The
City of
By Walter Kish
Though Kyiv may be the
political and historical heart of
Lviv
and Kyiv are very different cities. Lviv is smaller than Kyiv, more human and
approachable, more colourful and culturally diverse, and more enchanting in
every way. Kyiv inspires the visitor with its grandeur and larger-than-life
buildings and monuments, whereas Lviv invites you to let your hair down and
enjoy yourself. The life of Kyiv is
powered by money, business, power, ambition and politics; the life of Lviv is
energized by culture, history, nationalism, and a laidback enthusiasm for
enjoying life. Kyiv has too much affluence and has become corrupted by it; Lviv
has too little of the country’s wealth but has learned how to make do. Kyiv has
grandiose architecture that awes, whereas Lviv is a hodge-podge of historical
buildings and neighbourhoods that are far more human in scale as well as
interesting in their diversity and eccentricity.
I
always look forward to visiting Lviv and am a willing victim of its many
charms. This year, Lviv is celebrating its 750th anniversary and, finally, with
a more sympathetic central government in Kyiv, some effort and investment is
being made to renovate some of Lviv’s crumbling infrastructure.
The
anniversary is more a matter of convenience rather than historical fact, as no
one is really sure when people first settled on this spot amid the hills and
the banks of the
Legend
has it that Danylo Romanovych, King of Halych, named the city after his son
Lev, and it has since accordingly been dubbed the city of lions. In fact, you
will find lions depicted everywhere in Lviv: in sculptures, building gargoyles,
crests and shields, souvenirs and used in the names of buildings, restaurants
and businesses.
Lev
inherited his father’s throne just in time to face the onslaughts of the
Mongols. Lviv suffered numerous assaults, not only from the Golden Horde but
also its Polish neighbours. In 1340, the city fell to the Poles under Casimir
“the Great,” beginning many centuries of Polish rule.
It
was not until 1648 that Lviv was finally retaken by the Cossacks under Maxim
Kryvonis as part of the successful Khmelnytsky rebellion. However its freedom
was short-lived as Lviv returned to Polish rule less than a decade later. Over
the course of its history, Lviv has endured attacks and occupations by the
Mongols, Tatars, Turks, Swedes, Poles, Austrians and Russians. Each left behind
their traces and influences, and although at the time their impact may have
been traumatic, over the grand timescale of history they became part of the
fabric and culture that makes Lviv uniquely distinctive. There were also
additional contributions by various other minorities that at one time or
another called Lviv their home, including Armenians, Jews, Hungarians, Germans,
Greeks, Turks and Italians.
Walking
through the old and largely preserved central core of Lviv you will see
reminders of the full breadth of its 800-year-old history.
It is
said that in medieval times, Jews accounted for almost a quarter of Lviv’s
population. These days, unfortunately, there is little to show for Lviv’s
Jewish past; during the war the Germans destroyed virtually all synagogues,
buildings and cemeteries that belonged to the Jews.
There
is no shortage, however, of buildings and monuments reflecting Lviv’s long
Polish history including the Dominican Cathedral, the Latin Cathedral and the
monument to the famed Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz on
Almost
anywhere you walk in downtown Lviv you will encounter something interesting if
not amazing. The beautiful central park along Prospect Svobody with its
contemporary statue of Taras Shevchenko, the historical old Arsenal museum, the
colourful old Town Square (Ploshcha Rynok), the magnificent Lviv Opera House,
the relaxing and verdant trails through Striysky Park, the incredible
sculptured monuments of Lychakivske cemetery — they all serve to delight the
soul of visitors to this enchanting city.