Attractions of Lviv

The historical museum complex of the Andrey Sheptytsky National Museum in Lviv is located in the former villa of Lviv University professor Emil Dunikovsky, which was built in 1896-1898 by architect Vladislav Raush in the Neo-Baroque style.

In 1911 it was purchased for the needs of the Church Museum by its founder and patron, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky. It was here in 1913 that the first exposition of the National Museum in Lviv was opened.

Now in the Historical museum complex the permanent exposition "Ukrainian art of the XX-th century" is developed. It is a continuation of the exposition of Ukrainian art of the XII-XIX centuries, which is located in the main building of the museum on Svobody Avenue.

The presented works present the formation and development of Ukrainian art culture in line with the main styles and directions of world art of the last century, and reflects the cultural and artistic processes of the Soviet period, which developed outside the normative aesthetics of socialist realism.

The fire and technical exhibition of the Ministry of Emergencies was opened in the building of the Fire Safety Department in Lviv region.

The first hall reflects the history of fire development in Galicia and, in particular, in Lviv. Among the exhibits is an Austrian-made pump from 1849.

The second hall is dedicated to the everyday life of firefighters.

The exposition concludes with a hall dedicated to the Chornobyl disaster.

The Museum of the History of Lviv Polytechnic was founded in 2002 on the initiative of the then rector Yuriy Rudavsky.

The museum premises are located on the third floor of a monumental three-story building - an educational building, built according to the design of Yulian Zakhariyevych in 1873-1877 in the Italian Neo-Renaissance style specifically for the Imperial and Royal Technical Academy. Now it is the main building of the National University "Lviv Polytechnic", which is an architectural monument.

The museum premises have a rich architectural decor - pilasters, stucco molding, light lanterns in the ceiling, wall and ceiling paintings. The window overlooking the central staircase opens a view of the richly decorated space of the stairs and original paintings of the 1890s, made according to the sketches of Yulian Zakhariyevych.

The museum's exposition contains documents, photographs, devices and other exhibits that tell about the foundation and development of Lviv Polytechnic, the oldest technical university in Ukraine and one of the oldest in Europe. The history of the formation of Lviv Polytechnic is presented in chronological order, as well as information about world-famous scientists whose fate is connected with Lviv Polytechnic. Historical photographs of buildings, students' studies and everyday life are also presented for viewing. Special attention during the excursions will be paid to the involvement of Lviv Polytechnic in oil production or electrification of Galicia, the development of aviation, astronautics and computer science.

The Museum of the History of the Kruty Heroes Lviv State Lyceum covers the history of the creation and development of the educational institution, as well as some pages of the history of the formation of Ukrainian statehood.

The first chapter of the exhibition is dedicated to the Battle of Kruty in January 1918 and the memory of the Heroes of Kruty. The stands show the ratio of forces, the composition of units, the course of the battle. All this is illustrated by diagrams, maps, tables. The stand is complemented by elements of armaments of that time: the German Mauser 98 self-loading rifle of the 1898 model, the Russian Mosin rifle of the 1891 model, and the Maxim machine gun.

A separate exposition section is devoted to the prehistory of the lyceum - Lviv Republican Special Boarding School with enhanced military and physical training, which operated from 1985 to 1992, and on the basis of which the lyceum was formed. The section of the history of the lyceum and its development in the conditions of formation of the Ukrainian statehood consists of 4 blocks: creation and development of the Lviv military lyceum (1992-1996); development of Lviv State Lyceum with enhanced military and physical training (1996-2010); lyceum in the period up to 2018; lyceum at the present stage.

Two stands in the museum are dedicated to weapons of different periods. The exhibition presents 18 samples of weapons since the eighteenth century. Some of the materials are presented in multimedia form on an interactive panel, which was presented at the opening of the updated exhibition in 2022.

The Lviv Museum of the History of Religion has been operating in the premises of the 14th-18th century Dominican Monastery in Lviv since 1973.

This work by the Austrian architect Yan de Vitte is one of the best examples of Baroque architecture in the city.

The exposition of the museum tells about the history of world and national religions and church organizations of all times: religions of the ancient world, Judaism, early Christianity, the Armenian Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Orthodoxy in Ukraine, Protestantism, Islam, Buddhism.

