One of the most important aspects of cultural and historical heritage Lvov are his temples and churches.
We offer you a selection of the city's greatest and most famous religious buildings Leo - cathedrals, churches and temples!
Church of St. Andrew (Church and monastery of the Bernardines)
Modern monastery complex(there used to be a wooden church in its place) began to be built at the beginning of the 17th century. according to the monk's plan Bernard Avelides and designed by the Italian architect Paolo Dominici.
The work was led by architects Pavel Rimlyanin and Ambrose Prikhilny, and later by Andrey Bemer. In 1630, all construction and finishing work was completed.
Premises monastery now belongs to the Central State Historical Archive in Lvov, A Church of St. Andrew the First-Called transferred to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Temple served by priests of the Basilian Order.
Address: pl. Sobornaya, 3A
Armenian Church
Armenian Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary- an architectural monument of national importance, belongs to UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Armenian Church built in the second half of the 14th century (1363-1370) by master Doring. For centuries it was the social and religious center of the Armenian colony in Lviv. In 1367 the church became a cathedral. Temple built of broken stone and lined with hewn slabs, the thickness of the walls reaches one and a half meters. The design of the dome is also unique - it rests on hollow ribs made of clay jugs.
What is special is southern courtyard, located between the street and the cathedral: an arcade with a 15th-century colonnade gives European architectural traditions. The remains of an ancient Armenian cemetery have been preserved here - these are tombstones, the oldest of which are 600 years old, transferred here from other cemeteries Armenian churches and monasteries, which have not existed in Lviv for several centuries.
Address: st. Armenian, 7
Garrison Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
Garrison Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, famous in Lvov How Jesuit Church, built in the early Baroque style at the beginning of the 17th century. The temple is an example of the Roman shrine of Il Gesu and is considered one of the most iconic structures in Lviv.
In Lviv The Jesuits arrived in 1584, and already in 1590 the first wooden Temple of the Society of Jesus in the area next to the western part of the city defensive walls, where the Jesuit gate was built. Work on the construction of an existing Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul began in 1610. In the period 1618-1621. The construction was led by the architect of the Jesuit Order, Giacomo Briano.
1624 consecrated the first side Chapel of St. Benedict. In 1630 the temple was completed and consecrated by Lviv Archbishop Jan Andrzej Pruchnitski. As a result of construction, the length of the shrine was 41 m, width - 22.5 m, height - 26 m.
Photo obozrevatel.com
It was erected in 1702 bell tower which became the tallest tower in Lviv(about one hundred meters), on which a clock was installed in 1754. After liquidation Order of the Jesuito in 1773, the temple began to serve as military garrison temple.
Significant damage temple also suffered during two world wars. On June 4, 1946, the Jesuit monks were forced to leave Lviv, taking with you valuables, in particular crowned icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary. From this moment a new page begins history of the temple: for 65 long years its doors were closed, silence reigned in it.
On the day of the 20th anniversary of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, December 6, a significant event for the city and state took place in Lviv - a solemn opening and consecration of the first garrison church of the holy apostles Peter and Paul.
Address: st. Teatralnaya, 11
Dominican Cathedral
Dominican Cathedral(Church of the Most Holy Eucharist, Corpus Christi Church and Dominican Monastery) - Greek Catholic Church in central part of Lviv, listed in UNESCO World Heritage.
Dominican Church- one of the best examples of Baroque architecture, one of the most beautiful in Lvov.
In Soviet times, in hostel and monastery cells warehouses were set up, and since 1973 the Museum of Religion and Atheism has been housed in these buildings. The temple was transferred to the UGCC in the 1990s, and it was consecrated in honor of the Most Holy Eucharist.
Construction work was completed in 1764. Exterior and interior Dominican Church amazes with its splendor and solemnity. The inscription on the pediment “ SOLI DEO HONOR ET GLORIA"(Latin) - " To God alone is honor and glory«.
IN temple from the 18th century housed a large baroque organ, which can now be seen in Lviv Philharmonic, but the church was not left without musical accompaniment. Now the smaller organ is in Dominican Temple.
Address: pl. Museum, 1.
Latin Cathedral
Archcathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or L Atinsky Cathedral - the main temple of the Lviv Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church. Monument of sacred architecture of the XIV-XVIII centuries.
This is the only gothic architectural landmark of ancient Lviv, which survived the fire of 1527. The temple was built on the site where an Orthodox church stood in princely times. Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The first foundation stone was laid in 1360.
Was under construction Latin Cathedral more than 100 years, starting from the middle of the 14th century. Construction of the large structure proceeded slowly and with long interruptions. According to the original project cathedral there were supposed to be two towers - one was completed at the end of the 14th century, the other remained unfinished due to lack of funds.
