Lviv in old photographs

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

The photographs (selection) presented in this exhibition come from the collection of Dr Joanna Dobosz-Dobrowolska and Adam Dobosz. The vast majority of the images were fixed on glass – the originals are in the Historical Museum in Lviv. Only in a few cases is the name of their authors known: J. Trzemeski and J. Jeder.

The photographs were taken at the turn of the 19th and 20th century. Their subject matter is very diverse: temples, historic buildings that bear witness to the city’s Polish past (the Royal Tenement House, the Lubomirski and Sapieha palaces), 19th-century public buildings, universities, theatres, representative promenades. We can see here the clash of the past – the historicism of the architecture of buildings from the 19th century (Neo-Baroque, Neo-Renaissance) – with modernity, which was epitomised by the building built in 1914. MAGNUS Department Store, as well as the coexistence of horse-drawn and electric trams.

Lviv’s inhabitants appear in the photographs in supporting roles, very often their silhouettes are even blurred, which was due to the necessity of a long exposure. Many of them look into the camera lens with great curiosity. However, even though they do not play a central role in these captures, they allow us to take in the atmosphere of the city and learn about its everyday life. So we see women in long dresses, gentlemen in hats, somewhere there appears a old woman with bundles on her back, servants in white aprons, workers. On the Hetman Embankment a crowd of men looms, awaiting the latest business news. There are horse-drawn carts and carriages on the streets. It’s peaceful, almost idyllic, though only four years will have passed since the latest picture was taken – the DT Magnus in 1914. – by the time the protagonists of these photographs will face each other in the battle that will decide Lviv’s statehood: the Polish-Ukrainian war of 1918-1919. But that is already a completely different chapter in Lviv’s history.

In our exhibition, the photographs are accompanied by brief descriptions, synthesising the history and architectural qualities of the building in question, curiosities from the period of its construction and, above all, its links to Lviv’s Polish past, if any. This has made it possible to enrich the exhibition not only with the all-important educational aspect, but also to make this our walk through old Lviv accompanied by emotions.

The exhibition will be on display until 13 April 2025.

Limited exhibition availability from 15-13 April – apologies for any inconvenience.