Lviv and Lviv residents

1. Pidvalna str., 3. Publishing house “Chwila”
2. Arsenalna str., 3. School of Abraham Kohn
3. Pidvalna str., 2. School where Staniclaw Lem studied
4. Ruska str., 4. Multicultural house.
5. Rynok sq. Kornyakt house
6. Shevska str., 12. Naftuli Tepfer pub
7. Andreolli Passage. Artes
8. Pamvy Beryndy str., 3. Ivan Franko- Lilien
9. Mikolyash passage
10. Doroshenko str., 16. Wilhelm Wachtel. Doppler brothers
11. Doroshenko str., 19. Landau house
12. Ivan Franko monument. Sholom Aleichem
13. Rapoport str., 4-6. Jewish hospital

1.Pidvalna str., 3. Publishing House “Chwila”(means “wave”). The youngest house on Pidvalna Street was built on a plot of land belonging to the Sprecher family. The author of the project was Lviv architect of Czech origin Karel Boublik. Combining two houses in one project, he visually created a wonderful complex, which houses residential and commercial premises. After the First World War, the house housed the Jewish publishing union Chwila. In addition to the newspaper of the same name “Monday Chwila”, “Evening Chwila”, “Illustrated Supplement”, and “Chwila for Children and Teenagers” were published here. If you carefully flip through the yellowed pages of these magazines you can read current news of that time, reports on sports competitions, international politics, and see photos of our city showing the “old” Lviv even then, read about cultural events in our city and learn more about interesting life details of such giants of Ukrainian history as Andriy Sheptytsky and Ivan Franko, who were connoisseurs of literature. The editor of this newspaper, Henryk Hesheles, was well-known in Lviv and abroad. It is interesting that his cousin Stanislav Lem is often mentioned in Lviv, because Stanislav Lem wrote fantastic works that are still read all over the world and wrote memoirs about the city of his childhood. It happened so that Lem had to leave Lviv. After the war he was only a passer-by in Lviv but his books was published by “Kamenyar” publishing house which worked here after the war. First in 1965 “Return from the Stars” and the following year – “High Castle”. We will return to the memories of Lviv by the prominent writer.

2. And now we go to school. To Arsenalna Street 3. The history of the school on this place began a long time ago. First the boys studied here, then the girls. The girls’ school was named after Abraham Kohn, a rabbi who lived in Lviv in the 19th century. It so happened that Abraham Kohn was poisoned, the poison that got into his food caused his death, but Gothilf Kohn, his son, survived. Despite his health problems, he traveled a lot and left many memories of Galicia that are worth reading and learning something new about the history of our region.
The director of this school in the early twentieth century was Henryk Bigelaisen, a good friend of Ivan Franko. If to study the activities of Bigeleisen, we can find mentions of him in the works of Ivan Franko. When we study the history of the giant of Ukrainian literature Franko – we see mentions of him in Bigelaisen’s works. This writer published memoirs of Franko in 1927. In addition to ethnography and translation activity his research interests included the study of Ukrainian-Polish relations.

3. Nearby there is one more school, one of the oldest schools in Lviv. Stanislaw Lem studied here at Pidvalna Street, 2. Yes, we have already mentioned Lem next to the publishing house. By the way, at one time the writer allowed to publish his book “High Castle” in Ukrainian without charge. He studied Ukrainian at school and he remembered, knew and respected it. When Kyiv journalists addressed him in Russian Lem demanded that questions be asked in Ukrainian.
The author of “High Castle” once even planned a visit to Lviv, in the 80s of the XX century, but canceled at the last moment. However he attentively followed what was happening in Ukraine and Lviv, and always reacted to what was happening here.

