in the style of European medieval cities (before that, the Stariy Rynok (Old Market) was the shopping center).

Market Square (Rynok square) is surrounded on four sides by 44 houses (apartments), different in time of construction and style (Renaissance, Baroque, Empire). Architects Petro Krasovskyi, Martyn Gradovskyi, Petro Barbon, Pavlo Rimlyanin, Bernard Meretyn, Sebastian Fesinger and others worked on the building.

Elements of Gothic architecture of the XV-XVI centuries have been preserved in the basements and first floors of many buildings. They are home to museums, shops and popular cafes. The Lviv Historical Museum occupies the most interesting buildings ("Black Stone House", "Royal Stone House" and others).

The Town Hall (1381-1827) in the center of the square is a symbol of the city. The building is used for its intended purpose - it houses the city government. The Lviv Information and Tourist Center is located on the first floor, providing tourists with information, maps and guidebooks.

There are always many tourists here, especially on the days of numerous holidays and festivals.

The Univ Holy Dormition Lavra is one of the oldest monasteries in Ukraine, the central abode of the Galician Diocese of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

The defense-type monastery was founded at the end of the 14th century by Prince Fedir Lyubartovych. Until the middle of the 15th century, the monastery was looked after by the princes of the Hedyminovych family. Subsequently, Univ passed into the hereditary possession of the Lahodovsky nobles.

In 1549, the Univ monastery was destroyed by the Tatars. After that, according to legend, the Virgin appeared in a dream to the noble Oleksandr Lahodovsky, who was seriously ill, and pointed to a healing spring near the ruined monastery, thanks to which the knight was cured. In gratitude, he built a defensive stone church of the Dormition of the Holy Virgin with a bell tower above the spring, as well as defensive walls with four corner towers. Outside, the fortress was surrounded by a moat with water and a high rampart. The preserved tombstone of Lahodovsky is one of the best examples of Western Ukrainian Renaissance sculpture.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, there was a printing house at the monastery that published old books.

After the region joined the Austrian Empire, the monastery was closed and rebuilt as the residence of the metropolitan. Monastic life was revived here by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytskyi, handing over the monastery to the monks of the Studio Statute. In 1919, the monastery acquired the status of a Lavra.

After the decline during the Soviet persecution of Greek Catholics, the monastery was revived again. The main shrine is a copy of the Univ miracle-working icon of the Mother of God

Svobody Avenue (Liberty Avenue) is the city's central street, the most elegant and prestigious in Lviv.

It arose in the 18th century on the site of the lower city rampart. Old names: Nizhnyi Valy, Nimetskyi Valy, Lenin Avenue. Architectural eclecticism with features of classicism, neo-renaissance and baroque.

Svobody Avenue with an avenue in the middle starts from the Opera House. In the center is a monument to Taras Shevchenko and a sculptural composition dedicated to the poet's works. It ends at Mitskevych Square. Two tributaries of the Poltva River once converged here. In the middle is the figure of the Virgin Mary. The marble statue was erected at the expense of Countess Severina Badeni in 1861, moved to its current location in 1904, restored in 1997. In 1905, a monument to Adam Mitskevych - a Polish poetic luminary - was erected. The historic building of the George Hotel is also located on the square.

The tourist center of the city (the so-called "Stometrivka"), the main epicenter of political life (the so-called "Klumba"), a permanent meeting place for informal youth (the so-called "Frog").

Lviv Aquapark "Plyazh" is one of the largest indoor water recreation complexes in Ukraine, capable of receiving 1,000 visitors at the same time.

On an area of 14,000 square meters, there is a 50-meter sports pool, an entertainment area with 9 water slides of different lengths and levels of difficulty, a children's area with a small pool and small slides.

Recreational and game lessons on the water, children's fitness and therapeutic gymnastics classes are held for children.

In the recreation area there is a Turkish bath and a jacuzzi, and two bars. Aerobics, fitness, dance and other classes are held. The complex also includes a solarium, a fitness center, a bistro, and an Internet cafe.

There is convenient parking.

The column of Adam Mitskevych is one of two monuments to the outstanding Polish poet created in Ukraine for his centenary (the other is in Ivano-Frankivsk).

The idea of the monument project as a column was proposed by the writer Adam Krekhovetskyi. The ceremonial laying of the first stone in the pedestal on Mariatska Square (now Adam Mitskevych Square) took place on the day of Mitskevych's century in 1898.

The construction of the monument lasted five years, it was opened on October 30, 1904. It is considered one of the best monuments to Mitskevych in the world.

The Church of All Saints in the village of Hodovytsia was built in 1751-1758 by the prominent Lviv architect of Italian origin, Bernard Meretyn.