Address: pl. Cathedralnaya, 1
St. Michael's Church
St. Michael's Church erected as a church of the monastic order Carmelites Discalced.
Church of St. Michael entered the lines fortification defense of the city of Lviv.
Dormitories were set up in the former cells.
Over time, in 1979, the temple was transferred to the Lviv Historical and Architectural Reserve.
Address: st. Vinnichenko, 22
Church of Saints Olga and Elizabeth
Church of Saints Olga and Elizabeth(previously Church of St. Elzbieta) — neo-gothic temple, built in memory of the famous Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria, known as Sisi, wife of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria-Hungary.
Today this building is the tallest in the city, its height is 88 meters.
Pawned temple in 1903 and was built over eight years with funds from Polish society. Its grand opening took place in 1911. The architect of the building is Theodor-Marian Talevsky. The temple is also decorated with works by the famous sculptor Pyotr Voitovich, in particular the sculptural composition “Crucifixion” on the facade of the shrine.
At the beginning of the First World War (1914 - 1918), the Austro-Hungarian authorities confiscated church bells and melted them down for military purposes. And the Polish-Ukrainian war of 1918-1919 brought destruction and devastation, when during fierce street battles and shelling of the railway station area, the church found itself in their epicenter.
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It is believed that the construction site was not chosen by chance . Catholic Church- this is the first thing that people should see when coming to Lviv. Church completely blocks the view of Greek Catholic Cathedral of St. Yura, located nearby.
Address: pl. Kropivnitskogo, 1
Church of the Transfiguration
Church of the Transfiguration(Church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ) appeared on the spot Church of the Holy Trinity Trinitarian Fathers, which was destroyed by artillery shelling and fire in 1848.
In 1850, the architect A. Frech proposed a project for the future temple, which, however, could not be implemented. But in 1874, Sylvester Gavryshkevich developed another project for the shrine, which was implemented over the course of twenty years (1878 - 1898).
For believers Church of the Transfiguration opened its doors in 1906, when it was consecrated. It should be noted that in 1923, for the first time in Western Ukrainian lands, a Divine Liturgy in literary Ukrainian language.
Transfiguration Church in Lviv built in the architectural style of neoclassicism with baroque elements. Inside church decorated by talented artists, in particular, L. Marconi, T. Popel (iconostasis), T. Kopistinsky and K. Ustiyanovich (painting compositions), etc.
In the newest history of Lviv the church is famous for being the first temple, which was returned to ownership by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) in 1989.
Address: st. Krakovskaya, 21
Archcathedral of St. George- Cathedral of the Galician Metropolis of the UGCC, a baroque-rocoque monumental architectural ensemble with expressive national features (1744-1762). It is considered the main shrine of Ukrainian Greek Catholics.
The cathedral was built according to the design of B. Meretin, decorated with a monumental sculpture by the outstanding sculptor John Pinzel. The facade is crowned with the figure of a saint St. George the Victorious - patron saint not only the cathedral, but also city of Lviv.
First monks' caves and a wooden monastery appeared here at the end of the 13th century. One of the legends claims that in the thickness of the mountain on which they later built monastery and church, there was a cave where a terrible dragon lived.
Although the patron saint of Lvov, as well as Moscow, is St. George the Victorious, “Muscovites”, i.e. Orthodox Christians of the Moscow Patriarchate have to live almost underground
“What other Filaretites?! I don’t know any Filaret members! There are some divisions, schisms... I know: the Orthodox Church exists, it is ours. And there are Catholics, they are not ours. And everything else doesn’t matter to me.” The commander of one of the units of the Internal Troops of Ukraine, stationed in Lviv, looks at me with honest, bright blue eyes, which perfectly match the color of his uniform shirt. His eyes do not lie: he is indeed absolutely “parallel” to all the tragic events that have occurred in the Orthodox Church in Ukraine over the past 300 years and have especially worsened in the last decade and a half. “I really need a priest in my unit! But not in order to fight hazing, and not in order to preach about the various schisms there. No, give me a priest so that he can teach the soldiers to love their homeland, so that he, so to speak, will raise the morale of my troops! But I don’t know any schisms and I don’t want to know!” - the colonel’s tone is exactly what a professional military man should have.
Such indifference to internal church affairs on the part of the unit commander is not because he is a military man. Here, in Lvov, and indeed in Western Ukraine, many people think so. “I’ll say this,” admits the middle-aged peasant Stepan, “if I have a church in my village, I go to the church, and if, let’s say, there’s a church, then I go to the church. We have a church in our village, and we go there. But actually we are Orthodox.” From a conversation with Stepan, it became clear that “in fact” they are neither Orthodox nor Catholic, but Uniates - that is, representatives of the most widespread confession in the Lviv region.
