The Palace of Bielskis
The Palace of Bielskis is the most characteristic example of Lviv's classicistic Art Nouveau.

The building was designed by architect Ivan Bahensky and constructed in 1923 for the family of Bielski magnates. The palace has two storeys with a mezzanine and a risalita in the right part. The composition of the main facade is asymmetric, being skilfully blended into the inclined relief. The main portico is emphasized by the vertical line of Corinthian columns which support the attic balustrade. The palace is located deep within the land plot and surrounded by a metal fence.

In post-war years the House of Teachers was situated in the Palace of Bielskis. Since 1958 the Polish Folk Theatre in Lviv has been staging its performances here.

The Palace of Counts Goluchowski
The Palace of Counts Goluchowski is one of the first Neo-Roman structures in Lviv.

The building was designed by architect K. Omann and erected in 1865. The palace was owned by Count Agenor Goluchowski – a pro-Polish politician of the Austrian Empire, the governor of Halychyna who repeatedly occupied this position in the second half of the 19th century, a bureaucrat and a conservative, and the author of the idea to introduce Latin alphabet for the Ukrainian language. Today the former Palace of Goluchowskis houses the Diagnostic Centre of Lviv Railway Hospital.

The Palace of Lubomirskis
The Palace of Lubomirskis is a classical 18th-century Baroque palace with original sculptural decor.

Two medieval houses in Rynok square which used to belong to Prince Sapeha were rebuilt in 1744 into a single one according to the project by architect Bernard Meretin, who constructed Saint George Cathedral. In 1760 the new owner of the building, Prince Stanislaw Lubomirski, bought out the adjacent buildings in Ruska and Fedorova Streets. Separate buildings were transformed into a single large palace designed by well-known architect Jan de Witt – the builder of the Dominical Cathedral. Construction, decoration and sculptural works were supervised by people equally well-known in Lviv – architect Martin Urbanik and sculptor Sebastian Fesinger.

In 1772-1821 the palace housed the residence of Austrian governors of Halychyna. Since 1895 the building belonged to Prosvita Ukrainian Cultural Society which placed a number of its organizations here. The printing house of Taras Shevchenko Scientific Society as well as editorial offices of Dilo Newspaper and Hromadsky Holos Magazine were situated here. Starting from 1975 the building has been a home to an exhibition of furniture, silverware and chinaware from the collection of the Museum of Ethnography and Art Crafts.

The Palace of Dzieduszyckis
The Palace of Dzieduszyckis is a palace in late French Renaissance style of the last quarter of the 19th century located in the middle of a beautiful park surrounded by a fence.

The palace with a high figured roof and Baroque elements was erected by architect V. Podhorodetsky for the family of Dzieduszycki magnates. Surviving old portals of Lviv dating back to the 17th-18th centuries are immured into the palace wall in the courtyard. Among them is the portal of the Franciscan Monastery destroyed by the fire of 1848.

The Palace of Dzieduszyckis housed their private gallery and library which were open to the public until 1939. The collection numbering 800 paintings consisted of two sections: Western European art (works of Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordans) and Polish art (Matejko, Kossak, Grottger). The graphic arts collection numbered 3000 sheets. 50,000 volumes of Dzieduszycki collection brought from the family home of Poturytsa near Sokal (old printings, works of the epistolary genre, the family archive) were stored in house No. 17 starting from 1857.

The Palace with the Sphinxes
The Palace with the Sphinxes is the last of relatively preserved palace-like estates of early 19th century in Lviv.

Two pairs of pseudo-Tuscan columns with two bas-reliefs of woman-faced sphinxes above them stand in front of the palace’s main entrance . It was these bas-reliefs that gave the building its name. The sphinxes remind of the style of prominent Lviv sculptor Pavlo Oytele. The house itself was designed by builder Joseph Zemler and constructed in 1829. The construction was funded by engineer Jan Pencakowski. In 1850 the building became the property of Adel from the Bronski family and her husband Julian Maluszynski. That is where the house’s second name – the Maluszyn Manor – comes from. In the 60s of the 19th century the palace was rebuilt in Umpire style. During the Polish anti-Russian rebellion of 1863 the Poles of Lviv gathered in it. They were aiding the rebels in Duchy of Warsaw and sending them weapons from here. Before World War I Polish rifle troops underwent training in this manor.

Under the Soviet rule in post-war times the palace was used for regular apartments. The last residents were evicted in 1989. At the same time plans were made to demolish the palace. Writer Rostyslav Bratun supported by the public (including pupils of Secondary School No. 42) saved the building from destruction. In the 2000s the palace was restored using the funds of a private company. Since March 2007 it has housed the office of Dzyga Art Gallery.

The Palace of Biesiadeckis
The Palace of Biesiadeckis is an example of urban palace architecture of the 18th-19th centuries in the style of Rococo, Umpire and Neoclassicism. This building is located deep within the land plot, behind the garden separated from Halytska Square by a stone fence with an entrance gate. Above the main entrance there is a stone cartouche with the coat of arms.

Besides the Biesiadecki family, the palace also belonged to Bielski, Potocki and Komorowski families. The first palace was erected in the first half of the 18th century. In 1756 it was reconstructed according to the project by architect P. Riko de Tirzhel. In 1820s the interior was rebuilt by architect F. Batman, and the final reconstruction of the palace was carried out in 1934 by architect I. Bahensky. Despite all the rebuilding, the palace has preserved its original foundation.

A sculptural frieze in Umpire style dating back to the first third of the 19th century has survived and can be found in the central hall. It is most likely the work of Lviv sculptor Johann Baptist Schimser. In Soviet times the palace housed the Regional Library. Today the educational facilities of Lviv National University are located in it.

Lviv is the city of the palaces of Ukraine. You can visit it’s architectural sights via flight to Lviv or Kiev.