Attractions of Lviv

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.

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 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 Lviv City Arsenal is one of the few preserved defensive structures of the medieval city. The Arsenal was part of the system of 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.

"Museum-Arsenal" is a department of the Lviv Historical Museum. There is an antique salon at the museum.

Visually impaired visitors are offered audio description.

Jam Factory Art Center is a contemporary art center in Lviv that organizes exhibitions, theater, music, educational and community-oriented projects.

The exhibition space with an area of 3,410 square meters opened in 2023 in the Pidzamche district, on the territory of the former "Yozef Kronik and Son" spirits factory, where jam was made in Soviet times.

The architectural dominant of the building is the neo-Gothic tower of 1910, where the authentic stairs, windows and doors have been preserved. The historical exhibition on the second floor of the neo-Gothic tower tells about the history of the building and the enterprises that operated in this landmark of the industrial suburb of Lviv.

The heart of the complex is the Great Exhibition Hall, where, after the opening of the art center, the exhibition "Our years, our words, our losses, our searches, our us" was placed. More than a hundred works of Ukrainian artists are presented here: from the 19th century to today.

"Black cube" serves as a multifunctional space for various events. The theater for performative practices is equipped with modern technological means.

A cafe, a bar and a souvenir shop operate on the territory of the complex, there is a large parking lot and a shelter. Pets are allowed in the courtyard, cafe and bar.

The museum of authentic clothing and adornment from all regions of Ukraine was opened in Lviv by collector and ethnographer Roksolyana Shymchuk in 2024. The exposition is located in the basement of the Lviv Art Palace.

The founder of the museum began collecting her collection in the early 1990s. For over 30 years, she has sought out and restored vintage clothing, adornment and headwear. Now her collection includes several thousand examples of Ukrainian folk applied art.

Only a part of the collection is presented in the museum exposition. Here you can see the folk costumes of Hutsulshchyna, Boykivshchyna, Pokuttya, Bukovyna, Podillya, Lviv region, Volyn, Dnipro region, and Left Bank Ukraine.

By prior agreement, the founder of the museum conducts author's tours. On the first floor, there is an ethno-gallery, where you can buy modern designer items and adornment, the author of which is Roksolyana Shymchuk.

The active Lviv synagogue "Beis Aharon ve-Israel" (translated from Hebrew - "House of Aaron and Israel") is located near the railway station.

The building, built in 1897, originally belonged to Moses Grifeld, a member of the Tsori Gilod Jewish Society.

In 1923-1925, according to the project of the architect Albert Kornbluth, the building was rebuilt as a synagogue. The two halls of the prayer house were designed for 384 seats. The central lamp of the main hall is decorated with a stained glass window in the form of a Star of David. The walls were painted by the artist Maximilian Kugel.

During the Second World War, the building was not damaged - it housed a warehouse.

Since 1989, the service has been resumed. The restoration was carried out in 2007. In the interior of the "Beis Aharon ve-Israel" synagogue, a polychrome painting has been preserved. The synagogue has a kosher kitchen and a mikvah.

The ensemble of the Benedictine monastery in Lviv - the church and the monastery building - was built with the participation of the architect Pavlo Rymlyanin. It has a pronounced defensive character.

The Church of All Saints is a small stone building, rectangular in plan. Adjacent to the south-eastern part is a two-story building of cells, which has preserved techniques and elements of Renaissance architecture. The complex is surrounded by walls with baroque gates of the 17th century.

Today it is an active Holy Intercession Monastery of the Sisters of the Studio Statute.

The monastery of the Bernardine order in Lviv with the church of Saint Andrew the First-Called in the 17th century was a separate fortification unit outside the city.

It was surrounded by a moat, a rampart and a defensive wall, which is partially preserved, with a tower of the Hlynyansky Gate overlooking the Customs Square. Powerful monastery fortifications were connected with a ring of city walls.

The Church of Saint Andrew was built in the years 1600-1630 according to the project of architects Bernard Avelides and Pavlo Rymlyanin in the Renaissance style. The lush interior is made in the Baroque style, there are many wooden altars of the 18th century. The decorative column in front of the facade was installed in 1736 in honor of Saint John of Dukla, the patron saint of the Bernardines.

The premises of the monastery now belong to the Central State Archives of Lviv, and the church of Andrew the First-Called was handed over to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.

The current building of the maternity hospital in the southwestern part of Lviv is the former Jewish hospital Beth Hulim, built by the famous doctor Yakiv Rappoport at the expense of the Mavrytsiy Lazarus Foundation.

The monumental building is designed in the Moorish style and decorated with Eastern and European symbols. In terms of architectural and visual solutions, the hospital resembles the largest synagogue in Eastern Europe in Budapest.

The author of the project of the 100-bed hospital was the well-known Lviv architect Kazymyr Moklovsky, who collaborated with the architectural and construction bureau of Ivan Levynsky, which implemented the project.

Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Central Park of Culture and Rest is located in the central part of Lviv, on the slope of the hill between Stryiska, Heroiv Maidanu, Vitovskoho and Zarytskyh streets. A recreation and entertainment zone existed here as early as the 19th century.

The modern park was laid out in 1951 and arranged according to the Soviet traditions of creating typical parks of culture and rest for working people. From those times, the central avenue with a length of more than 800 meters, the colonnade of the central entrance and the premises of the "Druzhba" cinema have been preserved. In 1970, the central entrance was decorated with fountains.

Since 1984, the Park of Culture has the status of a monument of garden and park art of local importance. There is a children's entertainment zone "Zhu-Zhu Park" and a park of moving dinosaur figures on the territory.

Street cafes and restaurants are open. Various festivals and fairs are held regularly.

The People's Bread Museum of the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God operates in the premises of the dormitory of the Lviv Automobile and Road Vocational College. It was founded in 1987 on the initiative of the honored teacher of Ukraine Bohdan Neporadnyi.

The exposition in 16 rooms highlights the history of the agricultural culture of the Slavs, tells about the importance of bread in human life, demonstrates the process of baking different types of bread. In total, more than 1,500 exhibits are placed on an area of ​​300 square meters.

The leading place in the exhibition is occupied by the ethnographic collection, which represents the culture and life of Ukrainian bread-growing peasants. These are work tools, household items, embroidered clothes, jewelry. Samples of varieties of grain crops and samples of bread and bakery products are also presented.

The private museum of carriages in Lviv operates on the basis of the horse club "Carriage Yard", where Tori horses are bred.

The exposition presents 14 carriages of different types: landau, fiakr, phaeton, tarantas, visavi, etc. "Carriage Yard" also offers hippotherapy, horse riding lessons, horse tourism and a carriage tour through the streets of old Lviv.