Some of the 50,000 exhibits have unique cult, artistic and historical value. In particular, there is a large collection of icons of the XVI-XIX centuries, a large collection of Bibles (including the Ostroh Bible of 1581 and published in Paris in 1563), the reliquary of Saint Anthony of the XI century and more.

The museum practices various forms of scientific and educational work: lectures, excursions, concerts of organ and chamber music.

The exhibition of rare models of transport "Retro Garage" has been on display since 2018 in the premises of the Museum of the History of Science and Technology, which is a department of the Lviv Historical Museum.

The exhibition of retro cars is set up in the oldest hangar from the complex of the first tram depot in Lviv, built in 1894 by the Lviv architect Alfred Kamenobrodsky. The rectangular brick structure has a gable roof supported on wooden trusses supported by side walls and wooden posts.

On an area of more than 500 square meters, Andriy Hladun's private collection of bicycles, mopeds, and motorcycles from the first half of the 20th century and a number of examples of the American automobile industry of the 1970s and 1980s from the collection of collector Taras Mayba are presented.

The Chevrolet Caprice Classic 1986 police car attracts the most attention of visitors. In addition, the museum presents the first city taxi of pre-war Lviv Citroen AC4 Berline Lux and a real fiakr (horse taxi). You can familiarize yourself with the samples of the products of the Lviv Motorcycle Plant from the years 1950–1970 from the funds of the Lviv Historical Museum.

Private collections of car models and American license plates are also exhibited at the exhibition.

The Museum of the History of Ukraine of the Lviv Historical Museum is housed in a four-story building on Rynok Square in Lviv, known as the "Massarivska Kamyanytsia" (Massari House). Built in the XV century in the Gothic style, later rebuilt in the style of the Renaissance.

For some time the house belonged to the family of the Venetian consul Antonio Massari. In the middle of the XIX century there was a delicacy shop Henneman. At the beginning of the XX century the facade was decorated with a triangular pediment, decorated with an allegorical relief by the sculptor Kurchynsky. Late Gothic vaults and windows on the first floor, elements of Renaissance interior decoration have been preserved.

Now in "Massarivska kamyanitsa" there is a historical exposition, which presents more than 2100 monuments of Ukrainian history from ancient times to the early twentieth century: Neolithic instruments and musical instruments, Trypillia ceramics, golden Scythian treasure, ancient Rus crosses, encolpions, medieval Lviv executioner swords, magnate women's and men's clothing, Cossack weapons, astronomical table clock of the XVIII century, collections of old prints and paintings. The portrait of young Roksolana, a girl Nastya Lisovska from Rohatyn, a Turkish prisoner who became the wife of Sultan Suleiman II, is still a secret.

The Peter and Paul Church in Lviv was built in 1668 as a Catholic church of Saints Peter and Paul.

In 1750, the temple was handed over to the monastic order of the Paulines, who rebuilt the building in the Baroque style and placed their monastery in it. In 1784-1786, the Austrian authorities handed over the shrine to the Greek Catholics. In 1798, the architect Klemens Ksaveriy Fesenher built a vestibule with a tower in the style of classicism.

Since 1989, the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul belonged to the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. Since December 15, 2018, it has been under the jurisdiction of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The main building of the Lviv State University of Life Safety was built in 1855-1863 by order of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph as a House for the Invalids to care for veterans of the Austrian army.

The three- to four-story building in the neo-Romanesque style with towers and a courtyard was designed by the architect Teofil Edvard Hansen.

In 1939-1941, the NKVD regiment was stationed here. During the Second World War, the building was not damaged, and a military unit was located in it again.

Since 1954, the former House for the Invalids has been home to a fire-technical school - now the University of Life Safety.

The Church of the Intercession of the Holy Virgin was built in Lviv in 1745 in the late Baroque style.

At one time, it served as the second temple of the Catholic Trinitarian monastery, then it was a parish and Jesuit church.

Today it is the Holy Intercession Cathedral of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

The Ivan Trush Art Memorial Museum in Lviv was opened in 1989, on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the artist's birth.

It is a two-storey building built in 1910 by order of the artist designed by the famous Ukrainian architect Oleksandr Lushpynsky in the style of the late Art Nouveau. He lived here with his family until the end of his life.

