Lviv in Ukraine, city tours,

What to visit in Lviv - sightseeing options - city tours.. and EXCURSIONS OUTSIDE LVIV

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1st. CITY TOUR  - TO BOOK/ ENQUIRE

The city of Lions" is the heart and soul of the Western Ukraine with a population of over 1 million. Prince Danylo built this city in 1256 and named it after his son Lev ("lion"). One can notice the prevalent lion adornments throughout the Renaissance architecture of city of 15th - 16th c.c. The tourists visit Vysokyi Zamok (High Castle) hill with an unforgettable panorama of the entire city. En route from the hill the tourists pass the Porokhova Bashta (Gunpowder tower, now the Arsenal Museum). The old part of the city is preserved as a living museum.
Rynok (Market) or Central Square, in particular is architecturally exciting with its famous Ratusha (city hall). While touring the Old Town the tourist can see the St.Nicholas Church, the Dominican Church and the Church of Onufriy - at present the Museum of Ivan Fedorov (the first book-printer). This city boasts of Italian Renaissance, German Baroque and Polish influences in its architectural sites. One will be delighted by the visit to the newly renovated Opera House and the Ukrainian Drama Theatre named after Maria Zankovetskaya. St.George Cathedral is a fine example of the Rococo style. Enjoy yourself by a stroll through the lovely Stryjskyi Park and do not miss the Lychakivskyi and Yanivskyi Cemeteries. During its 600 years history it was many times that the power in the city changed, also its names changed: Leopolis, Lemberg, Lwow, and Lviv.

Duration: 4 hours.
Cost: 2 pax  -  £ 45.00 GBP ( British Pounds ) per person

If you wish to receive some info regarding accommodation offers, local tours in and nearby the Lviv/ Lwow etc... just contact us directly and we are more then happy to help you with your holiday to Ukraine.

2nd . THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES - TO BOOK/ ENQUIRE

You will see the splendid Baroque Ukrainian-Catholic St. George (St. Yury) Cathedral, the Renaissance ensemble of the Orthodox Church of the
Virgin Mary Assumption, the magnificent Roman Catholic Latin Cathedral, the unique ensemble of the Armenian Street and the sights of the medieval Jewish block.

Duration: 3 hours.
Cost: 2 pax - £ 40.00 GBP ( British Pounds ) per person.

3rd . The memorial LYCHAKIV CEMETERY - TO BOOK/ ENQUIRE

A trip to Lviv somehow wouldn't be complete without a wander around the Lychakiv graveyard. Initially opened in 1787 in compliance with an Austrian law to move burials from the centre of town, the cemetery soon became one of Europe's finest. Generations of Lvovians were laid to rest here: intelligentsia, bourgeoisie and nobility especially. Originally the majority of plots were taken up by Poles, and there are many grand names,
including Maria Konopnicka and Stefan Banach. However, Ukrainian seer Ivan Franko was also entombed here, and after the Second World War, an increasing number of Ukrainian tombs were squeezed in to the already packed necropolis. Beyond Lychakiv (Lyczakow in Polish) visitors will find the famed military cemetery of Orlat

Duration: 2.5 - 3 hours.
Cost: 2 pax – £ 35.00 GBP ( British Pounds ) per person.

4th . Shevchenkivskyi Hai (The museum of folk life and architecture - scansen) (2 hours) -

TO BOOK/ ENQUIRE

This scansen represents an open-air museum of the Ukrainian wooden architecture and different utilities of the village life. It is situated in Shevchenkivskyi Hai (forest) - one of most picturesque sites of Lviv. More than 10 thousand of craft-items from various ethnographical regions of the Western Ukraine can be found in this museum. The visitors can feel the unique atmosphere of picturesque Ukrainian villages. The gems of this museum are the wooden churches from the Carpathian region - the most exquisite examples of Ukrainian wooden architecture.

Duration: 2.5 - 3 hours.
Cost: 2 pax – £ 40.00 GBP ( British Pounds ) per person.