4. Our next stop is Ruska Street, 4. This street has the center of faith and culture of the Ukrainian community for a long period of time. The house next to us is a reminder that Lviv has always been a city where representatives of different communities lived side by side.
Initially, in the 16th century, the townhouse was owned by Dominique Hepner, a physician, merchant, and city councilor. Over time the house became the property of the Armenian Vartanovych family. The new owner reconstructed the house and built one more construction in the yard, above the windows of which inscriptions in Armenian have been preserved today, and if you go into the small yard of this house, you can see these inscriptions.
And when we leave the yard, we will see a reminder that at the end of the XIX century, when the inhabitants of Lviv were not supposed to settle within the neighborhoods to which their communities belonged any more, the house belonged to the Jews. The reminder is the trace of the mezuzah (the place where the prayer was input).
5. Another interesting house is known to everyone who has ever been to Rynok Square. In the House №6 there is the department of Lviv Historical Museum. This building was built by a greek Constantine Kornyakt in the XVI. Then the building became the property of the Sobieski family, and when the representative of this family was elected the King of Poland, he organized his residence here.
It is no secret that Jan Sobieski was the grandson of no less prominent man – Ivan (Jan) Danilovich – Ruthenian voivode (military governor) and Lviv castellan. And during military campaigns, including the Battle of Vienna, he involved the Cossack army, and with great respect for the soldiers who took part with him in military battles. Jan Sobieski’s wife was of French descent and her name was Maria Casimir Louise de Grange d’Arcienne. Jan Sobieski loved his wife immensely and when she fell ill only Jewish doctor Simkhe Menachem Emanuel de Jona was able to cure her. Initially this doctor was the courtier of Sultan Mehmed IV and later on became the personal physician of the king and his family.
6. Then our way goes to the place where bohemians gathered at the beginning of the XX century. We go to Shevska Street, 12, where there was a pub that was originally owned by Naftul Tepfer and since 1901 – by his son Michal.
The pub was called “Under Three Crowns” but visitors called it by the name of the owners. Opened in 1852 the restaurant gained many fans, because one could possibly get there delicious meal for little money with large variety of choice that could satisfy different tastes. Accordingly the visitors differed by their financial capabilities. Michal Tepfer, to whom his father handed over the restaurant in 1901, made it a place where bohemians gathered and not only the local ones. A lawyer by profession Michal himself was a talented cartoonist. He was mentioned in the press of that time as well as in the studies of modern art critics. A creative and talented man, Michal Tepfer has set aside a separate room in his restaurant to discuss innovations in the world of art. Tepfer treated the young artist Ivan Trush with great affection. Among visitors of the restaurant were representatives of the Ukrainian and Polish creative elites, everyone here was treated with respect. Ivan Franko, Les Martovych, Vasyl Stefanyk, and others used to come there.
While holding the restaurant Tepfer had a beautiful collection of works of art, part of which he donated to the city’s art gallery. Among the works donated by Tepfer to the gallery are works of Severyn Obst, an artist who had a good education and lived and worked in Podolia, and then in Krakow. He became interested in Hutsul culture, created portraits of the inhabitants of the Carpathians, painted landscapes, and he also collected household items and objects of folk art.

7. And not far from here in Andreolli passage you can see the work of Lviv artists right on the wall. Apparently Dominiko Andreolli, an Italian from Switzerland, did not even dream that the passage in which he opened his confectionery in the 19th century would be popular for several centuries. This is where Lviv residents and guests would come for a cup of coffee and guides would explain the difference between a coffee shop and a confectionery. Through this passage from Teatralna Street you can get to Rynok Square. All the ground floors in this yard nowadays are adapted for business as it was a hundred years ago. After the confectionery was opened in the passage shops began to appear here and some of the goods could be demonstrated just outside. Advertisements were placed directly on the walls of houses. The remnants of that advertisement can be seen when we enter the passage from Teatralna Street, 12. This ad was created by members of “Artes” creative association and was called “Painting with Jam”. The first chairman of this association of artists was Roman Selsky. A group of “Artes” participants studied at Paris Academy of Contemporary Art. Young talented artists from Lviv together created the art of their time here. Lev Kaltenberg, who was acquainted with the artists of “Artes”, described the frescoes that were visible on the walls of the passage: “Sugar heads were displayed on these paintings in rows like gothic portals … there were branches with mysterious small leaves … Barrels, bottles, tin cans full of secret liquids were seen there. These paintings really turned the rectangle of the walls into a gate wide open to the distant world of color. “

