Ploshcha Rynok (Market Square) with historic buildings Black Mansion and Dominican Cathedral in background.

Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images

Ploshcha Rynok

Top choice in Lviv


Lviv was declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1998, and this old market square lies at its heart. The square was progressively rebuilt after a major fire in the early 16th century destroyed the original. Around 40 townhouses hem the square's perimeter. Most of these three- and four-storey buildings have uniform dimensions, with three windows per storey overlooking the square. This was the maximum number of windows allowed tax free and those buildings with four or more belonged to the extremely wealthy.

Pl Rynok is at its best on summer evenings when crowds of people emerge to enjoy the buskers, beer and generally good-natured atmosphere.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Lviv attractions

1. Ratusha

0.02 MILES

The city fathers have occupied this location since the 14th century, but the present-day Italianate look dates to 1835. In a sign of openness and…

3. Lviv History Museum – Black House

0.04 MILES

Occupying the conspicuous Black House with its seemingly sooty facade, this is possibly the least interesting of the four pl Rynok branches of Lviv's…

5. Apteka Museum

0.05 MILES

This fascinating pharmacy museum is located inside a still-functioning chemist's shop dating from 1735. Buy a ticket from the pharmacist and head down…

6. Lviv History Museum – Rynok 24

0.07 MILES

This branch of the Lviv History Museum expounds on the city's very early days starting with early cultures that inhabited Galicia and ending with the…

7. Boyim Chapel

0.09 MILES

The blackened facade of the burial chapel (1615), belonging to Hungarian merchant Georgi Boyim and his family, is covered in magnificent if somewhat…

8. Armenian Cathedral

0.1 MILES

One church you should not miss is the elegant 1363 Armenian Cathedral with its ancient-feeling interior. The placid cathedral courtyard is a maze of…