Józef Hornung (1876–1935) was an architect, educator, public figure, and artist — a representative of the Lviv architectural school of the early 20th century. He was born in Lviv, where he also received his professional education. From 1895 to 1900, he studied at the Faculty of Architecture at the Lviv Polytechnic. Simultaneously, during the 1896–1897 academic year, he attended drawing and modeling classes at the Lviv School of Industrial Arts, which reflected his early interest in both technical design and the arts.
He began his professional career in Lviv, where he implemented a number of architectural projects. Later, he served as the municipal architect in the cities of Stryi and Sambir. On November 16, 1905, he passed the certification exam at the Imperial-Royal Governor’s Office, receiving the title of licensed master builder, which authorized him to independently conduct architectural work.
Hornung was actively involved in the professional community. Since 1902, he had been a member of the Polytechnic Society in Lviv. In June 1908, he became one of the founders of the “Circle of Polish Architects in Lviv,” established within the Society — a professional organization aimed at uniting architects of Polish nationality. In December of that year, he took part in the First Congress of Delegates of Polish Architectural Circles in Kraków as a representative of the Lviv delegation.
From 1918 onward, Hornung worked as an inspector (curator) of vocational schools in Galicia, playing a significant role in the development of technical education institutions under the Lviv Curatorship. On December 1, 1926, during a meeting of the Polytechnic Society, he delivered a lecture titled “Craft Schools in Lesser Poland Before and After the War,” analyzing the development of vocational education in the interwar period. In 1930, he published a textbook in Lviv titled Geometrja wykreślna dla rzemieślników (“Descriptive Geometry for Craftsmen”), one of the few contemporary works dedicated to technical drawing and geometry for aspiring technicians and artisans.
In addition to his architectural career, Hornung was also passionate about painting and graphic art. He created figurative compositions, landscapes of Lviv and Italy, and still lifes. He taught at the private Free Academy of Arts in Lviv. His works were exhibited widely: in 1910, he took part in a major exhibition of Polish architects in Lviv, presenting photographs of monuments, architectural projects, and sketches from his travels; in 1920, he participated in the exhibition “Old Lviv.” He also held several solo exhibitions in the galleries of the Society of Friends of Fine Arts, where he was well recognized as an artist.
Józef Hornung’s career brought together technical expertise, educational vision, and artistic sensitivity. His contribution to the architectural and educational development of Galicia left a notable mark on the cultural life of interwar Lviv.