Street Formation
The oldest recorded name of the square was Jesuit Square. From 1871 to 1885, it was part of Jagiellońska Street. Between 1885 and 1940, it was named Smolki Square, in honor of Polish politician, public figure, lawyer, and head of the Austro-Hungarian Parliament Franciszek Smolka, who also initiated the construction of the Lublin Union Mound on the High Castle Hill. From 1940 to 1941, it was renamed 17 Veresnya (“September 17 Square”), marking the Soviet annexation of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus in September 1939. During the German occupation (1941–1944), the name Smolkiplatz was restored, and in 1944–1946, it became Smolki Square again. From 1946 to 1993, the square was called Victory Square, commemorating the USSR’s triumph in the German-Soviet War. In 1993, it was renamed General Hryhorenko Square, in honor of Soviet general and human rights defender Petro Hryhorenko.
Builders and Styles
The tenement at 5 General Hryhorenko Square was designed by architects Józef Piątkowski and Maksymilian Burstyn in the style of modernized Neoclassicism. Construction lasted from 1912 to 1914.
Who Owns It?
The building was commissioned by Julius (Jakób) Grüner, a Lviv merchant.
What Does the Building Look Like?
The building at No. 5, known as the former Grüner Tenement, is located in central Lviv, just west of the historic Old Town. It occupies an elongated plot oriented north–south, integrated into a densely built urban block bordered by Mentsynskoho, Horodotska, Nalyvaika, and Hnatyuka Streets and General Hryhorenko Square. It is a monumental four-story structure with a mansard level under a high roof.
The prominent south-facing main façade spans five window bays and is vertically segmented by lesenes between wide windows, with three tiers of balconies. On the right side, a large arched gateway leads to the rear courtyard, accompanied by broader balconies and a mansard crowned with a tented roof and spires. The windows on the lower two floors have rounded tops, while the upper ones are rectangular. Decorative features include large dormers with ornamental planters and a balustrade along the roof ridge.
Notable decorative elements include mascarons above the windows, resembling the style of sculptor Zygmunt Kurchynski’s workshop, as well as wrought-iron balcony railings and staircase details. The entrance gate retains initials “JG” for Jakób Grüner. The architectural style reflects early 1910s Neoclassicism.
The building has a complex, nontraditional layout. It consists of two main blocks — a front and a rear — each with two rows of apartments. The first floor of the front block is occupied by commercial spaces. The side wings are divided by a courtyard, which was later partially built over to expand the former cinema (now the Voskresinnia Theater). The left wing features an arched passageway leading to stairwells and theater rooms.
Interesting Facts
The current site of No. 5 once bore conscription number 643 2/4 and, in the 19th century, belonged to Lorenz Ronesch. In 1837, it was sold to Karl Schneider, and later to Tadeusz and Emilia Bonkowski. After Emilia’s death in 1882, the property passed to Alexandra Ustrzycka, who inherited a three-story building with two auxiliary structures.
In 1907, Wolf Kaufmann acquired the plot, followed by Jakób Grüner, who began constructing the new building in 1912 based on Józef Piątkowski’s design. The new building included spacious apartments, commercial premises, and a cinema hall. In 1928, the Marysieńka Cinema opened on-site.
After World War II, apartments were reconfigured, and the commercial spaces were occupied by an aviation agency. Until the late 1980s, the building housed the Pioneer children’s cinema.
What Is It Now?
Today, the former Pioneer cinema hall (originally Marysieńka) is home to the Lviv Academic Voskresinnia Theater. The building also hosts a dance school, yoga studio, radio station, youth organization, furniture store, religious institution, and the offices of Amigo Partners.
Sources and Literature
State Archives of the Lviv Region (DALO) 2/2/2901.
DALO 2/2/2902.
Hromov S. Names of Prominent People in the Streets of Lviv. — Lviv: NVF “Ukrainian Technologies”, 2001. — ISBN 978-617-629-077-3.
Grüner Passage | Lviv Forever
5 General Hryhorenko Square – Lviv Academic Spiritual Theater “Voskresinnia” | Interactive Lviv
Directory of Renamings of Lviv Streets and Squares, 2001.