In general, the situation with church life in Ukraine, and especially in its western part, is so complicated that people who “don’t care” can be understood. Judge for yourself: in addition to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (the only real one from the point of view of church canons), there are six “Orthodox churches” in Ukraine! Six schismatic factions. This is not counting Uniates and Catholics, not to mention all kinds of sects. It is, of course, extremely difficult for an ordinary person to understand this diversity.
But that's not the problem. The trouble is that among all Christian and even non-Christian denominations, our Orthodox, although they belong to the independent Ukrainian (and not Russian) Orthodox Church, in the eyes of every government official are “Muscovites,” that is, “agents of Moscow” in Ukraine. And given that Ukrainian nationalism has a pronounced anti-Russian overtones, life in Lviv is very difficult for representatives of the canonical Church.
“Please do not mention the Moscow Patriarchate in conversations with officials!” - Lviv Orthodox Christians have addressed us with such requests more than once. “Do not indicate the name of the director of the orphanage, otherwise your magazine is Russian, God forbid that a mention of the director appears there and the person is fired from his job.” The fears are not unfounded: according to the stories of Lviv Orthodox Christians, in the early 90s, when the Uniates, and after them various schismatics, began to gain strength, taking away Orthodox churches and burning the houses of the clergy, cases of dismissals of “Muscovites” were very frequent.
Beggars at the main Uniate Cathedral of St. George (St. George). It doesn’t matter where to beg, the food is good everywhere
And yet, despite colossal difficulties, the practically partisan life of Lviv Orthodox Christians continues, and their social activities confirm the thesis that serving one’s neighbor is not only a duty, but also a necessity for Christians. In the small (only 60 parishes, 65 clergy people, in the capital - Lviv - there are only three Orthodox churches left, the rest were taken away by the Uniates and schismatics) diocese there is a Brotherhood in the name of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, a Sisterhood in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara, a Youth Brotherhood in honor of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God. In these associations, dozens of volunteers work in the field of mercy.
The only Orthodox church in Lviv in honor of St. George the Victorious takes care of the poor, giving them food and clothing
The day the “Neskuchny Sad” correspondent arrived in Lviv coincided with the moment of support for low-income parishioners. There is a small house next to the diocesan administration; those who find it difficult to buy clothes for themselves or who cannot afford to buy a bottle of vegetable oil and a bag of pasta come to it every month. The charity center was set up by the Varvara Sisterhood, headed by Lyubov Alekseevna Galenko.
“There are twenty people in our sisterhood, mostly women, but there is also one brother - we have to carry boxes of food for our charity point,” she says. -- Every month approximately 170-200 people come to us for food assistance. We distribute not only food, but also clothes to many.”
Supporting the poor is not the only activity of the sisterhood. Twice a month, the sisters visit one of the Lviv psychiatric hospitals (we cannot give its number for the reasons stated above). “We have three departments in the hospital,” Lyubov Alekseevna continues the story, “about 200 people. We bring food to the sick, some have to be spoon-fed. We pay special attention to those who have no one to visit. Several patients were simply, as they say, pulled out of the other world. One, I remember, weighed 48 kilograms. They started visiting him every other day to feed him. A month and a half later, he weighed 60 kilograms. We also help patients with medicines - after all, medicines for psychiatry are very expensive and not everyone can afford it.”
The psychiatric hospital in question can be called the field of successful partisan struggle of Lviv Orthodox Christians. From a conversation with the head of the Varvara Sisterhood, we learned that in addition to Orthodox Christians, only Uniates visit the hospital, but... only twice a year: at Christmas and Easter. So here we are ahead.
But in the nursing home, cared for by the Peter and Paul Brotherhood, Orthodox Christians have to coexist with Catholics and Uniates. True, no conflicts arise, but the presence of other faiths, of course, does not contribute to missionary activity. True, on “their” floors, the fourth and fifth, the Orthodox can feel completely calm. The administration of the nursing home allocated a fairly large room for the temple. Icons along the walls, an altar not separated (due to lack of space) by any barrier, rows of chairs needed for the specific contingent of a nursing home, a sacristy in the form of hooks on the window - that’s all the decoration of the temple. Services are here every Sunday: once a month there is a liturgy, on other days there are prayer services, memorial services and other services.
“We came here back in 1994,” says Natalya Ivanovna Smirnova, who leads the volunteers. - At first there were only three of us, now there are fifteen of us. We come every Sunday, help deliver bedridden people to the church, and care for hospital patients. Every Sunday, 70-80 people gather in the church, and 30-40 people participate in the liturgy.”
Looking through the church's liturgical journal, we were surprised to find three weddings in the list of services. It turned out that people find each other even in such a seemingly unsuited place for human meetings as a nursing home! “Yes, this happens,” says Natalya Ivanovna, “after all, mostly very lonely people end up here. And it’s not surprising that meetings happen.”
