Formation of the Street
Hlyboka Street is located in the Frankivskyi district of Lviv, within the historical area known as Novyi Svit. Its formation is closely tied to the rapid urban expansion of Lviv during the second half of the 19th century, when the city began to grow beyond its medieval core. At that time, the territory of present-day Hlyboka Street was sparsely populated — the area consisted of agricultural plots, vegetable gardens, and swampy lowlands with small ponds, locally referred to as “bayky.”
During the 1870s–1880s, this part of the city began to transform into a planned urban quarter. A new street grid was laid out, utilities were installed, and Hlyboka Street was created as a residential passageway linking what is now Bandera Street with Novyi Svit Street. The name “Hlyboka” (meaning “deep”) reflects the street’s topography — it follows a natural depression that may have once been a floodplain.
Between the 1890s and 1910s, the street was built up primarily with three-story townhouses in the Historicist and Secession (Art Nouveau) styles. During the interwar period, the street acquired the character of a quiet, middle-class residential area. In the Soviet era, it underwent very few changes, allowing its architectural character to remain largely intact to this day.
Builders and Styles
Building No. 10 on Hlyboka Street was constructed in the early 20th century, approximately between 1907 and 1910. The architectural design is a representative example of Art Nouveau, featuring decorative stucco with floral motifs, mascarons, rounded windows, and a symmetrical façade. The interior retains key stylistic features as well, including polychrome murals in the staircase and marble steps.
Who Was the Owner?
Historical records regarding the original owner have not been preserved. However, city plans from the 1910s show the building designated as a tenement house — that is, a property built for rental income. This was a common investment strategy among the urban middle class in Lviv. By 1939, the building was home to professionals such as civil servants and schoolteachers.
What Does the Building Look Like?
This is a three-story plastered brick structure with a symmetrical façade decorated in the Art Nouveau style. Features include floral garlands, mascarons, and profiled window frames. A central gate leads into an interior courtyard. The façade is painted in soft, light colors. The original entrance portal and stairway with wrought-iron railings have been preserved.
Interesting Facts
-
The basement contains remnants of old ventilation tunnels, which may have been used as storage cellars or temporary shelters during wartime.
-
The Art Nouveau stucco decorations include rare symbolic motifs, such as female faces entwined with grape leaves.
-
In the 1990s, the ground floor was used as a tailoring workshop.
What Is There Now?
Today, Building No. 10 is a mixed-use property. The ground floor houses a beauty salon and cosmetology center, while the upper floors contain private residential apartments. The building remains in good condition and stands as a fine example of early 20th-century residential architecture in Lviv.
Bibliography
-
Architecture of Lviv: Time and Styles. 13th–21st Centuries — Lviv: Center of Europe, 2008.
-
Biryulov, Yu. Lviv: Architecture of the Late 19th – Early 20th Century — Lviv: Center of Europe, 2010.
-
Lemko, I., Mykhalyk, V. 1243 Streets of Lviv (1939–2009) — Lviv: Apriori, 2009.
-
Lewicki, J. Between Tradition and Modernity: Architecture of Lviv 1893–1918 — Warsaw: Neriton, 2005.
-
Universal Encyclopedia of Lviv / Ed. A. Kozytskyi — Lviv: Litopys, 2008–2010.