5th Gymnasium Building

Street Formation

The street was established in the early 20th century and until 1946 bore the name of Samuil Kushevych, in honor of the 17th-century burgomaster of Lviv and memoirist Kazimierz Samuil Kuszewicz. From 1946 to 1993, it was known as Klubna Street, a name linked to the presence of the Lviv Tram and Trolleybus Administration’s club (the “tram workers’” club, now the Hnat Khotkevych City Palace of Culture). In 1946, part of Kushevych Street was annexed to the neighboring Limanowskiego Street and renamed after the Baroque-era Lviv painter Luka Dolynskyi. The current name — Serafym Kushevych Street — was granted in 1993 in honor of the Ukrainian priest from Volyn, Serafym Kushevych, who was executed on December 3, 1937, in the Soviet concentration camp “BelBaltLag.”

Architects and Styles

The building at 5 S. Kushevych Street was constructed in 1905–1907 in the late Art Nouveau style, designed by Z. Kendzerski.

Who Owned It?

The building was constructed to serve the needs of the 5th Imperial-Royal Gymnasium.

What Does the Building Look Like?

The main façade features two three-axis risalits topped with attics. The building is twenty axes wide, three stories tall, painted, and U-shaped in plan. The windows on the second and third floors are separated by pilasters crowned with cartouches; those on the risalits are topped with wreaths. The windows are rectangular with sills, and those on the second floor are topped with pediments.

Interesting Facts

This gymnasium was attended by many Ruthenian (Ukrainian) students, as it was located on the outskirts of the city. Among its alumni was the renowned Ukrainian composer Vasyl Barvinsky. During the Soviet period, from 1944 to 1991, the building housed the Communist Party School under the Lviv Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine (Bolsheviks), followed by the Lviv Republican School for Film Projectionists, and later the Lviv Republican College of Cinematography.

What’s There Now?

Since Ukraine gained independence, the building has hosted the Lviv branch of the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts, and since 2000 — the Lviv branch of the European University.