Old Town L'viv
L'viv today is the center of the Western Ukraine and was until
1918 the capital of the Austrian Crown Estate of Galicia.
The population consists of a little more than 50% of people
of Polish descent who mix with Ukrainians, Armenians, Germans
and a strong Jewish minority. Each of these population groups
originally occupied their own part of town with their own
churches, where their services were held in the Roman-Catholic,
Greek-Catholic, Armenian or Orthodox rites. This rich heritage
is still reflected today in the fascinating appearance of
the city.The Second World War led to the genocide of the Jews and the expulsion of the Poles, though the architectonic heritage of the city was preserved. The present city management tries to preserve and restore with little resources. Despite all efforts some valuable buildings have been demolished.
In 1998 L'viv was included on the UNESCO World Heritage
List. The World Heritage area includes the castle hill with
the remnants of the castle established in 1240 by Prince
Danilo; the valley settlement established in the 13th century
at the foot of the castle hill with several small churches;
and to the west, the new city which was established in 1356
by the Polish King Kasimir and given the “Magdeburger
privileges”. The very organized layout of the new
city with the central market place, right-angled intersecting
streets and an almost quadratic fortification (presently
a green belt) was preserved in its original state.
The historic buildings include the Armenian Cathedral, the
Latin Cathedral (both with medieval cores), the Orthodox
Church of St. Mary's reception in Heaven with its Korniak
Tower (Renaissance), the Church of the old St. Bernard cloister
(Baroque) and the town hall (Classicistic). Additionally
a number of dwelling houses with late-medieval cores, courtyards
and richly decorated facades (especially the Bandinelli
Palais next to the market) are fairly well preserved.
Apart from the Old Town the Church of St. George (Baroque)
is situated on a hill. It is the spiritual center of the
Greek-Catholic Church (aligned with Rome). Most of today’s
citizens belong to this church. It is also the residence
of the Metropolite and was added as an enclave to the World
Heritage area. The generous city additions of the 19th century
with their boulevards and parks in the style of Vienna’s
Ringstraße and the beautiful Art Deco buildings are
not part the World Heritage core zone. They are however
part of the so-called World Heritage buffer zone. ICOMOS,
the International Council on Monuments and Sites, suggested
to include at least part of this newer part of town in the
core zone, and thus ensure a better protection, which seems
necessary given the increasing exposure to real estate development.
Acting for the World Heritage Foundation, Dr. Caspary, the
former long-term German representative at the World Heritage
Committee of UNESCO, has been, since the beginning of this
year, involved in talks with the relevant authorities in
L'viv. As a result of his first visit emergency preservation
measures for historic middle-class dwellings in the Old
Town were to be established. Following a political change
in the leadership of the city of L'viv previous agreements
are now being re-discussed and will hopefully be renewed
within a short time. The process is continuing and it is
to be hoped that the historic middle-class dwellings of
L'viv will not deteriorate further.