Of course, the liturgical journal also contained information about baptisms. But not only that: during the time the Orthodox sisters of mercy worked here, one of the residents of the nursing home took monastic vows, and then became a schema-nun. “The tonsure itself took place, of course, not here, but in the church, the bishop tonsured, but the decision to tonsure was made here, in the nursing home. Mother Joanna is 58 years old, paralyzed since the age of 12, but she earnestly asked the Mother of God to let go of her right hand in order to pray, and the Mother of God heard these prayers. So mother can eat and pray. When she got here, we were amazed that she knew 45 psalms by heart. We were ashamed. And now mother lives in Pochaev,” says Natalya Ivanovna.
In addition to working with the sick, sisters from the Peter and Paul Brotherhood organize concerts for residents of the nursing home. Here they are helped by members of the Youth Brotherhood of the Pochaev Icon of the Mother of God, who organized a children's choir and perform on holidays for the sick.
The architecture of Lviv is typically Western, you even wonder: where would Orthodox culture come from here? 
They tell us all this in a low voice, behind closed doors: God forbid that we cross the line of restraint, the line of invisibility! People could get hurt - the department head, the director, someone else. This is the specificity of social service, this is the specificity of the general existence of Orthodox Christians in Lviv. Why might people get hurt? Yes, everything is very simple: some minor official from, say, the Department of Health turns out to be a Uniate. Or a Filaret member. Or... the list of Ukrainian “churches” is very long! Or it will simply turn out that he can’t stand Muscovites, which is very common in Western Ukraine. And then that’s it: you can give up on church social work - they won’t let you into the hospital, they’ll kick you out of the boarding school, they’ll ask you to leave prison. That is why we were not able to visit the Lvov pre-trial detention center and the orphanage, and the officer from the Internal Troops department with whom the interview was scheduled turned out to have long since left in an unknown direction at the appointed hour.
Such is Orthodox life in Lviv. Life surrounded by forces hostile to Russian Orthodoxy: not only external - Catholics and Uniates, but also internal - all kinds of schismatics.
Lviv is a marvelously beautiful and absolutely European city in architecture. Founded in the middle of the 13th century by Prince Daniil of Galitsky, it was, of course, rebuilt several times, but retained its amazing beauty and, most importantly, urban integrity. The historical part of the city is huge. Quarters and neighborhoods of European buildings of the 16th-19th centuries. The entire center is inhabited by the simplest people, ordinary people, and therefore completely alive and touching. There are churches everywhere, but everything is of such European architecture that you can’t help but wonder: where does Russian Orthodoxy come from here? After all, Lviv has been “Russian” for three periods throughout its history: until the mid-14th century, in 1914-1915, and under Soviet rule in 1939-1941, and then in 1944-1991. The first period is lost in the fog of centuries. The second and third Galicians remember mainly in connection with war and violence, although in those days there was a lot of good and bright things.
So, maybe there is no need for any Russian Orthodox Church in this city? Necessary. Firstly, because in the million-strong city of Lvov there live about 120 thousand people who consider themselves Russian, and most of the rest have Russian roots. And secondly, because it is God’s will that the Orthodox Lviv and Galician diocese exist. And she exists, and lives, and acts. Difficult, painful, with sacrifices. Where it is secret, where it is half-obvious, but it lives.
In the center of Lvov there is a monument to Ivan Fedorov and a large bookstore in honor of the first Russian book printer.
