Adam Opolski (1878–1943) was an architect who played a significant role in shaping the architectural landscape of Lviv and Stryi in the early 20th century. Born in Zhuravno, he studied at the Faculty of Architecture at the Lviv Polytechnic, graduating in 1904 or 1905. Shortly after completing his studies, he was appointed chief architect of the city of Stryi. In 1908, he became a member of the Polytechnic Society in Lviv and later an active figure in the architectural community: on October 26, 1925, he was elected president of the Circle of Architects operating within the Society, and also became a member of the Standing Delegation of Polish Architects in Warsaw. Around 1915, Opolski was part of the Committee of Polish Technicians in Vienna and served on the juries of several architectural competitions, including those for the Stryi Town Hall and the Land Society building in Przemyśl.
In 1908, Opolski established his own architectural and construction office in Lviv, which later operated at 33 Franka Street. In collaboration with architects Ignacy Kędzierski, Maksymilian Koczur, Adolf Baron, and through technical supervision of projects by Witold Minkiewicz, Opolski realized numerous industrial, public, and residential buildings in the styles of Secession, Romantic Modernism, modernized classicism, and Functionalism. During the First World War, he led the reconstruction of damaged buildings for the Central Office for the Reconstruction of the Country (Centrala Odbudowy Kraju).
Among the notable buildings he designed in Lviv are the residential house of Leokadia Kraft at 36 Vyshenskyi Street (1911–1913), a fine example of Romantic Modernism and now a listed heritage site; a series of buildings along Vyshenskyi Street (nos. 11–33); as well as buildings on Chaikovskoho, Kotliarevskoho, Franka, General Chuprynky, and Popovycha streets. He also designed the hospital complex of the Sisters of Mercy of St. Vincent de Paul at 1a Kryvonosa Street, the Queen Jadwiga Gymnasium (now the Institute of Hematology), the Catholic House at 36 Horodotska Street (now the Lesia Ukrainka Drama Theater), the House of the Polish Pedagogical Society, and the Craftsmen’s Society building on Danylo Halytskyi Square. In Stryi, he was involved in the design of the police department, a refrigeration plant, cavalry barracks, and several school and residential projects.
Opolski was an active participant in architectural competitions, including those for a bank building, the Bromilski Commercial House, the Sofia Strzałkowska Gymnasium, a new building for Lviv University, and a sanatorium in Krynica-Zdrój. Some of his designs received jury commendations, though not all were realized. In 1910, he took part in the major architectural exhibition at the Palace of Arts in Lviv.
Adam Opolski blended the aesthetics of Art Nouveau with the emerging principles of functional form, leaving behind numerous high-quality urban buildings that today remain part of Lviv’s historic architectural fabric.