Street Formation
Until 1917, the street was called Strila (“Arrow”) due to the sharp angle at which it branched off from today’s Horbachevskoho and Kotliarevskoho Streets. In 1936, it was renamed Fleszar Street in honor of Albin Fleszar, a Polish geologist, soldier, and participant in World War I with the Polish Legions. In May 1942, during the German occupation, it was renamed Stiftergasse after the German poet and playwright Friedrich Schiller. In July 1944, the name Fleszar was reinstated, but in 1945, it was renamed Metrologichna Street (“Metrology Street”), referencing the nearby Center for Metrology of Electrical Measuring Instruments, later known as the Kyiv Technical Service Center for Computing Equipment and today as the Lviv Scientific-Production Center for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (a state enterprise).
Builders and Styles
The building at 1–3 Metrologichna Street was constructed between 1911 and 1912 by the architectural bureau of Ivan Levynskyi, in the Neoclassical style.
Who Owns It?
In 1920, the building became home to Ukrainian departments of the Sobinsky Women’s Teacher Seminary. The director of the institution was Rev. Yulian Dzerovych.
What Does the Building Look Like?
The tenement stands slightly set back from the street’s regulatory line, with a small garden in front, fenced off from the sidewalk. The main façade faces south. The western wall of the building at 3 Metrologichna adjoins the corner tenement at 67 Kotliarevskoho Street, forming a unified architectural group.
The building has a rectangular footprint with a diagonally cut rear side. It is a four-story structure with a basement.
The central section of the Metrologichna-facing façade is emphasized by a risalit (projecting bay), with balconies flanking it on the second and third floors. The first and fourth floors are separated by cornices, and the ground floor is highlighted with linear rustication.
The windows are rectangular. On the risalit, there are three window openings per floor, separated by lesenes (flat vertical strips). The narrow side sections of the main façade each have a single window. The eastern (end) façade, perpendicular to Metrologichna, has three windows per floor. The rear façade features balcony galleries. The building has a gable roof.
The main entrance is located in the center of the risalit, framed by half-columns. The entry hall and staircase are aligned along the central axis. Each floor contains two apartment sections with a double-row room layout.
Interesting Facts
A defining feature of the façade’s decorative scheme is a garland motif frieze located between the fourth-floor windows. The windows are also adorned with jardinières (decorative flower boxes). Other preserved decorative elements include ceramic wall panels, tiled flooring in the entrance hall, and ornamental staircase railings.
What Is It Now?
After World War II, the tenement was converted into a multi-apartment residential building. Today, part of the premises is used as classrooms and dormitory space for the Ivan Trush Lviv College of Arts.
Sources and Literature
Melnyk B. V. Index of Modern Names of Streets and Squares of Lviv // Directory of Renamings of Lviv Streets and Squares. 13th–20th Centuries. — Lviv: Svit, 2001. — ISBN 966-603-115-9.
State Archives of the Lviv Region (DALO) 2/2/699.
Melnyk I. Lviv’s Streets and Buildings, Walls, Hidden Corners, Suburbs, and Other Features of the Royal Capital City of Galicia. — Lviv: Center of Europe, 2008.
Melnyk I. V. Kastelivka // in Lviv’s Streets and Buildings, Walls, Hidden Corners, Suburbs, and Other Features of the Royal Capital City of Galicia. — Lviv: Center of Europe, 2008. — ISBN 978-966-7022-79-2.
