Parallel Street Market Square

Around Rynok Square there are narrow streets which located parallel to the square and vallums.

There lived merchants, artisans, masters; settled by national or professional attribute, from this come the old street names: Ruska, Virmenska, Serbska, Bliaharska, Pyvovariv. In the area of current streets I. Fedorova and Staroyevrejska there was Jewish quarter; in XVII it was removed to Krakow suburb.

Recently in Staroyevreiska Street there was great monument of medieval Lviv architecture - synagogue "Golden Rose" built in 1582 on project of architects Pavlo Schaslyvyi and Petro Zychlyvyi (according to other sources already known to us as Pavlo Rimlyanyn). It was called in honor of Isaac Nahmanovich's wife who subsidized the construction. During the World War II the building was detonated by fascist invaders.

Our site arendaplus basically provides you an of apartments in Lviv for daily rent on all these streets.




There are not many notable constructions in this area. Mainly these were modest homes of residents, and they were built usually by artisans from workshops, not by famous masters. That's why, when we are in front of darkened from time portal in Virmenska Street or sloping buttress in Ruska Street, we might feel not fests, but everyday life of Renaissance, spirit of its aesthetics and culture spread far beyond the narrow circle of experts.

Typical fragment of architecture of XVI century is portal of house №20 in Virmenska Street. It is framed with ionic columns, and it is not high. However, serenity and nobility of lines, harmony of the masses, the purity of style features give importance and monumentality to modest gate of modest house.


By the way, portals in Renaissance period were subjects of special attention and care of architects. Every apprentice of Lviv workshop passing exams for the title of master had to present not only draft, but also model of portal. There are many such portals and building fragments in Virmenska Street. There are portals of houses №15 and 28, Gothic vaults of houses №25, 31, 32, elements of Renaissance arhitecture in houses №7, 8, 25, 32, expressive lion masks on the facade of house №8.

Houses №4, 6, 15,16, 19, 22 in Virmenska Street are examples of living architecture of XVII century. Facades of these houses have three windows which located asymmetrically. The walls and buttresses are built of large hewn blocks. In the niches between buttresses there often were little shops.

In Serbska Street even nowadays you can look at wrought iron doors of such shops.
The first mentions in documents about Ruska Street, where there is Assumption Church, were already in XV century. Then there were 14 houses; chronicle preserved the names of owners - Omelian, Ivan, Repulusk, Lutskyi, Babich, Krasovski etc.

The Ukrainians were not allowed to settle in other streets.
On the lower floors of houses №2 and 4 there are fragments of Gothic style - thin semicolumns, buttresses and cross vaults.

Mainly appearence of houses with even numbers was formed in XVI-XVII centuries. House №6 with elegant and rigorous basement in Renaissance style, house №12 decorated with beautiful rosettes on keystones, house №10 and others attract attention. In small narrow courtyards with balconies, where so rarely sun comes, or in the interiors unexpectedly you can see some interesting detail or part of ornament with amazingly clean classic pattern. In the courtyard of house №2 above now immured arch you can see head of lion with bunch of grapes in its mouth; obviously, there was tavern or wine cellar.

Lion motives were, of course, very popular in the city. Carved plate with the coat of arms of Lviv was imbedded in the wall in 1633 in the corner of streets Serbska and Staroyevrejska. Decoration of house located in the intersection of streets Staroyevrejska and Galytska is also very original: two lions with one head on the edge of building.

House №34 in Staroyevrejska Street is considered typical monument of living architecture of Renaissance. Lviv architects Ambrosiy Pryhylnyi and Adam Pokora built it for themselves. In this well preserved building ease and intimacy of a private home are organically combined with majesty and solemnity of public buildings of that time.

A bit heavy architraves of upper floors, beautiful carved portal and the same framing of the lower windows are mark of experienced and mature master of era when every sculptor and architect fluently operated with tools of stonemason, and craft was not yet completely separated from art. Even denomination of specialties of artists and masters in historical sources is the same or similar. That's why it is difficult now to divide among themselves architects, sculptors, painters and builders, masons, carvers.

Streets around Rynok Square are real museum-reserve. Old buildings of XV-XVIII centuries or their fragments - buttresses, brackets mascarones, consoles, keystones - can be found on Stavropigijska Street (almost all odd side), on Krakivska, Brativ Rohatyntsiv, Teatralna, Lesi Ukrainky etc. These buildings are not always imposing and impressive, but there is original charm of antiquity in their volumes, proportions, details.

There are a lot of monuments of Renaissance in Lviv, and they are very significant by artistic value. Such monuments were not only in old city, but also outside the fortified walls. The city lived, was growing, developing, and despite the danger beyond ramparts and ditches, people settled there too.

Poor people built little houses, and in the same time noble people and the Church erected buildings with stone walls and fence that not once withstand sieges and assaults of enemies. For example, Benedict Church and St.Lazarus Church.