| Historical reference Until the middle of the 14th century, Galician Rus', the center of which was Lviv, was a Russian Orthodox principality. Only after the conquest of Galicia by Poland, from the second half of the 14th century, did the forced imposition of Catholicism and the persecution of Orthodoxy begin here, becoming more and more fierce over the years. The heroic Western Russian clergy, the Orthodox gentry, the peasantry and especially the philistinism, organized into church brotherhoods under the leadership of the most famous of them - the Assumption Stavropegial in Lvov, fought against this for many centuries. In 1596, in the city of Brest-Litovsk, several Orthodox bishops and Catholic prelates signed the so-called union - that is, an agreement that, outwardly preserving the Orthodox rite, those who signed the union (they have since been called Uniates) become subordinate to Rome and consider its primate is the Pope. After the conclusion of the union, the pressure of Rome and Poland on the Orthodox Church of Western Rus' intensified significantly. At the beginning of the 18th century, the Lviv diocese, after more than a century of resistance, was converted into a union by its traitor bishop Joseph Shumlyansky, and in all of Galicia there were only two Orthodox parish churches left: in Lviv and Brody. Both of them were located in private apartments, since the law prohibited the Orthodox from having their own church buildings. From 1772 to 1914, Galicia was part of Austria-Hungary, which did not at all ease the situation for the Orthodox. True, in the end they were still allowed to build a real temple. The first and only true Orthodox church of St. St. George the Victorious appeared in Lviv in 1901. It still belongs to the Orthodox Church and houses the local diocesan administration. For six months, from September 1914 to April 1915, Galicia and Lvov were occupied by the Russian army. During this time, many Uniates returned to Orthodoxy, without any violence from the “occupiers.” From 1918 to 1939, Galicia again belonged to Poland. In the life of the Orthodox, this was reflected by increased pressure from the Catholic state. But even in such conditions, despite incredible obstacles, the process of transition of the Uniates to Orthodoxy continued. During these years, several rural parishes in the Lviv region renounced Uniatism and declared themselves Orthodox. Over the Soviet year and a half from September 1939 to June 1941, the situation of the Orthodox began to improve slightly: new parishes were formed in Galicia, and clergy ordinations were performed.  From 1941 to 1944, Lviv was occupied by the Germans. It should be noted that the Uniate Church very actively collaborated with them, as well as with the nationalist Bandera movement. In 1944, Galicia was liberated by the Soviet army and from then until 1991 it was part of the USSR. In 1946, in Lviv, under the leadership of Protopresbyter Gabriel Kastelnik, a church Council of clergy and laity was held, the result of which was the abolition of the union of 1596. Temples of Lviv, including the main Uniate Cathedral of St. Yura (Georgia), switched to the Orthodox. The Soviet government instituted persecution and repression against the Uniates, considering them (and not without reason) accomplices of the Nazis and nationalists. For several years, only a few underground Uniate groups remained in Galicia. The churches were mainly transferred to the Orthodox, only a few were closed. The rigidity of state policy of those years echoed in the late 80s and dealt a painful blow to Orthodoxy. The policy of perestroika awakened the nationalistic, separatist sentiments that existed latently among the Galicians. Against their background, the Uniate Church began to be perceived as a victim of the Bolshevik regime, and Orthodoxy, without any reason, was associated with the Soviet regime. The meeting in December 1989 between Mikhail Gorbachev and Pope John Paul II gave impetus to the revival of Uniatism in Western Ukraine. Over the course of several years, with the passive - and sometimes active - support of the authorities, most of the churches of Galicia and Lviv itself were taken away from the Orthodox. The initiative very often came from the parishioners themselves, and support was provided by militants from nationalist organizations. Simultaneously with the revival of Uniatism in 1989-1990, the schismatic so-called "Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church" (UAOC). Its adherents were mainly those Galicians who did not want to be Uniates, but due to nationalist convictions did not want to belong to the Moscow Patriarchate. In 1992, Metropolitan Filaret of Kiev and All Ukraine tried to achieve autocephaly for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. But the episcopate, the clergy and the entire church people did not support their first hierarch. Then Filaret, with the support of the President of Ukraine, announced the creation of the “Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate” (UOC-KP). This schismatic organization, like the UAOC, is still not recognized by anyone in the Orthodox world. However, for the Orthodox Christians of Ukraine, the schism has become a serious problem: the seizures of Orthodox churches and other acts of violence, carried out with the support of nationalist politicians, hinder normal church life. The Filaret schism led to a whole wave of new church divisions. Today, in addition to the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), there are six more “Orthodox churches” operating in Ukraine. All of them, together with the Uniates, took an active part in depriving the Lviv Orthodox Christians of their property. As a result, today in Lviv, out of several dozen churches, only three belong to the Orthodox: the Church of St. Great Martyr George and two more, built on private property. Almost like 200 years ago. |
120 thousand Russians live in Lviv. Despite all the difficulties, Orthodox Christians here know how to share joy
In conclusion, I would like to address our readers. Lviv Orthodox Christians are in great need of support. And not only prayerful, but also material. If you want to support their church and social endeavors, you can do this by money transfers to the bank account of the Lviv diocese:
Lviv diocese of the UOC,
currency (currency in Ukraine is any money except the hryvnia - rubles, dollars, euros, etc.) account No. 2600810023242 in the Lviv regional branch of JSCB UkrSotsBank in Lvov,
NFO bank: 325019,
diocese identification number: 19324099,
purpose of payment: charitable assistance.
During the short time spent in Lviv, we managed to visit many churches and cathedrals, but in this article we will not write about all of them, but will talk about those that we liked the most, both for their external architectural appearance - this is the Church of St. Elzbieta, the Cathedral St. George and the Dominican Cathedral, as well as the indescribable beauty inside - the Jesuit Church and the Latin Cathedral.
The stunning Greek Catholic Cathedral of St. George is located on Yuryeva Mountain, at an altitude of more than 300 meters and amazes with its beauty. It is not surprising that this particular cathedral is considered a favorite among both guides and visitors to the city of Lviv.