5th LVIV FORTIFICATIONS: LOST AND RETURNED - TO BOOK/ ENQUIRE

An unforgettable acquaintance with one of the most powerful medieval fortresses of the Eastern Europe: in the 14th-16th Lviv had been fenced by
a triple fortified wall with towers, bastions and dishes. The fortifications partly reached our time in spite of fires and sieges, they keep the impress
of the bygone ages. You will pass round the line of the ancient fortifications and see the stern Town, Royal and Senyavsky Armouries, High and Low Walls with the Gunpowder Tower and Towers of Tailors, Turners and Tradesmen, fortified abbeys and cathedrals and the old Austrian Citadel of the 19th century remarkable for it`s eventful history.

Duration: 3 hours.
Cost: 2 pax - £ 45.00 GBP ( British Pounds ) per person.

6th TRAVEL TO THE LVIV ABBEYS - TO BOOK/ ENQUIRE

The fascinating tour to the bewitching world of the inimitable in beauty medieval Monasteries of Bernardines (17th c.), Dominicans (18th c.),
Barefooted Carmelites (17th c.) and Convents of Benedictines (16th c.), Poor Claris (17th c.) and Franciscans (18 c.), where legend and reality were interlaced.

Duration: 2.5 - 3 hours.
Cost: 2 pax – £ 45.00 GBP ( British Pounds ) per person.

7th THE HISTORY OF JEWISH COMMUNITY - TO BOOK/ ENQUIRE

Lviv historically had a large and active Jewish community, as witnessed today by its synagogues. Until 1941 at least 45 synagogues and prayer
houses existed. Even in the 16th century, two separate communities existed. One lived in today's old town, the other one in the Krakowskie
Przedmieście. In the 19th century a more differentiated community started to spread out. Liberal Jews sought more cultural assimilation and
spoke German and Polish. On the other hand, Orthodox and Hasidic Jews tried to retain the old traditions. Between 1941 and 1944 the Nazis
in effect completely destroyed the centuries-old Jewish tradition of Lviv. Most synagogues were destroyed and the Jewish population forced into a
ghetto from which they were later transported into concentration camps where they were murdered. Under the Soviet Union synagogues remained closed and were used as storage facilities or movie houses. Only since the fall of the Iron Curtain has the remainder of the Jewish community
experienced a faint revival. You will see the unique ensemble with it’s heart - the Medieval Golden Rose Synagogue (16th c.), the beautiful streets of the Krakow Suburb area, the Monument to the tragic victims of Holocaust perished in Lviv ghetto during the WW II.

Jewish places worth visiting in Lviv:

Former “Golden Rose” Synagogue
Former Hasidic Synagogue (the functioning Jewish community Centre)
Former Jewish hospital founded by Rappaport
Old Jewish quarters
Jewish Cemetery
The monument to the victims of the Jewish Ghetto (1992)
The Holocaust memorial (1993)
Sholom Alejchem house with Memorial Plaque
Department of Judaism at the Lviv Museum of History and Religion

Duration: 2 – 2.5 hours.
Cost: 2 pax – £ 49.00 GBP ( British Pounds ) per person.

8th . AUSTRIAN LVIV - TO BOOK/ ENQUIRE

The tour attempts to restore the spirit of the “Old Austria” concealed in the beautiful buildings of the theatres, museums, banks, casino, restaurants and hotels presenting the inimitable concord of the Western Art and Local Traditions The Museum of Ethnography and Arts and Crafts in 15 Svobody Avenue was built in 1891 and designed by Julian Zachariewicz for the Halytska Savings Bank. The façade of the grand romantic building is decorated with rusticated stone, polychrome brick, and forged metal. The top of the building is adorned with a dome and the sculptural group of Savings by Leonardo Marconi; its central figure resembles the American Statue of Liberty. It was this Lviv sculpture that in 1884
inspired the creation of the sculpture later given by France to the citizens of New York. The most impressive building in Kopernika Street (No. 15) is the former Palace of the Counts Pototscki. The magnificent and exquisite building is regally situated beyond its decorative iron gate. Designed in 1890 by Lviv architect Julian Cybulski in the style of French Renaissance, this imposing palace is adorned with reliefs, stucco mouldings, wall-paintings, and stained glass.

Duration: 2.5 – 3 hours.
Cost: 2 pax – £ 45.00 GBP ( British Pounds ) per person.

