Like most medieval towns Lvov was heavily fortified. The internal wall with four corner towers was followed by an outer wall which had seventeen towers and was surrounded by a moat filled with water. Then came the ramparts and bastions along Valovaya Street, Square of Daniil Galitsky (Ploshchad Daniila Galitsga) . The town had two Gateways – the Galitsk and Cracow Gates, and two gates – the Yezuitslwya (near the church of the Jesuits) and Basatskaya (from the Russian “bosoi” meaning barefooted), at the end of Ruthenian Street which were used for communication with the Monastery of the Barefooted Carmelites (Manastyr Easy kh Karmelitav).
There was a time when these walls, ramparts and moats enabled the town to repel many sieges. But the years took their toll, and by the 18th century they were no longer a protection against artillery fire and other new means of warfare.
In the 14th and 15th centuries the shortspelled decline gave way to a new economic revival. Once again Lvov gained fame as an important commercial centre on the great trade routes to the North, East and South from the markets of the West and became a serious rival of merchant Krakow (sometimes also written as Cracow) . In 1356 it was given a wide degree of autonomy by the Magdeburg Right. At that time only the Catholics enjoyed all the rights of full-fledged urban dwellers. The rights of the Ukrainians were limited in many respects, including their place of settlement and commercial activities. Only in 1745 were Ukrainians given more or less free access to the craft shops and town management bodies. Continue reading Medieval Lvov
Following Bogdan Khmelnitsky Street back to the foot of the High Castle and turning left one comes upon a broad boulevard overgrown with trees and shrubbery. On the right is Podvalnaya Street (”Ulitsa Podualnaya”) crossed by Valovaya Street (”Ulitsa Valovaya”) at the far end.
The names Podvalnaya (”Under the rampart”) and Valovaya (”Rampart”) are reminiscent of the days when medieval Lvov was surrounded with high ramparts and deep moats.
Continue reading Lvov – Over The Ramparts
Saint Paraskevi church is particularly known for its remarkable iconostasis consisting of more than seventy individual fragments. This church is a true masterpiece of Ukrainian part of the 16th-17th centuries. Painters whose names are unknown managed to achieve an intriguing combination of vivid national co louring coupled with western influence. In Lviv one often comes across traditional iconography and compositional methods of Ukrainian painting influenced by the North Italian Renaissance and the German-Flemish school of painting. The gold-plated wooden iconostasis will astonish you with its elaborate fretwork and tracery.
Continue reading Saint Paraskevi Pyatnitsa Church – Additional Info
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Continuing our Lvovs’ tour along the “Podzamche” we comes to the last church of the district – the Church of Saint Paraskevi Pjatnisa (Tserkov Svyatoi Praskovii or Pyatnitskaya Tserkov, No. 63, St. Bogdan Khmelnitsky). In addition to “Paraskevi” there are many other variations of this Greek female name – such as Pascha, Petka, Paraskeva, Praskovia, Praskovie, Pyatnitsa, Pyetka, Paraskevoula and Voula.
In the 13th century this was the site of a church made of quarry-stone that communicated by means of a subterranean passage with Prince’s Hill. It was a highly fortified edifice on the boundary of Okolny Gorod. The Church of Saint Paraskeva Pjatnisa was built on the foundations of the preceding church; it was completed between 1643 and 1645. Vasily Lupul, a Moldavian nobleman, contributed to its construction and thus earned a place for Moldavian rulers who were later buried on the premises. The southern wall of the church is decorated with their coat of arms – the sun, the moon and a crown.
Continue reading Saint Paraskevi Pyatnitsa Church
Church and Monastery of Saint Onuphrius is a remarkable historical and artistic monument. The Church contains the tomb of Russia’s first printer Ivan Fyodorov. On leaving Moscow in 1567 Ivan Fyodorov lived in Zabludov and at the end of 1572 moved to Lvov. He settled in the Podzamche where he set up a printing press in one of the cells of the Saint Onuphrius Monastery. In 1574 he published his first book The Apostle and a Russian Grammar. Fyodorov set up another printing shop near the Church of the Assumption. Continue reading Church and Monastery of Saint Onuphrius – Part2
Nearby to Saint Nikolas Church there is a Church and Monastery of Saint Onuphrius (Monastyr Svyatogo Onuiriya) dates back to hoary antiquity. Saint Onurfy Church began late in the 13th century as a wooden church that existed at the time of Prince Lev Daniilovich. In the mid-15th century it was supplemented by a monastery of Orthodox monks. Following a fire the church was rebuilt in 1518 by the Voivode (military leader) of Kiev, Prince Constantine Ostrozhsky. Numerous changes in the 17th and 18th centuries have contributed to Saint onuphrius (sometimes refferd as Saint Onurfy) Church present appearance. One can still see the remains of the defense walls that engirdled the monastery in the mid-16th century. Continue reading Church And Monastery Of Saint Onuphrius
Church of Saint Nicholas (Tserkov Svyatogo Nikolaya) is a very interesting and probably the most ancient relic. It’s placed on Bogdan Khmelnitsky st. Saint Nicholas Church existed from about 1292. Until the beginning of the 14th century it was used as the family church of Lvov Princes. Later the church belonged to artisans of the cobblers’ guild. Saint Nicholas large size and general structure however give the impression of a monumental public cathedral rather than an intimate family church. Church low entrance, small-sized loophole windows and thick walls of hewn stone are more characteristic of a fort. In case of assault this church could well hold out against the enemy and it was often used in this capacity. The simplicity of the church unadorned walls and austerity of form denoted the grandeur of that rigorous, heroic epoch. The Church of Saint Nicholas with its three apses and elliptical-shaped cupola belongs to the traditional cruciform Orthodox churches of which there were many throughout the southwestern part of Kiev Rus. These features of ancient Russian ecclesiastic architecture were incorporated by the builders in their church structures. Continue reading Saint Nicholas Church
The Church of Saint John the Baptist (Kostyol Ioanna Krestitelya) is one of the ancient architectural structure of Lvov. Saint John Church faces the Old Marketplace. As Church Of Saint Mary it also underwent considerable changes. Saint John Church has began its existence as a church of the Orthodox Basilian Monks. In 1260 Prince Lev Daniilovich made a present of this church to his wife Constance, daughter of the Hungarian King Bela IV(1206 – 3 May 1270) , who remodeled the building to suit the Dominican missionaries. It acquired forms typical of the Romanesque style. This small, one-naved church with two narthexes and a single cut apse is far from being an imposing edifice: little has remained of its old architectural form. Continue reading Church Of Saint John