The cathedral begins its history more than 700 years ago, when the first wooden church was built on this site, and only 450 years later the Cathedral of St. George received its modern appearance. Over time, capitular houses, metropolitan chambers, and a bell tower were added to the temple, which now houses the oldest bell in Ukraine.
Cathedral of St. George - Lviv
One of the main features of the Cathedral of St. George in Lviv is that it opens up to visitors gradually: first you need to go through one gate, then a richly decorated second one, and only then you get to the square in front of the cathedral itself. Above the gate there are two sculptures that symbolize the unity of the Orthodox and Catholic churches.
The staircase attracts the attention of parishioners with its sculptures, as well as two rows of steps. On the facade of the Cathedral of St. Yuri there are also two sculptures of metropolitans, and above the entrance there is an equestrian figure of Yuri the serpent fighter.
Inside, the Cathedral of St. George in Lviv has rich decoration and high vaults; there are various icons and works of art on the walls. In the cathedral you can touch one of the eight copies of the Shroud of Turin in the world, in which Jesus was wrapped after his execution.
In the dungeon of the cathedral there is a crypt, entry to which is allowed to all parishioners. The crypt contains the relics of the most prominent figures of the Greek Catholic Church.
In the photo below is the Cathedral of St. George, taken by us from the window of the Premier Hotel Dnister, where we stayed. You can read our review of this hotel here.
Church of St. Elzbieta
The Church of St. Elzbieta or (as it is now called) the Church of Saints Olga and Elizabeth is the first of the shrines that visitors to the city of Lviv encounter when traveling by train, on the way from the railway station to the center.
There are many myths and legends associated with the church, and one of them is about the origin of the church: the Austro-Hungarian emperor built the church in honor of his tragically deceased wife. Construction lasted for eight long years and after completion, the city of Lviv received a real decoration, built in the neo-Gothic style - with majestic spiers more than 80 meters high, which can be seen from afar.
Over its more than 100-year history, the Church of St. Elzbieta in Lviv was subjected to repeated destruction and looting, both in the First and Second World Wars, and after the advent of Soviet power, a warehouse was built in the church building. And only after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Church of St. Elzbieta, joining the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, received the new name of Saints Olga and Elizabeth and a new life, opening its doors to all believers.
In the architecture of the Church of St. Elzbieta in Lviv, first of all, the emphasis was on height, so there is no talk of façade decorations or decorative finishes here. A classic neo-Gothic building, with its characteristic pointed spiers, large lancet windows and a portal with an openwork rose inside. Also above the portal is the sculptural composition “Crucifixion with John and Mary present.”
Inside the Church of St. Elzbieta, the dominant color is white, both on the walls and on the huge columns, with minimal bas-relief patterns. Thanks to the large windows, light streams throughout the temple.
The ceiling of the church is very simple and, in turn, very beautiful
Jesuit Church
One of the largest buildings in the city, the Jesuit Church in Lviv, can accommodate about 5,000 believers. It was built over 400 years ago, and its architecture resembles the famous Church of Il Gesu in Rome. This church, the original design of which was designed by Michelangelo himself, was considered the standard for most European Catholic buildings.
The appearance of the Jesuit Church in Lviv is dominated by the main facade, in the niches of which statues are placed, while at the same time the southern facade looks much more modest and restrained.
Inside the church, the altar room has three naves, with the middle nave being several times larger than the outer ones. Bas-reliefs, various frescoes and sculptures are amazingly beautifully painted on the walls of the temple.
There are very few people in the church
However, the most interesting and mysterious place of the Jesuit church, and perhaps the whole of Lviv, is the dungeons of the church, with which several mystical stories are associated. One of them says that the ghost of a black monk, who used to be a member of the Jesuit order, still wanders the dungeons of the church. We didn’t go down into the dungeon, but anyone can do it.
Latin Cathedral
One of the most beautiful, the Latin Cathedral in Lviv, located on Cathedral Square in the historical center, is the main Catholic church of the city. The construction of the cathedral lasted more than 100 years, but even after completion it was constantly being completed and added to. Previously, many chapels were built near the Latin Cathedral, but now only one has survived - the chapel of the Boims.
The bell tower of the Latin Cathedral, more than 70 meters high, impresses with its grandeur and beauty, adding architectural value not only to the Latin Cathedral, but also to the city as a whole.
The interior of the Latin Cathedral, like many Gothic buildings, consists of tall, upward-sloping architectural elements that support pointed arches and a vault. The walls of the cathedral are exquisitely decorated with paintings and sculptures, elegant stucco moldings and carvings. The temple has preserved an ancient organ, which still delights the ear with its melodious sound, accompanying divine services.
