Formation of the Street
Stepan Bandera Street is one of the most important thoroughfares in Lviv, connecting the central part of the city with its western districts. Its formation dates back to the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, during a period of rapid development in Lviv, as the city expanded beyond its historic center.
Originally, the street was named 3 Maja (Third of May), in honor of the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791. It retained this name until 1939. During the interwar period, it was one of the most prestigious streets in Lviv. It hosted educational institutions — including the Polytechnic (now the Lviv Polytechnic National University) — as well as administrative offices and representative residential buildings.
In the Soviet period, the street was first renamed Dzerzhinsky Street, and in 1991 it received its current name in honor of Stepan Bandera, a leader of the Ukrainian nationalist movement.
The street’s route was laid out along important transport lines, including the railway connecting the Main Railway Station with the city center, as well as with newly developing neighborhoods of Lviv in the direction of Klepariv and Zamarstyniv. From the outset, the street was planned as a wide urban artery, featuring a tram line and a tree-lined median.
Architects and Styles
The building at 4 Stepan Bandera Street in Lviv is one of many designed by the renowned architect Ivan Levynskyi. Active in Lviv in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Levynskyi left a significant mark on the city’s architectural landscape. His work includes numerous buildings on Chuprynky, Kotliarevskyi, and Bandera Streets.
What’s There Now?
Today, this address houses Lviv’s Lost and Found Bureau, which provides services for the return of lost belongings to both residents and visitors of the city.
Sources:
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Architecture of Lviv: Time and Styles. 13th–21st centuries / M. Bevz, Yu. Biryulov, Yu. Bohdanova, et al. — Lviv: Center of Europe, 2008. — 720 p.
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Encyclopedia of Lviv / Edited by A. Kozytskyi and I. Pidkova. — Lviv: Litopys, 2007–2010. — Vols. 1–3.
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Ilko Lemko, V. Mykhalyk, H. Behliarov. “Bandera Street” // 1243 Streets of Lviv (1939–2009). — Lviv: Apriori, 2009. — pp. 78–80.
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Ulyana Shchev’iova. “Artistic Murals in the Decorative Program of Entrance Spaces in Residential Buildings of Eastern Galicia in the Late 19th – First Third of the 20th Century” // Bulletin of the Lviv National Academy of Arts. — 2019. — No. 42. — pp. 79–87.