Today we`re going to the new world. Already intriguing, isn't it?
So, it was the name of a new district that began to actively develop in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many Polytechnic professors built villas for themselves there to be close to their workplace. Our route will take us along General Chuprynky Street, which is named after Roman Shukhevych, the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army) general. He had many nicknames, one of them - Taras Chuprynka.
Most of the buildings in this neighborhood are built in the Secession style. And it is here that we can see how this style changed during its short existence. Neo-Gothic, historicism and functionalism, which was popular in the 1930s, are also found here. So, let's hurry up and see these fantastic buildings built by the best architects of their time.
Take tram #2 on Ruska St. towards the station, get off at the Melnyka stop and walk back a little bit to Chuprynky Street. We start our slow walk. This street requires unhurried looking at every detail, believe me, you will enjoy it)
We cross the road and immediately see a very beautiful villa by the architect Vincent Ravsky Jr. which he built for himself in the style of historicism. You can walk around to get a better look. In the early 30s, the building was taken over by the Congregation of the Servants of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, who expanded it by adding another wing, and the building lost some of its delicacy. Now it houses a children's clinic.
Moving on, the ensemble of the Church of St. Clement the Pope catches the eye on the left side. It used to be a church and monastery of the Barefoot Carmelites. The church was built in the Neo-Gothic style in the late 19th century. At the same time, a Neo-Gothic altar in the form of a triptych cabinet was installed in the church; such samples were popular in Bavaria, and this was the first example in Galicia. Unfortunately, it was destroyed during the Soviet era, along with the entire interior. The premises of the monastery and the church housed a department of the NKVD, later the Gestapo, and from 1952 an automatic telephone exchange was located here, followed by a branch of Ukrtelecom. It was only in 2011 that the church was handed over to the community. This is a very popular church among Lviv residents, be sure to go inside.
Next to the church is an interesting modernist building with a popular bakery restaurant, the Baguette. Locals regularly come here to buy bread and pastries, so we recommend visiting for coffee and dessert, or taking some goodies with you (the bagels with rose jam are incredible.
On the other side of the street is the majestic neoclassical-style building of the Faculty of Journalism of the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv with interesting images on the facade. We can only envy these students who have the opportunity to walk this street every day.
Let's move on. At number 58a are the buildings of the popular Levynskyi Factory, owned by Ivan Levynskyi, a famous Lviv architect of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is also known as the “builder” of Lviv, because of his huge contribution to the development of the city. On Chuprynky, there is not a single building that Ivan Levynskyi, his architectural bureau, or his factory were not involved in. He was a great man! The factory was famous for its ceramic products and tiles. By the way, if you see an open gate somewhere, don't be afraid to look inside, as many entrances still have authentic tiles on the floor, with the manufacturer's markings.
On the right is a long, inconspicuous building in the style of functionalism, which during the Second World War housed a very important institute of Rudolf Weigl, a microbiologist who invented a vaccine against epidemic typhus. Thanks to Rudolf Weigl and his invention, it was possible to save many people, especially Polish officers, intellectuals, Jews which he hid from the Nazis under the guise of “lice feeders.” After the war, an anti-cancer dispensary was moved here, and now it is the Municipal 5th City Clinical Hospital.
As with every route, we remind you to pay attention to the gates, because in many of the houses they have already been restored. For example, nearby, at number 56A, the gate in the functionalist style building has been very well restored. And in the next house 56 lived the famous Polish artist Jan Henryk Rosen, who painted the Armenian Church.
And I think you've already noticed the unique gem of this street, the Sosnowski Palace, number 50/52 on the left side, which looks more like a medieval castle than a residential building. We can cross the road to get a better look at it. In fact, this is not one but 2 connected houses with separate entrances, built by architect Sosnowski for himself in the style of historicism with elements of neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque styles. First, in 1901, the architect built the house on the right, and in 1907 he completed the other part with the tower.
As we promised, there are a lot of magnificent villas on this street, and each of them is worth seeing, so stop, have a look, get some inspiration, for example, at numbers 33 and 29.
Here we cross the road.
Almost at the crossroads is a popular place called Alternative Coffee, where you can relax, have a coffee with specific sounds of trams coming from all directions, and enjoy the view of another gem of Chuprynky Street, which is located between the streets, or as people used to say “on the cross.”
The next villa, No. 19, was built by architect Michał Kowalczuk for himself; although it has undergone significant changes, elements of the Carpathian style remain: majolica, wooden balconies, and a tower.
On the left, number 28 is a good example of Secession with characteristic floral ornaments over the windows of the second floor and mascarons depicting women's faces over the windows of the third floor.
11A is very beautiful in the Carpathian Secession style with lace balconies, ceramic inserts, and wooden decorations.
Opposite, there are several houses in the typical 1930s style of functionalism, when the functionality of the building was more important than its appearance. Even now, such houses are famous for their good quality. By the way, Ivan Franko lived on this street for several years before moving to his villa near Stryiskiy Park.
From a distance, we can already see the baroque domes of the organ hall on the next street. So we are on the finish line.
On the right, there are a few more interesting villas that create this special charm of Chuprynky Street: the restored villa of Kazimierza Skwarczynska at number 11, which now houses Pivdenny Bank, may have lost a little of its charm, but the majolica above the windows is very well preserved, and the villa of Jan Bromilski at number 5 in the late historicism style with motifs of the architecture of the Alpine region.
Our route ends with a school with Polish as the language of education, which has recently restored its historical name of Mary Magdalene. In the 1930s, it was decided to expand the school, which was located in the “red” building, by adding another “white” building for boys. Now they are different schools and even located on different streets
This is where our route ends. We can go down to the center on foot, or take the 2nd tram, which goes right to Rynok Square. Expect new routes very soon.
