Formation of the Street
General Chuprynka Street in Lviv has a rich history and has undergone several name changes. Initially, it was known as Shtandivska, named after the Scholz-Stanzlowicz family, who owned the Stanclovka legal jurisdiction here in the 16th century. In 1863, the street was renamed Krzyżowa (Cross Street) due to a stone cross near the Church of St. Mary Magdalene. In 1910, it was renamed Potocki Street in honor of Andrzej Potocki, the Galician governor assassinated in 1908 by Myroslav Sichynskyi. During the German occupation, it was called Siegfriedstrasse, and from 1944, it bore the name Pushkin. The current name, General Chuprynka Street, was adopted in 1996 in honor of Roman Shukhevych, commander-in-chief of the UPA, known under the pseudonym Taras Chuprynka.
General Chuprynka Street runs from Stepan Bandera Street to Akademik Rudnytskyi Street. It is renowned for its architectural heritage, especially villas and townhouses from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among these is house No. 14, where the Ukrainian writer Ivan Franko lived from 1895 to 1902. Also notable is house No. 50–52, known as the Sosnowski Palace, built in 1901 and resembling a medieval castle. The street is home to educational institutions, including School No. 3, built in 1883 by architect Juliusz Hochberger. It is part of the historic Kastelivka district, famous for its Art Nouveau (Secession) architecture.
Architects and Style
The house was built in the 1890s (a more precise date requires further archival research). The likely authors of the design were Ivan Levynskyi and Julian Zachariewicz.
What Does the House Look Like?
This private residential villa, constructed in the 1890s, was likely designed in collaboration by Julian Zachariewicz and Ivan Levynskyi. It represents the Neo-Romantic type of single-family home, popular among Lviv’s middle class in the 1890s. The villa was designed as a freestanding structure on a corner lot, surrounded by a garden and flowerbeds. The L-shaped building is accented with a picturesque hexagonal tower on the corner. The façades, made of unplastered brick, feature vibrant ceramic décor (glazed tiles) and carved detailing.
Interesting Facts
Between 1910 and 1920, the house was home to Placide Zaslaw Dziewiński, rector of Lviv Polytechnic. Later owners included Lviv merchant Shulim Wallach and renowned Jewish pianist Leopold Münzer, who perished in the Janowska concentration camp. In the late 1930s, it was home to the family of Volodymyr Kuzmovych, a member of the Polish Sejm and head of the UNDO Secretariat. He was arrested in 1939, sentenced in 1940 to eight years in labor camps, and died in exile.
After World War II, the house was inhabited by its most infamous resident, Mykola Ostroverkhov. The son of a Soviet general, he studied in Leningrad and worked at the Lviv Opera. He became known for amassing a large art collection, much of it acquired under dubious circumstances. After his death in 1989, parts of the collection were declared of museum value and transferred to the Lviv Art Gallery. The inventory of the most valuable items filled 121 typed pages and required 11 trucks for transportation.
Sources:
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Live and Travel: The Dziewiński Villa. castle-way.com.ua, June 8, 2015. Archived on December 1, 2023. Accessed August 17, 2016.
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Ostroverkhov’s House (Villa at the Cross), Lviv. ua.igotoworld.com, February 9, 2015. Accessed June 11, 2022.
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Unknown Lviv: Kastelivka, the Sosnowski Palace and the Villa at the “Cross”. lviv.vgorode.ua, February 9, 2015. Archived on June 3, 2023. Accessed June 7, 2022.