Formation of the Street
The first mention of the street dates back to 1414. It was originally called Harbarska (Tanners’ Street), as it was inhabited by leather workers. In the early 19th century, there was a pond at the end of the street, crossed by a small bridge with a statue of Saint John of Nepomuk. In 1886, the Poltva River was enclosed in an underground collector, and the city’s chief gardener, Arnold Rering, created a boulevard, later modernized together with architect Alfred Zachariewicz. In the 1930s, the street was reconstructed, with old poplars replaced by new maple trees.
In 1871, the street was renamed Akademichna (Academic) due to its proximity to Lviv University. On April 14, 1936, a demonstration of unemployed workers was shot here, sparking mass protests. In 1955, the street was renamed Shevchenka Avenue.
Architects and Styles
The building at 17–19 Shevchenka Avenue was constructed between 1907 and 1910, designed by architects Alfred Zachariewicz and Tadeusz Obmiński. Stylistically, it combines features of late Art Nouveau with elements of Neoclassicism. Most of the construction work was carried out by the firm of Ivan Levynsky.
Who was the owner?
The building was originally constructed to house the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
What does the building look like?
This monumental building was designed in the style of European Modernism with Neoclassical elements. It is a three-story brick structure with a basement and a mezzanine, rectangular in plan with an inner courtyard. The main façade features a symmetrical composition with a central entrance portal framed by three-quarter Doric columns.
The ground floor is highlighted by heavy rustication, while the second and third floors feature light pilasters with Ionic capitals and vertical lesenes. On the central and side parts of the second floor are high-relief allegories of trade and crafts, sculpted by Wojciech Przedwojewski in 1908. The mezzanine is crowned with a wavy attic featuring a mosaic ornamental frieze with the coat of arms of Lviv at its center. The rear façade is simpler, with a projecting bay window ending in a large terrace. The roof is complex in form, with a gable roof over the main part and a mansard roof above the mezzanine.
The building’s interior combines administrative and representational functions. The entrance vestibule is clad in marble and covered with a semicircular vaulted ceiling decorated with ornamental coffers. The grand staircase features a stained glass window created by the studio of Stanisław Gabriel Żeleński, based on a design by Alfred Zachariewicz. The staircase is illuminated by crystal chandeliers shaped like stalactites.
The second floor houses a large assembly hall with walls adorned in oak panels, faux marble, and freestanding white marble pilasters topped with sculptural groups by Zygmunt Kurczyński. The mural paintings in the hall, created by Feliks Wygrzywalski and Zygmunt Balk, reflect philosophical meditations on human life and destiny. Among the sculptural motifs are representations of “Labor,” “Melancholy,” “Love,” and others. The stained glass windows in the hall were also designed by Zachariewicz, while the oak panels with mascarons are by Kurczyński.
The building is a striking example of early 20th-century administrative architecture in Lviv and represents a synthesis of various art forms—painting, sculpture, stained glass, and mosaic—harmoniously integrated into the architectural design.
Interesting Facts
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry building was designed as a prestigious facility for an influential professional institution, combining administrative and representational functions. The main construction work was carried out by Ivan Levynsky’s firm, while the reinforced concrete elements were developed by the company “Sosnowski and Zachariewicz.” The building is distinguished by its unique monumental and decorative design, including wall paintings (Feliks Wygrzywalski’s frieze), sculptural reliefs by Zygmunt Kurczyński, and stained glass and mosaics produced by Stanisław Gabriel Żeleński’s firm, based on designs by Henryk Uziembło and Karol Frisch.
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry was established in Lviv in 1850 and was initially housed in the Biesiadecki Palace on Halytska Square. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the need arose for a more spacious building that would meet modern standards for such an important public institution. The new building was designed by Alfred Zachariewicz—one of the chamber’s most influential members—and Tadeusz Obmiński. It was envisioned as a complex together with the Technological Institute (now the Mykola Lysenko Music Academy at 5 Nyzhankivskoho Street), both buildings sharing a common inner courtyard. The project was approved on October 4, 1907, and construction was officially recorded as complete in the municipal records on May 6, 1911. The official opening took place on July 3, 1910, attended by prominent guests from Vienna and representatives of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry from across the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The initial construction cost was estimated at 60,000 crowns.
Construction was executed by Ivan Levynsky’s firm, while reinforced concrete elements, including vaults and ceilings, were developed by Józef Sosnowski’s company. The building was equipped with central heating, electric installations, an internal telephone system, and electric elevators installed by the firm “Sokolnicki and Wiśniewski.” During the Soviet era, the building housed the City Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine.
What is it now?
Currently, it is the building of the Prosecutor’s Office of Lviv Region.
Sources and Literature
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Project “Halitsiana” (I. Zhuk), 2001–2002.
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State Archives of the Lviv Region (DALO) 2/1/312.
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DALO 2/1/56. Later renamed 2/1/53.
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DALO 2/1/58. Later renamed 2/1/55.
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Volodymyr Vuytsyk, Roman Lypka, Meeting with Lviv (Lviv: Kameniar, 1987).
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Ihor Zhuk, “The Chamber of Commerce and Industry,” Historical and Architectural Atlas of Lviv. Series II. Landmark Buildings. Notebook No. 3 (Lviv: Center of Europe Publishing).
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Mieczysław Orłowicz, Guide to Lwów (Lwów, 1925).