Lviv Archdeacon Stefan Mikulsky provided the funds for the construction. This is one of the projects on which Meretyn worked together with the famous sculptor Ivan Pinzel. The sculptor made an altar, some sculptures of which are now on display in the Pinzel Museum in Lviv and in the Olesko Castle. Paintings by the artist Oleksandr Rolinsky have been preserved in the interior. The baroque pediment of the church is decorated with characteristic decorative stone vases.

Later, the church in Hodovytsia served as prototypes for several more churches in the "Meretyn" style, which were created according to the architect's typical projects. The crucifix and the miraculous image of Mary with the baby were exported to Poland.

Meanwhile, the Church of All Saints in Hodovytsia has been abandoned since Soviet times and is gradually falling into disrepair.

National Museum in Lviv named after Andrey Sheptytsky presents an outstanding collection of works of Ukrainian national culture and art.

More than 175,000 exhibits reflect the evolution of Ukrainian art culture over nine centuries. Of particular value is the collection of sacred art of the XII-XVIII centuries.

The institution was founded in 1905 by the Greek Catholic Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky as the "Church Museum", in 1913 it was solemnly donated to the Ukrainian people. The work on the organization of the museum was headed by Professor Ilarion Svyentsitsky, Ivan Franko, Mykhaylo Hrushevsky and others took an active part in its development.

In the spacious exhibition halls of the main museum building there is a permanent exhibition of "Ukrainian art of the XII - early XX centuries", presenting the pearls of the national and world art treasury. Among the works of Ukrainian medieval sacred art there are ancient icons: "Yuriy Zmiyeborets" (XIV century), "Archangel Michael with deeds" (XIV century), "Saint Paraskeva Friday" (XIV century), "Virgin Hodegetria" (XV century) and others. The book collections include the Buchach Gospel (13th century), the Pandects of Antiochus (1307), the editions of the first printers Shvaypolt Fiol, Frantsysk Skoryna, Ivan Fedorov, and others. Graphics, sculpture, folk art are also presented.

The departments of the Sheptytsky National Museum are the exposition "Ukrainian Art of the Twentieth Century" in the historical building of the museum, art and memorial museums of Ivan Trush, Oleksa Novakivsky, Olena Kulchytska, Leopold Levytsky, arranged in the former homes and creative workshops of these outstanding Ukrainian artists.

Archaeological Museum of the Institute of Ukrainian Studies named Ivan Krypyakevych of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has been working in Lviv since 2001.

Located in the historic building of the Shevchenko Scientific Society, that previously led the Ukrainian archaeological research in Galicia.

The museum presents artifacts from the Paleolithic to the late Middle Ages, found in Western Ukraine.

Along with the original artifacts of stone, bone, horn, clay, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, life-size reconstructions of Paleolithic housing methods (more than 50,000 years ago) during the existence of the Trypillya culture (IV-III millennium BC), in the early Slavic period (V-VII centuries AD), the ancient methods of leather processing, drilling of stone axes, making pottery, smelting iron, etc. were reproduced.

In total, more than 2,000 exhibits were presented.

The wooden church of Archangel Michael in the city of Komarno was built in 1754.

One of the best examples of the Galician school of folk architecture. The three-log three-headed temple has undergone several reconstructions, the last of which, carried out in 1965-1967 under the leadership of architect Ivan Mohytych, returned it to its original appearance.

An interesting feature of St. Michael's Church is the east log with archaic tiny niches to the north and south. In the interior there is a monumental painting of the 18th century.

To the west of the church is a three-tier bell tower with a tented finish, the lower tier of which is surrounded by a porch on brackets of the original structure.

Nearby is the new brick church of Saint Michael the Archangel (1910).

The Archcathedral of Saint George (Saint Yura)  in Lviv is one of the most beautiful architectural ensembles of the city, a pearl of the Ukrainian Baroque. The main shrine of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, where the residence of the metropolitans of the UGCC was located for a long time.

The first church on Svyatoyurska Hill in Lviv was founded during the times of the Galicia-Volyn principality. The current temple complex was built in 1744-1770 according to the project of Bernard Meretin, who combined the Rococo style with Ukrainian sacred aesthetics. Sculptures by Ivan Pinzel are installed on the main facade. The bell tower houses the oldest bell in Ukraine (1341). The most valuable relic of the temple is the miraculous icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary (XVII century).

Metropolitans Andriy Sheptytskyi and Volodymyr Sterniuk, Patriarch Yosyp Slipiy are buried in Saint George's Cathedral.

Next to the cathedral is the Metropolitan Palace, where Pope Ivan Paul II stayed in 2001 during his visit to Ukraine.

