Life's Hills & Valleys

A couple of summers ago the Ukrainian dance group that my niece was a member of travelled to Ukraine. Three of my sisters and I were fortunate to have had the opportunity to join them on this trip. We spent three unforgettable weeks touring Ukraine; visiting the cities of Lviv, Kiev and Odessa. We also had the opportunity to see much of the country side with a trip to the Carpathian mountains and the Black Sea resort towns of Ochakov, Mykolaiv and Koblevo.

Lviv, Ukraine - City of the Lion

The city of Lviv is located in the western part of Ukraine, at the shores of the Poltava River, 80 kilometers away from the border of Poland. The population of the city is about 800,000 most of whom are ethnic Ukrainians speaking the Ukrainian language.

Not all of us understood the Ukrainian language so we were fortunate that our tour guide was fluent in English. Irene spoke of her great love for the City of Lviv and some of its history.

The city was founded by Prince Danylo-Halytsky, later King of Galicia-Volhynia between 1240 and 1250. Lviv means "City of the Lion", it was named in honor of Danylo's son Lev (Leo-the-Lion).

In a period of seven centuries the city was invaded by Poles, Austrians, Germans, Swedes, Russians and Turks. Despite the absence of self rule the city remained an important center of Ukrainian culture.

Our group in front of the monument of King Danylo of Galicia which stands in the middle of Galytska Square. It is one of the newer statues in Lviv.

Irene told us about Lviv's seven hills. We were able to visit two of them. St. George Hill (Sviatoyurs'ka Hora) and Lviv's highest hill Castle Hill (Zamkova Hora).

The present St. George's Greek Catholic Cathedral was built in the 18th century on one of the seven hills overlooking the city of Lviv. A church had stood on this hill since the 12th century. A statue of St. George slaying a dragon dominates the top.  During the 19th and 20th centuries, the cathedral served as the mother Church of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. 

This cathedral was of particular interest to my sisters and me being that our fraternal grandmother had come here as a young lady.

We had to walk up about three hundred steps on a very hot day to get this panoramic view of the city from Lviv's highest hill Zamkova Hora (Castle Hill), (409 meters above sea level). A polish king erected a castle at the sight in the fourteenth century; it was torn down two hundred years ago after several sieges. Our guide pointed out the oldest part of the city and many of Lviv's churches. Here it is hard to miss the large dome of Dominican Church which is located in the city's old town.

We were all very warm and thirsty when we got to the top of the hill and saw the spectacular view of the city but it was well worth the walk. Here is a picture of my sisters Anna and Lynette on the left; I'm in the middle, next is my sister Mary and my niece Sarah on the far right.

The Dominican church and monastery is located in the city's old town east of the Market Square and was built between 1745-64.

 In 1865 a bell tower was added to the complex and in the years of 1885-1914 renovation of the facade and the interior was carried out.

 A Dominican church stood at this location since 1378.  Originally it was built as the Roman Catholic church of Corpus Christi and today serves as the Greek Catholic church of the Holy Eucharist.

 After the second world war the church was occupied by Soviets and used as a warehouse; it was changed into a museum in the 1970's.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union the church was given to the Ukrainian Greek Catholics, the monastery was not returned and still serves as a museum.

The Armenian Church is one of the most ancient churches in Lviv located north of the Market Square at the corner of Armenian and Galician road. 

The church was built in 1363 and has been reconstructed recently.

 The bell tower was built in 1571. 

The Lviv Opera and Ballet Theatre is located on Svobody Avenue; a picturesque tree-lined boulevard. Constructed in 1897-1900 in the Viennese neo-Renaissance style it is over hundred years old.

 On either side of the main entrance are figures representing Comedy and Tragedy. On top of the building there are large bronze statues symbolizing Glory, Poetry and Music.

The interior of the theatre is lavishly decorated with gilt and beautifully colored marble in the foyer and wide main staircase. 

The beautiful and old tenement houses are located on Market Square (Ploshcha Rynok) which was founded in the 14th century. The Black Stone House on which construction began in 1588 was built for an Italian merchant. It was bought by the city of Lviv in 1926 and is now the home of Lviv's History Museum. The old city center contains over 2000 buildings of major architectural achievement and is recognized on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Used book vendor's and collectors gather around the monument to Ivan Fedorov who is the founder of book printing in both Ukraine and Russia. In the back ground the pink building is the Royal Arsenal which was built in 1639-1646.

Open air markets are part of the local environment in Lviv. The Souvenir Market is across the street to the right facing the Opera House but is hidden from view by a large building. Here we found local crafts such as authentic goat wool rugs from the Carpathians, Ukrainian beaded necklaces, wooden boxes, plates and dolls, painted eggs, local paintings and various embroidery items. One of the Lviv's oldest farmer's markets is located on Halytska Square opposite from the Opera House at the end of Prospekt Svobody. The market has a large indoor flower section.

In the three weeks that we visited Ukraine we took hundreds of pictures. It is impossible to post them all; but I will post pictures taken in the cities of Kiev and Odessa, the Ukrainian country side and the Black Sea towns in later blogs.