Attractions of Lviv region

Defensive Catholic Church of the Martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist in Sambir, built in the 16th century according to the project of architect Yuzef Tarnovchyk instead of a wooden church that burned down, has survived to our days after several reconstructions.

The largest was held after the fire in 1642. The architecture of the Saint John the Baptist Church combines Gothic and Renaissance features. It is the tallest and grandest building in the city.

The church is distinguished by its rich interior decoration. The Neo-Gothic organ, mounted in 1888 by the firm of Yan Slivinskyi from Lviv, has been preserved.

In 2007, a monument to Pope Ioann Paul II was erected in front of the church of Saint John the Baptist.

The majestic church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary of the Dominican monastery was built in Zhovkva in 1655 at the expense of Sofiya Teofila Sobeska, who owned the city at the time - the mother of the future Polish king Yan III Sobeskyi.

The Catholic church in the early baroque style was built on the site of the wooden church of the Virgin Mary. The monastery is surrounded by high defensive walls with a round corner tower, which was part of the system of city fortifications. In the 18th century, the complex was supplemented with monastic cells.

Sofiya Teofila Sobeska is buried in the church, as well as one of her sons, Mark - the brother of King Yan III Sobeskyi, who died near Batoh in 1652. The allegorical tombstones of the work of the German sculptor Andreas Schlueter have been preserved.

During the Austrian rule, part of the premises of the monastery were taken away, and during the Soviet times the temple was closed.

In 1995, the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was rededicated as the Greek Catholic Church of the Holy Martyr Josaphat, and the Zhovkva-Sokal diocesan administration of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was located in the monastery.

The Roman Catholic Church of Saint Joseph is located in the village of Volytsia, right next to the M-11 (E40) highway "Lviv - Shehyni".

Founded in 1840, rebuilt in its present form in 1924-1928.

The church in the neo-Gothic style makes a very strong impression - tall, light and as if directed to the sky.

The Krekhiv Monastery of Saint Nicholas of the Basilian Fathers is one of the most important shrines of Greek Catholics in Ukraine, a place of mass pilgrimages.

It was founded at the beginning of the 17th century by the monks of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Yoil and Sylvester, in the caves of Mount Pobiyna among the wooded hills of Roztochchya.

In 1618, Stanislav Zholkevskyi issued a charter for the foundation of the Krekhiv monastery. At that time, the wooden Peter and Paul Church was already standing on the rock, and the Annunciation Chapel was near the cave. Construction of the monastery complex at the foot of the mountain soon began. The monastery was surrounded by defensive walls, the Transfiguration and Trinity wooden churches (later moved), the stone church of Saint Nicholas, a four-tier bell tower, and the monastery building were built on the territory. The walls of the monastery repeatedly served as a refuge for local residents during Tatar attacks. Bohdan Khmelnytskyi and Peter I visited it at different times.

During the Soviet rule, the monastery was closed, and a boarding school for mentally retarded children was placed on the territory.

The revival began in 1990. The Higher Theological Seminary of Basilian was located here.

Mass pilgrimages take place on May 22, the day of the transfer of the relics of Saint Nicholas. Pilgrims climb the "Way of the Cross" to the top of the mountain to the chapel of the Holy Sepulchre.

The Krekhiv healing spring is especially popular with tourists.

The first wooden town hall was built in Sambir back in 1390, after the city received Magdeburg law.

The stone building on the current site was built in 1580, but half a century later it burned down during a fire. Only the basement premises were preserved, which became the basis for the construction of the current town hall.

The construction of the two-story building in the Renaissance style with a high 40-meter tower was completed in 1670. At the same time, the numbers "1606" are placed above one of the entrances, which gives reason to some researchers to consider the Sambir town hall as the oldest in Ukraine.

In 1844, a major reconstruction was carried out. The tower clock by the Prague master Heinz, which is still running, was installed on the tower in 1885 in place of a broken old clock.

The Sambir Town Hall still serves its purpose - it houses the state authorities: the City Hall and the City Council of People's Deputies.

A memorial in honor of the soldiers of the Legion of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen (USR), who died in battles with Russian troops in 1915, was opened at the site of hostilities in the village of Tukhlia on Mount Makivka, near Slavske.

Seven hundred first and second USR Kuren fought here as part of von Flyayshner's Austro-Hungarian infantry division. During the six-day battle for Mount Makivka, it was possible to stop the advance of the overwhelming forces of the Russian army. During the battles for Makivka, the units of the Ukrainian Sich riflemen distinguished themselves with special courage.

At the memorial cemetery, 50 crosses have been installed on the graves of Sich riflemens.

A monument to the leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) Stepan Bandera was opened in Lviv in 2007 for the anniversary of the Ukrainization of the Insurgent Army (UPA).

It was in Lviv that Stepan Bandera began his political activity after entering the agronomic department of the Lviv Polytechnic in 1928.

The figure of the ideologue of Ukrainian nationalism is made full-length, more than 7 meters tall. In the background - the Stele of Ukrainian statehood - a 30-meter triumphal arch.

Stradch cave near the village of Stradch is one of the main shrines of Ukrainian Greek Catholics.

According to legend, the cave monastery on Stradch Hill was founded in the 11th century by monks coming from Kyiv. According to one of the versions, the monastery is mentioned in the Ipatiev Chronicle as the Cave of Domazhiriv (the village of Domazhiriv is located nearby). The monastery consisted of an entrance gallery with a length of 40 meters, corridors with a total length of 270 meters and several cells located at a depth of 20 meters. At the top of the mountain there was a fortified settlement.