8. The next address we go to is on the street named after Pamvo Berynda – a talented man whose skills have been manifested in various directions and are the heritage of Ukrainian culture. House #3 on this street is associated with the names of talented people as well as with organizations that once played an important role in Lviv. The building next to which we are standing was built by order of Henryk Sokal and Ignacy Lilien – bankers who bought the previous house where it had been a currency exchange office since 1860. This house was built in 1909 designed by the architectural bureau of Michal Ulam that was also located here. By the way this house is the first five-storey building in Lviv. We will take a look at the Sokal and Lilien banking house.
The outstanding Ukrainian writer Ivan Franko and the talented Ukrainian artist Ivan Trush were its clients. Franko’s acquaintance with the Lilien family was not limited to financial matters. Ephroim Moshe Lilien was a native of Drohobych where Ivan Franko studied. And their paths crossed in Lviv. In addition a certain period of Franko’s life was associated with the magazine “KURIER LWOWSKI” that was co-owned by the Lilien family. He worked in that magazine for some time and some works by the prominent Ukrainian author were published there.
In addition to the bank and the architectural bureau there was a confectionery, a film loan office, and the office of “Hasmonea” Sports Club, most famous for its activity in football and tennis.

9. And from the place where business, art and sports were combined, we go to the place where there was entertainment and business – on Copernicus Street to the former passage of Mikolyash https://uma.lvivcenter.org/en/photos/70?fbclid=IwAR0Xyr_QvkATf3WfT63iBaNed_lnB5g3fHHEAQ5igt6AvmcFiTjbpEY4aKA
This passage was and remains one of the most famous in Lviv. It was destroyed by the Nazis during the World War II, and now it is a question of restoring the galleries that were once a place of rest for Lviv residents.
And it all started with an ordinary pharmacy, or rather with a young pharmacist Peter Mikolyash, who since 1826 conducted his business in the pharmacy “Under the Golden Star” : https://lia.lvivcenter.org/en/objects/kopernyka-1/?fbclid=IwAR22voaPPamnn-sg5wuQVDb05Ge7si0_415bInqQG9YSKULMnDI5GsP82RM
Thanks to the talent of the owner the pharmacy brought good profits and in 1853 two chemists Jan Zeg and Ignatius Lukasevich invented a kerosene lamp here.
In 1892 at the expense of his son Karol a new house was built where the pharmacy continued operating and in a few years it became a joint-stock company “Dr. Mikolyash, Peech, Levynsky and Union.” For the needs of the society, on the initiative of Karol Mikolyash’s son-in-law – Andrzej Romashkan, a passage
https://photo-lviv.in.ua/pasazh-mikolyasha-intelihentnist-ta-vytonchenist-staroho-lvova/ is being built, embodied by architects Ivan Levinsky and Alfred Zakharievich
There are shops, restaurants, cinemas and cafés. “Illustrated Weekly” calls this passage crystal because the metal openwork constructions that supported the glass roof made unforgettable impression. Another owner of the famous passage was Henryk Mikolyash who was fond of photography since childhood.
He treated photography as a good hobby but his marriage to Regina Gostynska who was also a fan of photography and participating in exhibitions where they demonstrated their work together, contributed to his dedication to this art. Henryk Mikolyash not only devoted himself to photography – he headed the Club of Fans of Photography in Lviv, founded a thematic magazine and became the head of the Department of Photography at Lviv Polytechnic
His student was Yanina Mezhetska who created an interesting project “Working Hand”. Her husband being a dermatologist collected photographs of the hands of men of various professions. For 10 years Janina took photographs for her husband’s research and later released an album with 120 photographs. Among her works are photographs of nature, architecture and her contemporaries. It was through her lens that was taken a picture of the architect Ferdinand Kassler and the entrepreneur Jona Sprecher. Photographs taken by Janina Meżhetska
https://photo-lviv.in.ua/yanina-mezhetska-fotohraf-eksperymentator-avtor-unikalnoho-art-proektu-pro-cholovikiv/
are in the museums of Wrocław, Kraków and Lviv. And when flipping through old newspapers, pay attention to the author’s name. Perhaps one of these photos was taken by this talented woman.
10. The next address of our trip is Doroshenko Street,16. The Doppler brothers spent their childhood in the house that used to be on this place and took their first steps in music. Their father, Joseph Doppler, was a military bandmaster, composer and teacher of theatrical music school, the children received their first musical education from him. Franz Doppler and his brother Karl studied with the best teachers of their time. Both Karl and Franz, who played the flute, were composers, conductors, performed on the best stages of Europe, but each time came on tour to Lviv, where they remained close family and professional ties. Their creative legacy still attracts the attention of the music community. Franz Doppler is considered their national composer as Poles so Austrians and Hungarians for his operas in a bright national style. In the house that now stands on this site in 1910-1912 the artist Wilhelm Wachtel lived http://uartlib.org/ukrayinski-hudozhniki/vahtel-vilgelm/. He was educated as an artist in Krakow and Munich, traveled extensively but constantly kept in touch with Lviv where he was born and constantly had exhibitions here.