Since 1998, Saint George's Cathedral, together with the ensemble of the historical center of Lviv, has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

In the Armenian quarter of Lviv, between the streets of Virmenska and Lesi Ukrayinky, there is a cathedral, a bell tower, the palace of the archbishops and a nunnery. The buildings form a colorful "Armenian yard".

The construction was led by the Armenian architect Dorinh (Dorhi) at the expense of Armenian merchants. The image of the cathedral has many common features with the cathedral in the ancient Armenian capital of Ani. Over the centuries, the cathedral was renovated and extended. The oldest part is the eastern part (from the 14th century). Reconstruction in 1723 gave the building a baroque appearance.

In the altar part there are traditional "khachkar" stone crosses. The sculptural groups of the 15th century "The Belief of Khoma" and "Saint Sophia with Daughters" are of significant artistic value.

The building of the City Arsenal of Lviv is one of the preserved parts of the city fortifications of the 16th century.

The first small armory existed in this place at the beginning of the 15th century, but after a fire in 1571 it was demolished and a new two-storey building for the manufacture and storage of weapons was built in 1574-1575. The architects were probably well-known Lviv builders Pavlo Shchaslyvyi and Sebastyan Mochygemba.

On the east side, the Arsenal was adjacent to the High Defensive Wall between the Tokarivska and Shevska towers. There was a bastion in front of the building. Workshops for casting guns and bells and repairing weapons were opened at the arsenal. There was an ammunition depot nearby.

Under Austrian rule in the 18th century, the building was used as an unofficial prison. In particular, it housed the Haidamaks, participants in the Koliivshchyna uprising, as the memorial plaque reminds us.

In 1981, the Arsenal Museum was opened in the premises of the City Arsenal, which represents one of the best weapons collections in the country from 30 countries. The exposition includes ancient Rus and Cossack maces, graceful Arabian sabers, daggers of the peoples of the Caucasus and the Arab East, heavy European two-handed swords, armor of Polish "winged hussars", rifles and pistols with different types of locks, guns with coats of arms and much more. Many monuments are decorated with precious metals, gems, ivory, pearls, coral, mother of pearl. And this is only a small part of the weapons collection of the Lviv Historical Museum, which has about 4.5 thousand units.

The museum has an antique salon.

Visually impaired visitors are offered audio description.

The first wooden Catholic church in the village of Navariia near Lviv was built at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, but it was soon burned down by the Tatars.

The same fate befell the second wooden temple.

Only in 1641-1645 was the stone Ascension Church built at the expense of Elzhbeta Humnytska. The temple was damaged during the Liberation War and in 1739 the shrine was partially dismantled. The money for the reconstruction was allocated by the Venyavskyi family, and in 1740-1748, the prominent Lviv architect with Italian roots, Bernard Meretyn, built a new Ascension Church on the old foundations in the then popular late baroque style. It was probably the first work of the master.

Finishing and decoration with the participation of the artist Antonio Tavelli continued for several more decades. A bell tower was built in 1766.

In 1991, the church, restored after the Soviet period, was re-consecrated as the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and after 2011 it changed its title to Saint Valentine, since the relics of this saint have been kept here since the 17th century.

The Greek-Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin in Hlyniany is one of the oldest wooden churches in Galicia.

Officially, the date of its foundation is considered to be the 17th century, although the Orthodox parish in Hlyniany existed in the 15th century. The three-log, one-story church is located on the territory of the former northern suburb.

According to legend, Hetman Ivan Mazepa prayed here, and Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytskyi planted two old ash trees in the yard.

In the Church of the Assumption there is an icon of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (15th century), which is associated with the legend of self-renewal: in 1936, the enthroned image, blackened by time, was purified by itself and covered with gilding.

In 1937, a bell tower was built at the entrance to the yard.

After the Second World War, the church was closed and the premises were transferred to the museum of carpet weaving, but the miraculous image was preserved, people continued to come to it and hold services.

Currently, the Assumption Church is in need of restoration.

The Castle Church of the Assumption of the Virgin was built in Svirzh in 1546 by the magnate Andriy Svirzhsky on the site of a wooden church of the 15th century.

After several reconstructions, the church acquired a Renaissance appearance, although it was originally Gothic. Above the entrance you can see the remains of the noble coat of arms of the former owners.

An underground passage led to the church from the castle, which can still be traced in the moat near the drawbridge.

In Soviet times, the temple was used as a warehouse.

In 1994, the church building was handed over to the faithful of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The temple was consecrated as the Church of the Holy Trinity and the Assumption of the Virgin. The restoration has been carried out.