During the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the inhabitants of the surrounding settlements hid in the caves. Once the Tatars discovered the monastery and ordered the monks to betray the people who were hiding. When they refused, the monks were killed, big fires were lit at the cave entrances, and all the people suffocated from the smoke. They say that after hearing the pleas of the dying, the Mother of God descended from heaven, stood before the Tatars and said: "Don't touch! The wall!". Because the dark will has power only over bodies, but not over Christian souls.

In the 15th century, the Stradch Pechersk Lavra was founded, the main shrine of which was the miraculous icon of the Stradch Mother of God of the Immovable Wall (a copy has been preserved). Since the 16th century, the Stradch monastery has been known as the Basilian monastery.

In 1936, the Way of the Cross was founded on Stradch Hill, which was granted the status of Jerusalem by Pope Pius XI.

Visiting the cave temple is free, but it is advisable to have a flashlight with you.

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

The wonderfully preserved Zolochiv Castle is one of the key objects of the "Golden Horseshoe of Lviv Region" tourist route. It represents the neo-Dutch type of defensive structures and belongs to the monuments of the "palazzo in fortezzo" type, that is, it combines the functions of defense and housing.

The Renaissance fortress in Zolochiv was built in the first half of the 17th century by the Polish magnate Jakub Sobieski, the father of the future king of Poland Jan III Sobieski. It is a rectangular citadel with four bastions at the corners and walls along the perimeter, inside which there are residential and economic buildings.

In 1686, by order of King Jan III Sobieski, the castle was restored and decorated with works of art. His mistress for a long time was the wife of King Marie Casimire.

Since the XIX century, the castle began to decline, later used as a prison by the Austrian, Soviet, Polish and German authorities. At the end of the XX century. restoration was carried out.

The museum exhibits are located in the Grand Palace (a residential building with complex communications) and the Chinese Palace, which is made in a rare Eastern European style. The construction of palace toilets is of great interest to visitors.

In the yard there are stones found on the outskirts with mysterious Gothic writings (XV century), which the legend connects with the activities of the Knights Templar.

In front of the gate the castle ravelin (advanced fortification) was restored. Inside there is a cafe "Ravelin" and a souvenir shop, on top there is an observation deck.

Zolochiv Castle Museum-Reserve is a branch of the Lviv National Art Gallery.

The Brody Museum of Local History is located in an old tenement house on the central square of the city. The building was built in the 18th century for a Catholic monastery, then various administrative institutions were located here. A branch of the Brody Historical and Local Lore Museum is the Fedun family estate-museum in the village of Klekotiv.

The museum exposition in seven halls highlights the history of the region from the earliest times to the middle of the 20th century. Also presented is a photo gallery of attractions of the district, a panorama of "Brody of the XVII-XVIII centuries".

Of particular interest are materials devoted to the struggle for Ukraine's independence during the ZUNR period, as well as the activities of the OUN-UPA.

Employees of the Brody Historical and Local Lore Museum conduct tours of the city and Brody Castle.

The palace and park in Skole were founded by Baron Yevheniush Kaminski in the middle of the 19th century, after he bought the Skole lands from his friend, Count Potocki.

At the end of the 19th century, the palace was rebuilt in the neo-baroque style by the Austrian baron Hermann Gredel and his brothers Bernard and Albert, who controlled the local industry.

The Gredel's palace is located in the upper part of the city (Demnya district), next to the highway "Kyiv - Chop". The building is well preserved, but without interior decoration. A park with a fountain in front of the main facade is surrounded by an authentic fence.

Until 1956, the district branch of the NKVD was located here. Today it is a boarding school.

The National Nature Park "Skolivski Beskydy" protects the unique nature of the northeastern part of the Ukrainian Carpathians.

The park with an area of ​​more than 35,000 hectares was created in 1999 on the basis of the Skole Forest Reserve, declared here in 1983 for the purpose of protecting beech forests, as well as part of the territory of the Zelemin and Maidan landscape reserves, the protected tracts of Dubynske, Sopot , "Zhuravlyne".

The Skolivski Beskydy mountain massif is located between the Stryi, Opir and Myzunka rivers. The absolute heights in the territory of the park are from 600 to 1200 meters. Pure beech forests of natural origin have been preserved here, as well as reference spruce and fir forests (the trees are over 100 years old). Deer, roe deer, wild boar, wolves, bears, and if from rare species - badger, ermine, forest cat, lynx and others are found in them. In 1965, 10 bison were brought here from Bilovezshska Pushcha.

On the territory of the National Park "Skolivski Beskydy" there are such well-known natural attractions as the waterfalls "Kamyanka" (the village of Kamianka) and "Hurkalo" (the village of Korchyn), as well as the historical and cultural reserve "Tustan" (the village of Urych ).

Directly adjacent to the city of Skole is the protected tract "Pavliv Potik", in which there are two small waterfalls, sources of mineral water, Blackberry meadow.

Tents and bonfires are allowed in designated areas.

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.

Svobody Avenue in Lviv is 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").

The wooden church of the Holy Great Martyr Panteleymon in Skole is said to have been founded in 1597 as the church of Saint Paraskeva. It is part of the "original Carpathian trinity" (churches in Skole, Verkhnia Rozhanka and Isai).

Built by masters of the Boykyv school, three square log cabins are covered with four-sided tents. A special feature of the church's architecture is the two-tier solution of the babinets, which has a frame structure at the top of the walls, which brings it closer to some landmarks of the Boykyv type in Transcarpathia.

The square two-story bell tower was added in 1760.

During the Soviet rule, a museum of folk architecture was opened in the premises of the Saint Panteleimon Church.

Today it is an active church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.