One evening spent in Lvov, we went to a service in the Latin Cathedral. We remembered the sound of the organ and the atmosphere in the cathedral for a long time.
Dominican Cathedral
The architecture of the Dominican Cathedral accurately reflects European trends of that time: the temple has the shape of an elongated cross, and its majestic dome is supported by eight pairs of massive columns. And today you can read the inscription in Latin on the pediment of the cathedral.
During Soviet times, a warehouse was built in the Dominican Cathedral, and then the “Museum of the History of Religion.” What’s remarkable is that this museum is still open today.
Next to the cathedral (near the monument to the first printer Fedorov) there is a book flea market
Inside the Dominican Cathedral there is a huge oval dome supported by tall columns, which is unusual for Catholic churches.
On the walls of the cathedral there are 18 gilded wooden sculptures that embody the holy martyrs of the Dominican Order.
Visiting information
All the churches and cathedrals discussed in this article are active temples in which services are held daily, admission is free.
Location: St. Yura Square, 5
How to get there: from the train station by tram number 6. You need to get off near the Church of St. Elzbieta, then walk along Sheptytsky Street, which goes straight to the Cathedral.
Opening hours: 10:00 – 18:00 daily
Church of St. Elzbieta
Location: Kropyvnytskyi Square, 1
How to get there: 12 min. walk from Lviv railway station (900m). You can get there by any transport going from the station to the city center.
Jesuit Church
Location: Teatralnaya street, 11
Opening hours: 8:00 – 19:00 daily
Latin Cathedral
Location: Cathedral Square, 1
How to get there: from the train station - by tram No. 1, 9 to the center, and then on foot.
Opening hours: 10:00 - 18:00, closed Monday
Dominican Cathedral
Location: Museum Square, 3
How to get there: from the train station - by tram No. 1, 9 to the center, and then on foot.
Opening hours: 8:00 – 17:00, daily
The ensemble of the Assumption Church - a beautiful example of the Lviv Renaissance - was formed in the 16th - 17th centuries in the very center of the city on Podvalna Street, 9. In addition to the Assumption Church itself, it includes the Chapel of the Three Saints and the Kornyakt Tower.
The building of the Assumption Church, built of white limestone by the architect Pavel the Roman, is crowned with three massive domes. Construction of the temple began in 1591 and was completed in 1629. In the interior of the church, icons of the passion cycle by Lviv icon painters of the 17th century have been preserved. The stained glass windows on the windows were created at the beginning of the 20th century by the famous artist Pyotr Kholodny. Luxurious chandeliers also attract the attention of visitors.
Adjacent to the northern wall of the Assumption Church is a small three-domed building of the Chapel of the Three Saints. The chapel portal is decorated with beautiful carvings depicting a grapevine. The ensemble is completed by a square tower - a bell tower, built at the expense of the Greek merchant Konstantin Kornyakt by the architect Peter Barbon.
The harmonious combination of the Italian Renaissance style with the traditions of national architecture makes the ensemble of the Assumption Church one of the most interesting architectural monuments of Lviv.
Church of St. Nicholas
Nicholas Church is one of the oldest architectural monuments in Lviv. It is located under the Budelnitsa mountain on the Volynsky tract in the ancient roundabout town.
The church was founded in the 13th century and served as the tomb of the Galician princes. In 1544, the Nicholas Church Brotherhood was created here; it provided a shelter for the poor and a school. Due to numerous fires, the foundation and lower part of the walls were preserved from the church.
The church is cruciform in plan, which consists of a main square nave with an elongated semicircular apse, adjoined to the west by a rectangular vestibule, and to the north and south - side chapels with semicircular apses.
The simple and formidable appearance of the temple makes it a very interesting architectural monument.
Sambir
Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Greek Catholic Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in 1738 at the expense of the Komarnitsky magnates next to the city’s first wooden Ruthenian church of the 16th century. The painting was done by the icon painter Yablonsky. The Sambir miraculous icon of the Mother of God, crowned in 1928, was transferred from the old church to the new church. After World War II, it was considered lost, but in 1996 it was found, restored and returned to the church. Tourists are more attracted by the fact that this church houses the relics of St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers. The holy relics, previously resting in the cemetery of St. Priscilla in Rome, were transferred by the Vatican to Sambir for storage in 1759. The authenticity of the relic is confirmed by a document from the Pope. On Valentine's Day and Candlemas, the relics are carried around the temple and displayed in the center for a week.
Church of the Transfiguration
Initially, in 1703-1731, this building was built as a church of the Roman Catholic Trinitarian Order, but in 1898, according to the design of the architect S. Gavrishkevich, it was rebuilt into the Church of the Transfiguration.
The temple went down in history as the site of the murder of Father Gabriel Kostelnik. He was shot by an OUN member on the steps of the temple for leading the process of joining the Russian Orthodox Church to the Greek Catholic Church.