The museum exposition presents the main pages of the painter's life and work, presents him as a prominent Ukrainian impressionist, landscape master, portraitist, author of genre compositions, as well as popularizer of Ukrainian culture, editor and publisher of Ukrainian magazines, active public figure of the early twentieth century.

Portraits of prominent Ukrainian figures, paintings with views of Lviv and Kyiv, landscapes of the Crimea and the Carpathians, Italian and Egyptian landscapes, as well as family photos and memorials are presented.

The Ivan Trush Museum is a branch of the Lviv National Museum named after Andrey Sheptytsky.

The three-story building of the Jesuit Collegium in Lviv was built in 1839-1842 in the style of classicism according to the project of the architect Fidelis Shtadler. After the banning of the Jesuit order, barracks were located in the premises for a certain time. In 1851, the building was transferred to Lviv University.

Currently, in the premises of the former Jesuit collegium, the biological and geological faculties of LNU, as well as the Museum complex of the university, which includes the Zoological Museum, the Paleontological Museum, the Mineralogical Museum and the Museum of Ore Formations.

The Zoological Museum of LNU is one of the oldest university museums in Europe - it was founded back in 1784 as the Cabinet of Natural History. About 10,000 exhibits in four halls represent the animal world of all continents and all water areas of the globe. The halls are equipped with multimedia panels that allow you to hear the songs of birds and see the life of animals in their natural environment.

The Paleontological Museum of LNU exhibits plant and animal remains in the form of fossils, which tell about the development of life on the planet. The museum funds include more than 18,000 paleontological and geological specimens discovered in deposits of different ages on all continents.

The mineralogical museum of LNU named after academician Yevhen Lazarenko was founded in 1852. His collection includes giant crystals of apatite from Transbaikalia, giant crystals of morion and feldspar from chamber pegmatites of Volyn, pyrites from the Berezivka gold ore deposit in the Urals, unique drusen aggregates of smoky quartz from the Urals, native sulfur from the Shor-Su deposit in Central Asia, samples meteorites

The Museum of Ore Formations of LNU exhibits various ores from more than 500 deposits of Ukraine and the world.

The very ancient church of John the Baptist is one of the few buildings preserved in Lviv from princely times. It is located in the Old Market (Stary rynok) area at the foot of the High Castle (Vysoky zamok).

According to legend, the Hungarian princess Constantia, the wife of Galicia-Volyn prince Lev Danylovych, king of Rus, is buried here.

The first written mention of the Church of John the Baptist in Lviv dates back to 1371. The building was rebuilt in the 19th century in the pseudo-Romanesque style, but some fragments of the original architecture have survived to this day.

Currently, the premises are occupied by the Museum of the Oldest Lviv Monuments (a branch of the Lviv National Art Gallery). The exhibition tells about culture, crafts and life in the times that belong to the founding of the city. The most valuable exhibit is the "Lviv Mother of God" icon (XIV century). A plastic panorama of Lviv from the 18th century is also exhibited.

Since 2009, UGCC services have been held in the church every Sunday and on holidays.

The Leopold Levytsky Art Memorial Museum was established in the artist's former home in Lviv. Located in a house built in 1891 by Hustav Bizants.

Prominent Ukrainian graphic artist of the twentieth century Leopold Levytsky is considered one of the pioneers of Ukrainian graphic design and advertising. His museum was founded in 1984 on the initiative of the artist's wife Henya Levytska.

The exposition in three rooms highlights the artist's creative achievements in graphics and painting, but also recreates the special environment of the Lviv intelligentsia in which he lived and worked.

The Leopold Levytsky Museum is a branch of the Lviv National Museum named after Andrey Sheptytsky.

The Lviv Academic Theater named after Les Kurbas is located in the building of the former Casino de Paris, built in 1909 according to the project of architects Zygmunt Fedorsky and Stanislav Matsudzinsky.

Between the First and Second World Wars, this building housed a cinema, during Soviet times it belonged to the House of Folk Art.

The Les Kurbas Theater was founded in this building by Volodymyr Kuchynskyi and a group of young actors in 1988. His repertoire is distinguished by highly intellectual stage adaptations of the works of Hryhoriy Skovoroda, Platon, and Vasyl Stus, Lina Kostenko, Lesya Ukrainka, Volodymyr Vynnychenko and others.