11. Now we go to Doroshenko Street. And the first building in front of which we stop is number 19. This house and designed by architect Volodymyr Pidhorodetsky on the order of the banker Edward Landau. He was the author of many interesting buildings, and the Jewish community repeatedly approached him with orders. The sculptures that adorn the house are allegories of “War”, “Peace”, “Science”, “Art”, “Labor” and “Trade”. Their author is Petro Viytovych whose sculptures adorn the Opera and Ballet Theater in Lviv. During the restoration these sculptures could be seen up close and on one of them was signed by the master could be seen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znmHI8LFKd0. This house, very beautiful both outside and inside, was used for various businesses. Kantorovich’s alcohol factory, Goldman’s printing house, Kindler’s fabric store, Laura Brook’s shoe store and Weltstal’s jewelry store worked in this building. You may wonder what could be interesting about this house apart of its architecture? Among the companies that worked here Goldman’s printing house attracted our attention. Few people know that this is where the “Illustrated Supplement” of “New Time” was published, published by the unique Ukrainian businessman Ivan Tyktor which created a publishing group.
12. Then we go to the monument to Ivan Franko. And let’s remember a man whose creative work will be studied and researched for many years to come. We know him as a writer, publicist, public figure, translator and scientist. Today we will mention Franko’s translation activities.The writer knew 14 languages (Polish, German, Greek, Latin, Old Slavonic, Czech, Russian, French, English, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Italian, Yiddish). In his legacy there are translations of different periods of time designed for readers of all ages. Among the translations created by Franko are interesting works translated from Yiddish into Ukrainian by Velvl Ehrenkrantz and Maurice Rosenfeld which are included in the Anthology of Jewish Poetry. Among the authors whose works Franko planned to translate into Ukrainian was Sholom Aleichem
with whom he met in Lviv. Why did we mention this meeting right next to the monument to Franko? The answer is simple: the prominent Ukrainian writer and the oustanding Jewish author both walked the paths of this park. On the corner of S. Krushelnytska Street there is a memorial sign that Franko lived here, and Sholom Aleichem immortalized this park in his work “Motl the boy”. Amazed by what he saw the author wrote: “Lviv, you see, is already not that Brody. First the city itself – cleanliness, breadth, beauty! You can’t stop admiring it! In the middle of the city there is a park where everyone is allowed to walk, even goats. Free country! On Saturdays Jews walk along all the streets and no one will not say a word against it. And what kind of people they are! Pure gold! My mother says that Brody comparing to Lviv is like the land to heaven. My brother Elya regrets that Brody follows the border first, and Lviv next after it. It is a pity that not the opposite. But Pinya is reasoning him that Lviv is therefore better than Brody because it is located further from the border but closer to America.

13. The Jewish community that settled in Lviv long time ago has observed the institutions necessary for life. Of course, among such institutions were hospitals where you could get medical care. Probably all Lviv residents know the building of the hospital on Rapoport street because many children were born and are still born in the maternity hospital located within these walls. It surprises the guests of the city with its unusual architecture. This hospital was designed and built at the expense of Maurice Lazarus, a banker who donated it to the city’s Jewish community. The history of its construction is an example of life in a multicultural city. The architect of this building was Kazimir Moklovsky, the project was implemented by the architectural bureau of Ivan Levynsky. The latest medical equipment was installed in the hospital, and future physicians who studied in Lviv had practice here. Ten years later, architectural bureau of Michał Ulam built an outpatient clinic designed by Roman Felinsky, where hexagonal stars have survived to this day. During World War I, Christian patients of the Jewish hospital comprised to nearly 70 percent. The Star of David which adorned the spire has not survived to this day but the main thing remains – this hospital, created with love for people, continues to operate.