Familiarization with the history and sights of Lviv starts already at the railway station. Approaching Lviv, close your eyes for a moment and mentally transport yourself to 1861. It was in this year, on November 4, the first train arrived in the city, the name of which was «Yaroslav». At a speed of 20 km/h it pulled two boxcars and four platforms. For Lvovians of that time — it was a real miracle. Well, how did you like to feel yourself a passenger of the first train? Upon arrival you find yourself in the majestic building of Lviv railway station, which is a monument of architecture of the early twentieth century.
This is just the beginning of what awaits you in Lviv. People say that this city is like Vienna or Krakow, that it has something of Prague, and that the cathedrals are reminiscent of Roman cathedrals… Maybe they are. Lviv is special.
Lvov was founded in the middle of the 13th century by the Galician-Volyn prince Danil Romanovich and named in honor of his son Lev. For the first time Lviv is mentioned in 1256.
During the reign of Yuri Lvovich, in the early XIV century, the city was the capital of the Galicia-Volyn principality.
Old Lviv consisted of three parts: a fortified castle, a roundabout town and a suburb. The fortified castle (High Castle) was located on Prince’s Mountain. It was well protected by ramparts, barns and fences, so it withstood numerous enemy attacks.On the north-western slope of the mountain stretched Podzamche (roundabout town), which was also fortified with ramparts and fences. Here stood the princely houses, from which led steeply down the road to the Old Market. The suburb, occupying the right bank of the Poltva River floodplain and the slopes of the mountain, stretched in a semicircle along the western, northern and southern sides of the Princes’ Mountain». Separately, on the steep mountain stood the fortified church of St. Jura.
The architecture of the city of Lviv is diverse and unique. In the city, which emerged on the Western borders of Kievan Rus, the mutual influence of different cultures and traditions is very vivid.
The central historical ensemble of Lviv is a huge architectural museum under the open sky, which spreads over 400 hectares and counts more than 2000 historical, architectural and cultural monuments. In 1998. 120 hectares of this part were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. It has preserved a significant part of architectural monuments dating back to the XIV-XVII centuries.
Of course, Lviv is famous for its coffee. And a visit to the city is unthinkable without a visit to caffeine (kavyareni). Coffee is a real Lviv drink. Lviv resident Yuri-Franz Kulchytsky opened a coffee house in Vienna for the first time in the history of Europe.
In the city you will find a large number of coffee houses, where you can distract yourself from everyday problems in a cozy atmosphere.
Probably everyone who has been to Lviv will want to come back here more than once.