Israel and Salomon Elster and Leon Topf House
Address: 8 Akademika Bohomoltsia Street, Lviv
Development of the Street
Akademika Bohomoltsia Street was laid out in the early twentieth century on the grounds of the former Semensky family estate. Between 1905 and 1908, it was developed as a unified residential ensemble surrounding a small landscaped square. Today, this district is regarded as one of the best-preserved examples of Art Nouveau urban planning in Lviv. House No. 8 was completed in 1907 and forms an integral part of this architectural ensemble.
Who Were the Owners?
The building was constructed as a rental apartment house for the construction company Elster & Topf, founded by entrepreneurs Israel and Salomon Elster together with Leon Topf. The design was prepared by the architectural bureau of Ivan Levynskyi, whose office was responsible for shaping much of Lviv’s Art Nouveau architecture and designed most of the buildings along this street. Today, the house is protected as a local architectural monument.
What Does the Building Look Like?
This three-storey apartment house was designed in the Art Nouveau style, although its architecture is more restrained than that of some neighbouring buildings. The symmetrical façade features a rusticated ground floor, vertical pilasters, refined stucco ornamentation, and elegant wrought-iron balcony railings and decorative metalwork. The building has an L-shaped plan with a side wing and was equipped with modern amenities for its time, including electricity, running water, and a sewage system.
Interesting Facts
The house forms part of the Bohomoltsia Street ensemble, one of the finest surviving examples of Lviv Art Nouveau. Although its façade is less ornate than those of neighbouring buildings, its restrained combination of Historicist and Art Nouveau elements makes it an important component of the overall composition. The design illustrates the architectural transition from late nineteenth-century Historicism to the emerging Art Nouveau movement in early twentieth-century Lviv.
What Is It Used for Today?
The building continues to serve primarily as a residential property.
Sources and Literature:
- State Archive of the Lviv Region (DALO), F. 2, Op. 2, File 1228.
- Melnyk I., Lviv Streets and Houses, Walls, Corners, Suburbs, and Other Features of the Royal Capital of Galicia, Lviv: Center of Europe, 2008.
- Lemko Ilko, Mykhalyk V., Beglyarov H., 1243 Streets of Lviv (1939-2009), Lviv: Apriori, 2009.
- Melnyk B., A Guide to Street and Square Renaming in Lviv, XIII-XX Centuries, Lviv: Svit, 2001.
- Architecture of Lviv: Time and Styles, XIII-XXI Centuries, edited by Yuriy Biryulov, Bohdan Cherkes, Mykola Bevz, A. Rudnytsky, Center of Europe, Lviv, 2008.
- Oleska Novakivskyi Museum, 11 Lystopadovoho Chynu Street