Formation of the Street
Kotliarevskyi Street in Lviv, located in the Frankivskyi district, has a rich history and architectural heritage. Originally, it was called “Na Villakh” (“At the Villas”), reflecting the character of its development — villas surrounded by gardens. In 1895, the street was renamed in honor of Ludwik Nabielak, a Polish poet and political figure. During the German occupation, starting in May 1942, it was renamed “Schillergasse” in honor of the German poet Friedrich Schiller. In July 1944, the name Nabielak was restored, and since 1946, the street has borne the name of Ivan Kotliarevskyi, the prominent Ukrainian writer and poet.
Architects and Style
This private residential building — a villa — was constructed in 1897–1898 based on a design developed at the Ivan Levynskyi architectural bureau. The two-story villa has an L-shaped layout, with one wing adjoining the firewall of the neighboring townhouse. It is surrounded on three sides by a garden strip. The entrance and staircase are located in the center of the longer wing, which is oriented perpendicular to Kotliarevskyi Street. The façades, made of unplastered brick with majolica insets, and the steep roof are typical features of the Neo-Romantic villa style of late Historicism. The house’s decorative elements — particularly the wrought ironwork — deserve special attention.
Who Was the Owner?
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May 23, 1897 — the building project was approved.
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July 15, 1898 — construction was completed.
According to municipal records, the owner of the plot and the villa under construction at that time was Katarzyna Daszek. It is likely that the villa served as the family residence of Jan Daszek — head of a renowned company specializing in artistic wrought ironwork, which was considered the finest in Lviv at the time.
Sources
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State Archives of the Lviv Region (DALO), Fond 2, Inventory 1, File 5266.
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Melnyk, I. Lviv Streets and Townhouses, Walls, Nooks, Suburbs, and Other Features of the Royal Capital City of Galicia (Lviv: Center of Europe, 2008), p. 115.
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Żuk, I. “Architects of Secessionist Lviv,” in Architecture of the 19th and Early 20th Century, ed. T. Grygiel (Wrocław–Warsaw–Kraków: Ossolineum, 1991), p. 182.