Showing 1-12 of 12 results
-
Beis Aharon V'Yisrael Synagogue
Artefacts of Lviv's Jewish heritage are scattered around various museums in the old town. There's a small Holocaust exhibit in the Lviv History Museum branch at pl Rynok 6, while the Museum of Religious History attached to the Dominican Cathedral has a collection of Jewish relics. Lviv's only functioning synagogue is the attractive Beis Aharon V'Yisrael Synagogue, built in 1924.
-
Bernardine Church and Monastery
Lviv's most stunning baroque interior belongs to the 17th-century Bernardine Church and Monastery now the Greek Catholic Church of St Andrew. The highlight is the long ceiling covered in recently restored frescoes. Sunday masses spill out into the street, filling the surrounding square with song. Walking from here back to pr Svobody, you'll pass pl Halytska and the statue of Prince Danylo Halytsky, Lviv's founder.
-
Birthplace of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch
Opposite the Pototsky Palace is the birthplace of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch , the world's original 'masochist'. The author of Venus in Furs came into the world here in 1835, although he spent most of his subsequent 60 years begging to be whipped in Austria, Germany and Italy.
-
Boyim Chapel
A highlight of Ploshchka rynok is the Boyim Chapel, just off the square's southwestern corner. The burial chapel (1617) of a Hungarian merchant family, its blackened façade is covered in magnificent carvings, including portraits of family patriarchs above the door. Atop the cupola is an unusual sculpture of Christ sitting with his head in one hand.
-
Church of St Pyatnytsa
The small Church of St Pyatnytsa has a renowned 17th-century wooden iconostasis.
-
Dormition Church
The Ukrainian Orthodox Dormition Church is easily distinguished by the 65m, triple-tiered Kornyakt bell tower rising beside it. The tower was named after its Greek benefactor, a merchant who was also the original owner of Kornyakt House on pl Rynok. It's well worth going inside to see the beautiful interior of the church, accessible through the gate to the right of the tower. It's only open during daily services. Attached to the church is the diminutive Three Saints Chapel.
-
Golden Rose Synagogue
The late-16th century Golden Rose Synagogue stood at the heart of the inner district before the Nazis blew it up in 1941. Archaeologists were hard at work excavating the fenced-off site when we visited. The local Jewish community hopes to rebuild the synagogue in the near future. Another synagogue once stood in the decrepit open lot directly across vul Staroyevreyska.
-
High Castle
Visiting the High Castle (Vysoky Zamok) on Castle Hill (Zamkova Hora) is a quintessential Lviv experience. The 14th-century ruined stone fort at the summit was Lviv's birthplace and offers the best vantage point of the modern city. Good times to visit are at sunset and in winter, when there are no leaves obstructing the view. Newlyweds like to pop the cork on a bottle of champagne here, while enterprising locals rent binoculars and sell souvenirs.
-
Jewish Hospital
In the outer district, you'll find the Jewish Hospital, one of Lviv's architectural highlights. From afar this Moorish, dome-topped building looks like a mosque, but up close Jewish motifs are evident in the striking, eclectic façade. Krakivsky Market, right behind the hospital, was a Jewish cemetery in medieval times.
-
Ploshcha Rynok
This 16th-century market square lies at the heart of Lviv's rich heritage. A 19th-century town hall (ratusha) stands in the middle of the plaza, with fountains featuring Greek gods on each of its corners. You can climb the neo-Renaissance tower but the 40-odd buildings around the square's perimeter are more interesting.
-
Advertisement
-
Roman Catholic Cathedral
Opposite the Boyim Chapel, on pl Katedralna stands the working Roman Catholic Cathedral (1370-1480). Here you can see a cannonball hanging by a chain off the cathedral's corner, which miraculously failed to penetrate its walls during a historic battle. If you walk around the cathedral, you'll see a relief of Pope John Paul II on the other side, erected to commemorate his visit to Lviv in 2001.
-
Transfiguration Church
The tall copper-domed church just west of the Armenian Cathedral is the late-17th-century Transfiguration Church, the first church in the city to revert to Greek Catholicism after Ukrainian independence in 1991.
Showing 1-12 of 12 results
