ABOUT LVIV

Lviv is the sixth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of 717,510 people. It is the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, as well as one of Ukraine’s major cultural centers.

Lviv’s history is as vibrant and fascinating as the city itself. The first written mention about Lviv dates back to 1256. The city, located at the crossroads of two profitable trade routes, grew and flourished quickly, becoming one of the most important trade centres in medieval Europe. It later evolved not only into an architectural masterpiece, but also into the modern capital of scientific, spiritual, and artistic life.

City of Lviv is very rich in monuments of architecture, history, art and archeology. The whole central part of Lviv is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and the city prioritizes the preservation of it a lot.

In 2022, the war in Ukraine posed among others a risk also on the cultural heritage of the city. Hence, the city of Lviv mobilised all the possible resources in order to be prepared in the event of an attack to preserve as much as possible the cultural heritage sites of the city.

ABOUT US

Lviv Heritage Bureau is a center for coordination and promotion of preservation and restoration of cultural and historical heritage in Lviv established in 2020 by Lviv City Council. 

Our mission is to implement programs and projects to promote, preserve and restore cultural heritage on the basis of co-responsibility, co-financing, cooperation and communication between various environments and stakeholders. Through online and offline activities, we conduct educational work among city residents, tourists, and internally displaced persons who relocate to Lviv because of war.

The Lviv Heritage Bureau operates as a municipal enterprise within the Office for Preservation of historical environment that is a subdivision of the Lviv City Council aimed at management and restoration of the objects of cultural heritage.

ABOUT CO-FINANCING PROGRAMS

Lviv heritage bureau coordinates a number of the city’s co-financing programs aimed at restoration of valuable elements of historical buildings. 

Program of the restoration of historical doors 

Since 2020 Lviv Heritage Bureau has been coordinating the co-financing Program of the restoration of doors  in historical residential buildings. The co-financing program of the restoration of historical doors foresees that 70% of the total cost of work is paid by the city council, and 30% – by residents, the owners of properties in historical buildings. During the functioning of the program, 171 historical doors were restored. Follow the link to see “before” and “after” restoration state of doors.  

Program of the restoration of historical windows

Since 2020 Lviv Heritage Bureau has been coordinating the co-financing Program of the restoration of windows in historical residential buildings. The co-financing program of the restoration of historical windows foresees that 60% of the total cost of work is paid by the city council, and 40% – by residents, the owners of properties in historical buildings. In case of replacing plastic windows with wooden ones, the total cost is shared 50% to 50% between city council and owners.  During the functioning of the program 140 historical windows were restored. 

Program of the restoration of historical balconies

Lviv Heritage bureau started to coordinate the co-financing Program of the restoration of balconies on the main facades of historical residential buildings. The program foresees that owners pay UAH 10,000 for restoration of each balcony, bay window or loggia, and the rest is paid by the city council. 

ABOUT SERVICES

Lviv heritage bureau provides the following services for individuals and legal entities:

• Creation of accountancy documentation for objects of cultural heritage,
• Development of cultural heritage protection zones,
• Development of historical and architectural basic plans,
• Development of project documentation for restoration works,
• Development of signboards’ project,
• Implementation of technical supervision 

IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS

1. “The walk along renovated Lviv” 

The Heritage Bureau launched an online resource about the city’s restored monuments, where everyone can see the buildings, public spaces and objects that had been restored and renovated in the city in recent years.

2. “Archeological finds in Lviv”

Lviv Heritage Bureau, together with the Rescue Archaeological Service and Skeiron, launched the project, that, based on the archeological findings, tells how Lviv’s housing looked like in different eras, what the city’s infrastructure was like, such as water supply or sewage, as well as the history of defensive and sacred buildings.

3. “Restoration Days in Lviv”

Restoration Days in Lviv 2020, Restoration Days in Lviv 2021.

The purpose of the project is to promote the restoration of elements of historic buildings (doors, windows). A series of workshops were organised where participants could observe the restoration process in real time as well as get professional advices on how to maintain valuable historic carpentry. In addition, there were a series of tours along the restored monuments of Lviv. 

4. “100 years of modernism in Lviv”

This is a project aimed at drawing attention to the interwar modernism architecture in Lviv.
Given the simplicity of forms and the lack of decor, this architecture was interpreted as low-value, stylistically unimportant, which subsequently leads to changes, alterations, and the loss of buildings and their elements. This project provides an opportunity for city’s residents to learn more about modernism, rethink the importance of preserving the heritage of modernism, and raise the level of awareness of architecture’s value.

5. “Where is the boundary?” (DeMezha) 

During its operation, the Lviv Heritage bureau faced the problem that the residents of the historical area of Lviv were not fully aware of the value of buildings. For raising awareness of culture heritage value, the information and education project campaign was launched. It foresaw handouts and excursions for residents of Lviv historical districts, posters, city lights etc. 

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Lviv Heritage bureau actively operates on the international level as a member of the following international organisations:

1. Organisation of World Heritage Cities (OWHC)
2. Réseau Art-Nouveau network (RANN)

The institution has a successful experience of cooperation with Eberhard Schöck Stiftung that financially supports the Program of the restoration of historical doors.