Introduction
The Latin Cathedral, formally known as the Archcathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, stands as one of Lviv’s oldest and most significant landmarks. Located in the heart of the city’s Old Town, on Cathedral Square, this stunning structure has been an enduring symbol of faith for centuries. The cathedral’s roots stretch back to the 14th century, though the exact date of its construction remains uncertain. Over the years, it has undergone numerous reconstructions and expansions, leading to the majestic building that we see today. As the main church of the Lviv Archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Ukraine, the cathedral is a key religious site, renowned not only for its spiritual significance but also for its architectural beauty. It is considered a masterpiece of sacral architecture, blending elements from the 14th to 18th centuries. The cathedral is also home to eight chapels, each contributing to its rich and diverse history. The tower of the Latin Cathedral, standing at 66 meters, dominates the skyline and is one of the tallest structures in the center of Lviv, only second to the town hall. This grand tower, along with other landmarks, is featured on the city’s logo, a testament to its central role in Lviv’s identity. Today, the Latin Cathedral serves as the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy and Divine Mercy, continuing to draw visitors and pilgrims from all over the world.
The problem of the beginnings of the temple
It is still unknown how the temple was built, when it was built, and who built it. The absence of primary documents is the primary issue. In a lot of literature, years and hypotheses are used, sometimes in clear statements. However, all of them are based on the historiographical tradition or on secondary sources. The works produced between the 19th and 20th centuries especially increase the number of versions regarding the date of foundation. An analysis of the historiography, published in 2000 by the Ukrainian researcher of sacred Gothic Olga Kozubska, showed that neither the tradition nor any of the hypotheses are documented and are questionable for many reasons. Later, this position gained some popularity, in particular, it was reflected in the fundamental work “Architecture of Lviv. Time and Styles of the 13th–21st Centuries” (2008) and the Encyclopedia of Lviv (2010)
Versions about the year of foundation
Honestly, no one really knows for sure. Over the centuries, people have tossed around a bunch of different years, each backed by shaky evidence, old legends, or straight-up guesses. The deeper you go into the history books, the more confusing it gets. One of the earliest dates mentioned is 1344. That came from a handwritten note by Kajetan Andrusiewicz in the 19th century it was never even published. A historian named Stanisław Zajączkowski later backed it up, claiming city records confirmed it. But when people checked, those records didn’t actually say that. Still, his version caught on and was repeated by other writers, even though there’s no real proof. Then there’s the 1350 theory. According to that one, a wooden church dedicated to the Virgin Mary stood on the site until about 1349, and then a stone church was built there in 1350. This story popped up in a document supposedly sent from Lviv to Rome in the 1760s during some legal battle. Historians debated it for years. Some accepted it, others like Zubrytsky and Hrushevsky pointed out that no one has ever actually seen this mysterious document. A few people point to 1361, mostly because Jan Długosz, a famous Polish chronicler, mentioned it. But he might have been referring to a religious foundation, not the building itself. Plus, the papal bull often linked to this date was issued in 1363, and it didn’t give permission for a cathedral anyway the Lviv archdiocese wasn’t even established until 1412. Still, the idea stuck and got picked up by others, sometimes with the year changed to 1364 to better fit the story. Somewhere in between, Maurice Didushytsky suggested that the church was founded sometime between 1360 and 1368, though he also admitted that real construction probably didn’t start until the early 1400s. Then there’s 1370, another popular guess, mostly thanks to Władysław Łoziński, who believed that’s when the cornerstone was laid. According to him, the actual building process didn’t get going until 30 years later. And just to make things even more confusing, Bartholomew Zimorowicz gave two different dates 1349 and 1370 without really explaining where either one came from. One of those dates was repeated later by Ignatius Khodynytsky, which added more weight to it, even if the source was sketchy. Finally, a more grounded version says that construction really picked up in the 1380s, led by Lviv’s Catholic citizens. It was overseen by Petro Shtecher, who was the mayor at the time and interestingly, also the great-grandson of Lviv’s first known mayor.