The old and damp dungeons of this shrine keep centuries-old secrets and amaze with the size of their galleries.
In the Middle Ages it was used as a burial place. Unfortunately, the most ancient burials have sunk into oblivion, and those human skeletons that were found by archaeologists in the 90s were transferred to a common grave under a stone slab.
But to this day, the underground passage that connected the monastery and the temple has still been preserved.
Church of St. Onuphrius
The first mention of the church was written in 1453, at that time it was made of wood.
In 1550 a stone church was built. This is a stone temple characteristic of Ukrainian architecture.
Its name is associated with the name of I. Fedorov; he founded a printing house here, which published the first Ukrainian printed books “Apostle” and “Primer”.
In the courtyard there is a composition depicting Fedorov with his assistants, as well as a museum, which is a branch of the Lviv Art Gallery.
The church has two-story stone cells, elongated into a rectangle. Adjacent to them from the north is a bell tower, which houses the main entrance to the monastery.
Sights of Lviv
The majestic complex of the Dominican Cathedral of Corpus Christi, consisting of the cathedral itself, the bell tower and the monastery, is rightfully the pride of Lviv, a monument of European significance.
The cathedral was built at the expense of Hetman Jozef Potocki. Its architecture accurately reflects the European trends of that time: the temple has the shape of an elongated cross, and its majestic dome is supported by eight pairs of massive columns. Above the entrance to the temple there is an inscription: “To the Lord alone is honor and glory.” And here is the image of the symbol of the monastic order of the Dominicans - a dog on the Bible with a burning torch clutched in its teeth, because the name of the Dominican order is translated from Latin as dogs of God. The interior decoration of the temple amazes with its exquisite beauty and solemnity. Eighteen carved wooden figures of Dominicans, who earned the title of Saints with their righteousness, are located in the upper galleries of the temple. The central altar is decorated with four figures of the apostles: Peter, Paul, John the Baptist and Luke.
Now that the temple has been returned to the church, you can not only appreciate its beauty, but also enjoy the sounds of one of the three Lviv organs that sound here during the service.
Latin Cathedral
The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary or the Latin Cathedral - the main Catholic church of Lviv - is located on Cathedral Square in the historical center of Lviv near Rynok Square. This majestic building is the only surviving monument of Gothic architecture in the city.
The cathedral was built over one hundred thirty-three years - from 1360 to 1493. But even after the completion of construction, the church was constantly completed and supplemented, acquiring, in addition to Gothic, features of the Renaissance and Baroque styles. One of the main dominant features of the historical center of Lviv is the five-tier, seventy-meter bell tower of the temple.
In the sixteenth century, many chapels were built around the cathedral, which served as tombs for the Lviv nobility. Only the chapels of the Boims and Campians have survived to this day, having become one with the architectural ensemble of the Latin Cathedral.
The interior of the cathedral is richly decorated with sculpture and frescoes. Particular attention is drawn to the wonderful stained glass windows made at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
St. George's Cathedral
The Cathedral of St. George is part of one of the most beautiful architectural ensembles of the city, the brightest representative of the Ukrainian Baroque and a popular attraction among citizens and guests of the city. Together with the architecture of the city center, it is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The cathedral was erected on the site of a wooden church and monastery in 1770. For a long time, the cathedral was the residence of metropolitans, and today the cathedral is the main shrine of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The cathedral building has a rich decoration - the facade is decorated with sculptures, stucco moldings and other details. The oldest bell in Ukraine, dating from 1341, is located on the bell tower of the cathedral. The temple also houses a valuable relic - a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary from the 17th century.
Armenian Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
In 2013, the Armenian Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lviv marks the 650th anniversary. The cathedral was built in 1363 by the architect Dorhi from Silesia at the expense of wealthy Armenian merchants and is one of the most interesting monuments of Armenian architecture in Ukraine. In the architecture of the cathedral, the features of the Roman-Gothic style are harmoniously combined with the rich traditions of Armenian temple construction.
Over time, the cathedral was repeatedly completed. In the 15th century, an arcade in the spirit of the Renaissance was added to it; in the 16th century, a bell tower was erected according to the design of Pavel Krasovsky. As a result, a unique architectural ensemble formed around the cathedral, combining a Benedictine nunnery, an Armenian bank, the palace of archbishops and the building of the Armenian court into a single space with the temple.
The modern interior decoration of the Armenian Cathedral was created during reconstruction at the beginning of the 20th century. When painting the cathedral, the artist Jan Heinrich Rosen looked for inspiration in traditional Armenian and oriental ornaments. Of particular interest are his frescoes “The Crucifixion” and “The Last Supper”.
Sights of Lviv
