The history of a city is an endless mosaic of its residents' actions. For Lviv, the best place to learn about the city's past is at Lychakiv Cemetery. Today, it is an open-air museum but also a spot where the most prominent Lviv residents are buried.
Writers
The prominent writer and publicist Ivan Franko (1856-1916) was first buried in the "coffin hotel". Such tombs were used for temporary burials and were rented out. He was reburied in a separate grave at a later, and the monument with a stonemason appeared in 1933. The story of the prominent romantic poet Seweryn Goszczyński (1801-1876) was different. He represented the Ukrainian school in Polish literature and spent part of his life in Lviv. The author of the monument on Goszczyński's grave was a well-known Lviv sculptor Julian Markowski.
Among the writers buried at Lychakiv Cemetery are Hryhorii Tiutiunnyk (1920-1961) and Roman Ivanychuk (1929-2016). Tiutiunnyk was born in the Poltava region but spent part of his life in the Lviv region and died in Lviv. He is a Shevchenko Prize winner and is buried at the Lychakiv Cemetery. Roman Ivanychuk also found eternal rest there. His "Mallows," "Horde," "Dark Red Wine," and "Manuscript from Ruska Street" are an original look at the ancient history of Lviv and its surroundings.
Opera, composers, and musicians
Perhaps the first thing you see when you visit the Lychakiv Cemetery is a white angel that reads notes. It is a monument to Ihor Bilozir (1955-2000), a composer and leader of the legendary Vatra band. He died during a street conflict in Lviv. Not far away is the tombstone of Solomiia Krushelnytska (1872-1952). The world-famous opera singer has a monument to the god Orpheus on her grave. He is holding a harp, a symbol of music. The author of the tombstone is Teodosia Bryzh.
Stanislav Liudkevych (1879-1979), a doctor of musicology, composer, and teacher, lived for almost 100 years. He became famous for his magnificent works on the theme of Taras Shevchenko's poems. The authors of the tombstone on his grave are M. Posikira, Y. Skakun, and L. Yaremchuk. Among the long-livers of Lychakiv Cemetery is the composer Mykola Kolessa (1903-2006). He continued to teach and ride a bicycle until he was a hundred years old.
Volodymyr Ivasiuk (1949-1979) is a symbol of Ukrainian music. Everyone knows his "Chervona Ruta," "Vodohrai", or "I'll go to the far mountains." The composer's life ended prematurely, and the details of this mysterious death are still unclear. The tombstone on the composer's grave was only allowed to be installed in 1990.
Myroslav Skoryk (1938-2020) is as essential to Ukrainian classical music as Volodymyr Ivasiuk is to pop music. Everyone recognizes Skoryk's "Melody". The maestro also composed music for the Serhii Parajanov film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. Serhii Kuzminskyi, a musician and leader of the cult band "The Hadiukiny Brothers," is also buried at Lychakiv Cemetery. Born in Lviv, he performed with his band at Chervona Ruta, Tavrian Games, and other events.
Architects
It is hard to imagine the landscape of modern Lviv without the legacy of Julian Zachariewicz (1837-1898) and Ivan Levynskyi (1851-1919). Zachariewicz was the Lviv Polytechnic Rector and the Lviv School of Architecture founder. He co-created a separate and very sophisticated Lviv district - Kastelivka. Zakhariewicz's tombstone at Lychakiv Cemetery may be somewhat modest, but it is presentable.
Ivan Levynskyi was an architect and entrepreneur, one of the most prominent builders in Lviv. The Opera House, the Railway Station, the Dniester Society building and many others appeared not without his participation. Together with Zachariewicz, he created a separate district in Lviv, designing it from the beginning to the last detail.
The pearl of Lviv's architecture, without which it is impossible to imagine the city, is the Opera House. It is an original art masterpiece, but it is also a testament to the greatness of Lviv and proof of the significant technological progress that the city made at the turn of the century. The building was designed by Zygmunt Gorgolewski (1845-1903). He is known for many buildings and reconstructions throughout Europe, and for Lviv, his personality is also significant for his pedagogical work. Gorgolewski is buried in the family crypt at Lychakiv Cemetery.
