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Old Town L'viv

View on to the Old Town Lviv 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.

View of the Old Town L'viv 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.

St. George's, greek-catholic episcopal church 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.

Empty and unsecured residential building 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.

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The German World Heritage Foundation was initiated by the Hanseatic Towns of Stralsund and Wismar