Old Town (Lviv)

Old City of Lviv
Старе місто Львова
City view from High Castle, the couple of green domes (center) – ensemble of the Assumption Church, tower on the far right – Town Hall on the Market Square
General information
Type	National Historic-Architectural Reserve
Location	Lviv Oblast
Town or city	Lviv
Country	Ukraine
Coordinates	49°50′30″N 24°01′55″E / 49.84167°N 24.03194°E / 49.84167; 24.03194
Opened	National Reserve
UNESCO World Heritage Site
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	L'viv – the Ensemble of the Historic Centre
Criteria	ii, v
Reference	865
Inscription	1998 (22nd Session)
Endangered	2023

Lviv's Old Town (Ukrainian: Старе Місто Львова, romanized: Stare Misto L’vova; Polish: Stare Miasto we Lwowie) is the historic centre of the city of Lviv, within the Lviv Oblast (province) in Ukraine, recognized as a State Historic-Architectural Sanctuary in 1975.^[1]

Since 1998, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has listed Lviv's 300 acre historic center as part of "World Heritage". On 5 December 1998, during the 22nd Session of the World Heritage Committee in Kyoto (Japan), Lviv was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. UNESCO gave the following statement^[2] explaining its selection:

Criterion ii: In its urban fabric and its architecture, Lviv is an outstanding example of the fusion of the architectural and artistic traditions of eastern Europe with those of Italy and Germany.

Criterion v: The political and commercial role of Lviv attracted to it a number of ethnic groups with different cultural and religious traditions, who established separate yet interdependent communities within the city, evidence for which is still discernible in the modern townscape.

The territory of the Lviv Historic Centre Ensemble covers 120 hectares (300 acres) of the Rus' and Medieval part of the city, as well as the territory of the St. George's Cathedral on St. George's Hill. The buffer area of the Historic Centre, which is defined by the historic area bounds, is approximately 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres).^[3]

Beside the listed items of three major areas, there are some 2,007 other historical landmarks within the Old City's area, 214 of which are considered national landmarks.

Pidzamche (Sub-castle)

• High Castle and Sub-castle neighborhood, the original center of the city also containing the neighborhood of Old Market Square, the castle was preserved in ruins, however the general area of the city is better known for its name
• Church of St. Nicholas, the family church of the Halychyna (Ruthenian) kings
• Church of St. Paraskeva-Praxedia (Good Friday), contains 1740 inconostasis of the church by Fedor Senkovych
• Church of St. Onuphrius and Basilian Monastery, contains artworks of Lazar Paslavsky and Modest Sosenko
• Church of St. John the Baptist (today – Museum of Lviv Ancient relics), the church was dedicated to the Hungarian wife of King Leo, Constance, a daughter of King Béla IV
• Church of Snowy Mary (today – Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church), the church of German colonists of the city

Seredmistia (Middletown)

• Ensemble of Rynok (Market) Square, contains Lviv Rathaus (center) and square perimeter of housing surrounding it
• Ensemble of the Church of Assumption, beside the church, includes Chapel of Three Prelates and Korniakt's Tower
• Ensemble of Armenian Church, beside the church, includes a belfry, a column with statue of St.Christopher, a building of former Armenian bank, a palace of the Armenian archbishops, Benedictine Armenian convent
• Ensemble of Latin Metropolitan Cathedral, beside the cathedral of St. Mary includes Boim Chapel and Kampians' Chapel
• Ensemble of Bernardine Monastery (now Church of St. Andrew), includes cathedral, monastery, belfry, rotunda, decorative colon, and defensive walls
• Ensemble of the Jesuit Cathedral and Collegium
• Ensemble of Dominican Church (now the Church of the Holy Eucharist), beside the church includes monastery and belfry
• City's fortifications include the City's Arsenal, the Gunpowder Tower, the Turners and Ropemakers' Tower, the Royal Arsenal, a bastion of lower defense wall
• House of the "Dnister" Insurance Company

Church of St. Yura (St. George), the Dragonfighter

• St. George's Cathedral, beside the cathedral includes the Metropolitan's Palace, capitular houses, belfry, and fence with two gates (Market's and City's)

Old Town landmarks that are not part of the World Heritage Site

• Church of Carmelites, the Barefooted (today – Church of St. Michael)
• Church and Nunnery of Carmelites, the Barefooted (today – Church of Purification)
• Church of Poor Clares (today – Museum of Sacral Baroque Sculpture)
• Church of St. Martin (today – Baptist Church)
• Church of Transfiguration
• Church of St. Casimir
• Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet
• Potocki Palace, Lviv, currently a residence of the President of Ukraine
• Commodity Stock Exchange

• List of historic reserves in Ukraine

• (in Ukrainian) Description at the website of the Institute of History of the NANU
• Mayor of Lviv Sadovy wants the sanctuary to be discontinued (ZIK May 17, 2010)
• The city council is unaware of the sanctuary (ZIK February 1, 2011)
• Information on a book about the sanctuary published in 1979^{[permanent dead link‍]}
• Description of the World Heritage site