The ensemble of the Church of the Assumption includes the adjoining bell-tower and chapel. The bell tower, otherwise known as the “Кorniact Tower” after the name of its founder (Konstantin Korniact) , was built between 1572 and 1578 by the Church 0f the Dominicans architect Pietro di Barbona. Damaged by Turkish artillery during the siege of 1672 it was restored by architect Pietro Beber who surmounted the tower with a fourth store, embellished with a helmet with four Baroque turrets at the corners, which raised the height of the tower to 66 meters. It was once again restored after the fire of 1779, and in 1783 the gigantic Kyrill bell (two meters in diameter) cast by Lvov master F. Polyansky, was hung in the belfry. Continue reading Building the Church of the Assumption
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The main facade of the Lviv Church of the Assumption faces narrow Ruthenian Street (Ulica Ruska) which unfortunately prevents one from observing the front in all its splendor. The huge thick wall of smooth dark grey limestone is imposing with its unobtrusive, noble design. Full length Tuscan style pilasters contribute to its’ clear-cut balanced proportions. In between, semi-circular blind arches with small sized windows supplement the picture. Above, a sharply outlined cornice surmounts a Doric frieze. Triglyphs (architectural term vertically channeled tablets of the Doric frieze) alternate with metops filled in with ornate rosettes and reliefs depicting scenes from the Bible: Abraham threatening his son with childlike impulsiveness, King David, Melchizedeck, Moses before the flaming bush… The sculptors imparted the characters of the Old Testament with an ingenuous vitality and characteristic local features. Their names are inscribed on the frieze: Yaakov and Constantine Kulchitsky. Continue reading Inside the Church of the Assumption
The Church of the Assumption was designed and built by Lviv’s most noteworthy architect Paolo Dominici Romano, an Italian by birth who headed the construction up to 1597, when it was placed in the hands of his father-in-law wojciech Kapinos. A year later it was taken over by Ambrogio who completed the Church. It is, however, Paolo Romano who deserves the main credit for the work, although the idea of merging the forms of old-Russian architecture with the style of the Renaissance belongs the Stauopegia Fraternity, a staunch adherent of natinal traditions. Continue reading Lviv – Church of the Assumption – Part2 The building of the Church of the Assumption was also financed by Hetman Saghaidachny and the Moldavian noblemen Pavel, Jeremiah and Simon Mogila. This accounts for its second name – Voloshskaya (from the word Valakhia, meaning Moldavia).
Contemporaries used to say that Lvov had “few Russians but much of Russia.” All this imbued the Renaissance in Lvov with unique local features.
Church of the Assumption (Uspenskaya Tserkov) ensemble a few steps from the Arsenal, which is a masterpiece of 16th century Ukrainian architecture and one of Lvov’s earliest and best monuments of the Renaissance.
Almost opposite to the Powder Tower is another arsenal named Royal (Korolevshy Arsenal) to distinguish it from the Town Arsenal. Royal Arsenal is located on the podvalnaya 13 st. From 1939 till nowadays it houses the Regional Historical Archives.Royal Arsenal was built in 1630 by directive of Wladyslaw IV Waza – it was used as an arsenal for the weapons. Royal Arsenal was built by the Commandant of the Lvov fortress, Pavel Grodzitsky, a military engineer and architect. Royal Arsenal is probably one of the most charming relics of ancient Lvov architecture. The very purpose of the edifice demanded clarity, simplicity and austerity of style and ruled out all attempts at ostentatious magnificence and exuberance. Nevertheless the building is utterly free of the gloominess inherent in fortified constructions and gladdens the eye with lightness and elegance. Continue reading Lvov’s Royal Arsenal
Of the same “age” as Powder Tower is the Town Arsenal (Gorodshoi Arsenal) – it was built in 1554-1556. Town Arsenal is Situated further along the podvalnaya street. Arsenal Town is a long one-store building shaped in the form of an irregular rectangle with a beveled corner. During the Swedish attack in 1704 the Arsenal was ruined but two years after that it was rebuilt again. It was restored in the years 1979-1981. Currently it’s a museum of weapons – mostly cold weapons. It has one of the biggest collection of a cold weapons in Ukraine. There are hundreds of knifes and bayonets from ancient days till nowadays. Continue reading Lviv’s Arsenal Cold Weapon Museum
Lvov grew rapidly. The outskirts merged with Lvov proper, the nearby villages were turned into suburbs. Following the partition of Poland in 1772 Eastern Galicia fell to the Austrian Empire. The medieval walls and ramparts were – destroyed in the direuct and figurative meaning of the word. Numerous ancient churches and fortifications were either torn down or remodelled – the Austrians were not concerned about the cultural and historical relics of a tributary state. Continue reading Powder Tower |
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