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.