9th . GERMANS IN LVIV-LEOPOLIS-LEMBERG (2 hours) - TO BOOK/ ENQUIRE

Since the 14th century Lviv has been the international center of trade and cultures. According to historical records, Germans formed the larger part of Lviv population in the beginning of the 15th century. Afterwards, Armenians, Ukrainians, Poles, Hungarians, Italians, Greeks, Frances and Scotties flooded the region. By the middle of the 16th century, Poles, Ukrainians, Germans, Jews and Armenians presented the majority of the population of the city. The modern Lviv is still a multinational city, where Ukrainians, Russians, Poles, Armenians, Germans, Czechs, Jews and Hungarians and many other nations live. You will see the unique ensemble with its heart - the Medieval Golden Rose Synagogue (16th c.), the beautiful streets of the Krakow Suburb area, the Monument to the tragic victims of Holokost perished in Lviv ghetto during the WW II.

Duration: 2 – 2.5 hours.
Cost: 2 pax – £ 45.00 GBP ( British Pounds ) per person.

EXCURSIONS OUTSIDE LVIV

10th . OLESSKY CASTLE - TO BOOK/ ENQUIRE

The Castle is a real object to note and it is located in the village of Olessk, 75 km from Lvov along the highway to Kiev. It is a monument of the 14th -17th cc. architecture and contains a rich collection of paintings, sculpture and furniture from the 16th - 19th cc. that attracts tourists. The first mention of the castle in the historical sources dates back to 1327. At that time the Castle-fortress towered over the surrounding swamps. The walls were 10 meters high and 2,5 meters thick. The research workers are of the opinion that the castle was built by an offspring of Danylo Galytsky - one of his sons Andryi or Lev. For centuries the Olesskyi castle played an important role in the people's fight against the enslavers.
From hall to hall the exposition unfolds like the rolls of chronicles. Every hall is a museum exhibit in itself. The museum numbers about 500 works of painting, sculpture and applied arts.

Duration: 7 – 8 hours.
Cost: 2 pax – £ 100.00 GBP ( British Pounds ) per person.

In addition it is possible to organize a special dinner (for a group)

Dinner at the territory of the castle in at the local restaurant “Grydnytsa” with a performance called “Awaiting for the King”. It is a dynamic show-dinner of the times of Kyiv-Rus. You’ll watch a knights’ tournament, laugh with a funny jester, taste food and drinks together with the Queen, get enchanted by the old ritual dances and sample 7 kinds of delicious liqueurs produced in accordance with ancient recipes. You’ll be transferred into the other time and dimension. (Duration of the program – 2,5 hours.) Transfer back to Lviv.

Cost: from £ 45.00 GBP ( British Pounds ) per person.

Zolochivsky Castle is a construction reflecting typical European military architecture and has not had significantreconstruction for centuries.
Built in 1630 like a citadel with bastions, it's surrounded by barrages. In the castle's courtyard there is the Great Palace built in late Renaissance style and the Chinese Palace built by Jan III, the King of Poland, for his wife Maria Kasimira de Arcunion.

Duration: 6 – 7 hours.
Cost: 2 pax – £ 100.00 GBP ( British Pounds ) per person.

12th . EXCURSION TO ZHOVKVA - TO BOOK/ ENQUIRE

Zhovkva is a little town just 25 km to the north of Lviv with population around 13,000. it's hard to believe that this city once had been the center of the cultural and political life. nevertheless, Zhovkva happened to preserve around 40 architectural monuments, witnesses of city's once glorious past. The city has very rich and interesting history, related to life and activity of famous historical persons. There were private residencies of the
crown hetman Stanislaw Zolkiewski and the King Jan the Third Sobieski, the military headquarter of Russian Tsar Peter the First, place of born and childhood of the Ukrainian Hetman Bohdan Khmelnitsky – establisher of Ukrainian State in XVII century. Zhovkva is the only example in
Ukraine saved Renaissance “Ideal” city-citadel, the real pearl of national architecture heritage. Today on the small territory of the city, there are present two monuments of city house building, 55 architecture’s monuments on world, national and regional level, two monuments of landscape architecture, 15 historical monuments.

Duration: 6 – 7 hours.
Cost: 2 pax – £ 70.00 GBP ( British Pounds ) per person.

THE END

If you wish to receive some info regarding accommodation offers, local tours in and nearby the Lviv/ Lwow etc... just contact us directly and we are more then happy to help you with your holiday to Ukraine.