Formation of the Street
Stepana Bandery Street is one of the most important arteries in Lviv, connecting the city center with its western districts. Its formation dates to the second half of the 19th and the early 20th century, a time when Lviv was rapidly expanding beyond its historical core.
Originally, the street was named 3 Maja Street (Third of May), in honor of the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791, and retained this name until 1939. During the interwar period, it was one of Lviv’s most prestigious streets, home to educational institutions (including the Polytechnic, now Lviv Polytechnic National University), administrative offices, and elegant residential buildings.
In the Soviet era, the street was renamed Dzerzhinsky Street, and in 1991, it received its current name — in honor of Stepan Bandera, a leader of the Ukrainian nationalist movement.
The street’s route follows key transport lines, including the railway that connected the main train station with the city center and with newly developing districts like Klepariv and Zamarstyniv. From the beginning, it was planned as a wide urban boulevard with a tram line and a tree-lined median.
Builders and Style
This residential building (1908) stands as part of the perimeter block development along the street. It was built for owner Józef König. The project was designed in 1907 by builder Władysław Hertman, with the façade designed by architect Józef Piotrowski. In 1910, architect Ignacy Wieniaż developed a reconstruction plan for the first floor to accommodate a shop.
What Does the Building Look Like?
The building was constructed in the Secession style. It is three stories tall, with a complex floor plan, built of brick and plastered. The internal layout follows a sectional type, typical for early 20th-century multi-unit housing.
The main façade is symmetrical, with two side risalits (projecting sections). The first floor is accentuated by linear rustication and large display windows. The second and third floors are vertically divided by pilasters with stylized capitals, adorned with Secessionist stucco ornamentation. Balconies with wrought-iron railings project at the second and third floors, supported by decorative brackets in the same style.
Above the third-floor windows, the façade features inserts with rich vegetal stucco decoration. Under the third-floor windows of the risalits, there are ceramic tile panels with iridescent glazes, giving the surface an interference-light effect.
The central entrance portal is highlighted with rusticated pilasters and a massive arched architrave with a keystone. The central section of the building is crowned with a profiled cornice and a low attic, while the projecting side sections are topped with tall attic gables without cornices, typical for the Secession style.
Sources:
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Architecture of Lviv: Time and Styles. 13th–21st Centuries / M. Bevz, Yu. Biryulov, Yu. Bohdanova et al. — Lviv: Center of Europe, 2008. — 720 pages.
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Encyclopedia of Lviv / Edited by A. Kozytskyi and I. Pidkova. — Lviv: Lytopys, 2007–2010. — Vols. 1–3.
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Ilko Lemko, V. Mykhalyk, H. Behliarov. “Bandery Street” // 1,243 Streets of Lviv (1939–2009). — Lviv: Apriori, 2009. — pp. 78–80.
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Ihor Melnyk. “Shyroka—Kopernyka. Kopernyka Street” // The Halych Suburb and the Southeastern Outskirts of the Royal Capital City of Lviv. — Lviv: Apriori, 2012. — pp. 56–58.
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Uliana Shcheviova. “Artistic Murals in the Interior Decoration Program of Residential Buildings in Eastern Galicia from the Late 19th to the First Third of the 20th Century” // Bulletin of the Lviv National Academy of Arts. — 2019. — No. 42. — pp. 79–87.