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Calls from 8:00 to 22:00 work days

  • Надія Київ ...
  • Александр Киев ...
  • Ирина Дани Житомир ...
  • Лилия Мелитополь ...

Latin Cathedral, Lviv

There was rapid construction in Lviv during the end of XIV-XV centuries. Besides living houses and fortifications, there towers of Galitski and Krakivski gates, Nyzhnii Zamok, St.George Church, Armenian Cathedral, synagogue, Holy Spirit Church, Dominican cathedral, St.Stanislav Church and other big constructions were being built. Almost all of them were built in Gothic style and dissappeared without trace. There were some reasons: natural destruction of buildings, following restructurings, wars, sieges, fires, especially in 1527.

Renaissance influenced greatly on sculptural decoration of Latin Cathedral located in Katedralna Square 1.

Near the square are the street: Theater, Galician, Armenian - on them our site will provide you rent an apartment in Lviv.

Carved altar and sculptural tombstone of XVI—XVII centuries, which have artistic and historical importance, were preserved. Not all of them are the masterpiece of Renaissance plastic, but usual monument of art often express philosophy and aesthetics of people of the past centuries.

Examples of those usual monuments are high-relief bronze tombstones of Hetman Stanislav Zholkiewski and commandant of the city Nicolas Gerburt which were cast in Nuremberg by Pancrate Lyaben-Wolf. They are not works of great craftsmanship, but they simply and truly show people of their time.

Alabaster altar in the chapel of Zamoyski has features of Cinquecento. It was dated in 1592 and signed by Ian Vyalyi who was a student of Italian masters. In every relief, figure of saint, wonderful console, general composition, every detail there are delicate taste and skill, which make this altar one of the most important architectural and cultural monuments of Renaissance in Lviv.

In this chapel there are two more interesting monuments - tombstones of archbishops Zamoyskyi and Ian Tarnovskyi. The last one is a work of famous Lviv sculptor of second half of XVII century Oleksandr Prohenkovych, who was student and disciple of I.Pfister.

Latin Cathedral was changed greatly in the next XVIII century. In 1765 total restructuring began. An army of painters, plasterers, bricklayers, roofers, modelers, carvers, sculptors and painters took part in works. Everything was demolished, except Boimovska chapel, cemetery was also removed. The cathedral lost its picturesqueness because of walls of two-color brick were covered with plaster. It was built new tower of 65 meters on the project of Petr Poleyovski instead of old one. According to the plan there must have been two towers, but second one was left unfinished on the level of roof.

The interior was changed even more. Valuable alabaster altars of XV-XVII centuries were removed or transported to village churches. Rare construction of Gothic style was converted to usual Rococo church of that period. There new altar appeared. It was made by M.Poleyovskyi. Some statues of saints appeared inside and outside the church. Most of them are the work of Lviv sculptors I.Obrotski, I.Ovidek, M.Poleyovskyi. Walls and dome were decorated by Lviv artist S.Stroinskyi (1725-1799). His baroque cartouches, vases and garlands are quiet unsuitable to constructive and laconic forms of Gothic architecture.

Last elements to cathedral were made by artists in the end of XIX-XX centuries. Some paintings and icons were painted by Y.Hoynitskyi and A.Reyhan; great tombstone of countess K.Yablonovska (1806) is work of the best Lviv sculptor of that period G.Vitver. Pulpit of wrought iron created in 1802 by Lviv blacksmith Zhaha is also great monument of arts and crafts. At the turn of XIX-XX centuries large stained-glass windows and marble statue of bishop were made.

Construction and decoration of Latin Cathedral lasted five and a half centuries. Not many monuments of Lviv architecture have so rich and eventful history.


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