Formation of the Street
Hlyboka Street is located in the Frankivskyi district of Lviv, within the historical area known as Novyi Svit. Its development is linked to the city’s active expansion during the second half of the 19th century, when Lviv began growing beyond its medieval center. At that time, the area of present-day Hlyboka Street was sparsely populated, consisting of agricultural plots, vegetable gardens, and marshy lowlands with small ponds referred to by locals as “bayky.”
During the 1870s and 1880s, this part of the city began transitioning into an organized urban quarter. A new street grid was laid out, utilities were installed, and Hlyboka Street was established as an internal residential street connecting the newly developed thoroughfares — then Panska Street (now Bandera Street) and Novyi Svit Street. The name “Hlyboka,” meaning “deep,” refers to the natural depression of the terrain along which the street runs — once a floodplain.
Between the 1890s and 1910s, the street was mainly built up with three-story townhouses in the Historicist and Secession (Art Nouveau) styles. By the interwar period, it had become a quiet residential area for the middle class. During the Soviet era, the architecture remained largely unchanged, preserving the authentic historical appearance of the street to this day.
Builders and Styles
Building No. 8 was constructed in the early 20th century, approximately between 1907 and 1910. Its architecture is a bright example of Art Nouveau, characterized by typical decorative elements — stucco with floral motifs, mascarons, rounded windows, and a symmetrical façade. The interior also preserves stylistic features typical of the time, including polychrome wall paintings in the stairwell and marble staircases.
Who Was the Owner?
Although historical records of the original owner have not been preserved, city plans from the 1910s indicate that the building was constructed as a tenement house — a property built specifically for renting apartments. This was a common investment strategy among the Lviv bourgeoisie. It is known that by 1939, the tenants included civil servants and schoolteachers.
What Does the Building Look Like?
The building is a three-story brick structure with a plastered symmetrical façade decorated in Art Nouveau style. Architectural features include floral garlands, mascarons, and profiled window frames. The main entrance leads through a gate to an inner courtyard. The façade is painted in light tones. Original features, such as the entrance portal and wrought-iron stair railings, have been preserved.
Interesting Facts
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The basement contains remnants of old ventilation tunnels, likely used as storage or temporary wartime shelters.
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The stucco mascarons on the façade, depicting female faces with grape leaves, are a rare symbolic motif in Lviv’s Art Nouveau architecture.
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In the 1990s, the ground floor was used as a tailoring workshop.
What Is There Now?
Today, Building No. 8 is used as a mixed residential and commercial property. The ground floor houses a beauty salon and cosmetology center, while the upper floors contain private apartments. The building remains in good condition and stands as an excellent example of early 20th-century urban residential architecture in Lviv.
Bibliography
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Architecture of Lviv: Time and Styles. 13th–21st Centuries — Lviv: Center of Europe, 2008.
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Biryulov, Yu. Lviv: Architecture of the Late 19th – Early 20th Century — Lviv: Center of Europe, 2010.
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Lemko, I., Mykhalyk, V. 1243 Streets of Lviv (1939–2009) — Lviv: Apriori, 2009.
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Lewicki, J. Between Tradition and Modernity: Architecture of Lviv 1893–1918 — Warsaw: Neriton, 2005.
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Universal Encyclopedia of Lviv / Ed. A. Kozytskyi — Lviv: Litopys, 2008–2010.