Versions about the circumstances of its foundation
Founded by Casimir III. A historiographical tradition supported by the vast majority of authors. The Lviv temple is not included in the list of Casimir III’s foundations by the contemporaneous chronicler Janko of Czarnkov. Such information is not included in any of the contemporary chroniclers’ reports. The king himself does not mention anything about it in his correspondence with the pope. Casimir III’s difficult financial circumstances at the time did not help establish such a foundation (he repeatedly requested assistance). Many researchers agree that after the king’s death, the burghers financed the construction. Olga Kozubska asserts that the burghers may have been the initial founders, as was the case, in particular, with the St. Church of Mary in Kraków. the initial dedication to the Trinity It is first mentioned in Jan Alnpek. This assertion is based on unknown sources. Stanislaw Zaionczkowski, Tadeusz Mankowski, Bartomiej Kaczorowski, Jan Ostrowski, Jerzy Petrus, and Tadeusz Trajdos all reiterated this point. Version about the Church of Mary of the Snow as the first parish church. Introduced by Francisz Zakhariasewicz, repeated by Stanisław Zaionczkowski. The temple is a predecessor. According to researchers Ignaty Khodynytsky and Isydor Sharanewicz, Casimir III ordered the demolition of the Assumption, one of the Eastern Rite churches nearby, during the princely era [18, 19]. A joint church of two confessions. The opinion was expressed by Roman Mogytych , it is based on the analysis of the oldest book of minutes of the court sessions of the Lviv City Council of 1382-1389. The document is characterized by the designation of all Orthodox, Armenian and Catholic churches by the single word ecclesiae . At the same time, only Ecclesia Armenorum (Armenian) and Ecclesia beate Maria Virgilis, parochialis (without specifying the denomination) are mentioned as parish churches in the city center. In the multinational cities of the time, Mogytych presupposes a significant rapprochement between the Eastern and Western churches. He also emphasizes the fact that the parish priest John Rusyn opposed the parish church’s transfer to the Roman Catholic archbishop. In Mogytych’s opinion, the new (current) church could have been built around the older one, perhaps even using certain parts of it.
Construction of the Cathedral (14th–15th Centuries)
The first documentary mention of the parish church of the Virgin Mary in Lviv dates back to 1353, with a 1359 charter mentioning a donation of a mill in Zboišče to the church by a woman named Anna. Throughout the second half of the 14th century, there are more mentions of the church, though it’s unclear whether they refer to the church in the city center or the Church of Mary of the Snow, which many believe was the first parish church. In 1363, King Casimir III requested a papal bull to establish a bishopric in Lviv, but this idea was never realized. By 1384, donations for construction work were first mentioned, though it’s still unclear which church these funds were intended for. Some believe the work could have been for the Church of Mary of the Snow, while others point to the cathedral. In 1385, a master builder named Nitschko from Troppau is said to have worked on the church, though the records don’t specify which one. The first clear reference to the future cathedral came in 1399, when members of the city council donated money for an altar to the 10,000 martyrs. At this point, Peter Stecher was managing the funds, and Nikolai Gansecke, an architect from Wrocław, oversaw the construction. The original design for the cathedral included two towers. The first tower was completed by the end of the 14th century, but the second was left unfinished due to a lack of funds. By 1404, Gansecke finished the altar section of the church, and the following year, it was consecrated by Bishop Maciej Janina of Przemyśl and Archbishop Jakub Strepa of Galicia. In 1406, the Brotherhood of the Virgin Mary, which had been operating at the Church of Mary of the Snow since 1387, was transferred to the cathedral. The church officially became a cathedral in 1412, and Antipope John XXIII confirmed this in 1414 with the bull In eminenti. In 1415, a chapter was likely formed, and by 1429, it was officially approved, taking responsibility for managing funds and overseeing construction. In 1441, Archbishop Jan Odrowonj consecrated a new altar dedicated to the Mother of God. This altar, funded by Jan Wlodkovich, the Galician castellan, was decorated with the coat of arms of the Knyahynichs family. By 1481, the Wrocław builders Joachim Grom and Ambrosius Rabysh completed the vaulting of the naves. During this period, three altars were installed, and stained glass windows were added. Georg Scheller, a local patrician, supervised the work, and a sculpture of Saint George, his patron saint, was placed above the south entrance. By 1490, the roof over the presbytery needed repairs, and Nickel Kloch, a carpenter, was brought in to fix it. By 1493, the cathedral was largely complete, with Hans Stęcher finishing the vaulting of the choir.
Decoration and Reconstruction (16th–18th Centuries)
By the 16th century, the Latin Cathedral had already become one of the churches in Lviv where services were held in German. In 1510, the first organ was installed, marking an important step in the cathedral’s musical history. But not long after, in 1527, Lviv was hit by the Great Fire, which destroyed almost the entire Gothic part of the city. The cathedral didn’t escape the damage its western side and tower were heavily affected. Archbishop Bernard Wilczek played a big role in the rebuilding. New bells were cast during this time, including one called “Bernardine”, and the vaults and tower roof were either repaired or fully rebuilt. As time passed, the style of the building started to shift. Renaissance architects took over much of the work. In 1566, Archbishop Stanisław Słomowski had a new altar installed, though it didn’t stay for long. By 1616, it had already been replaced with a late Renaissance altar created by Łukasz Kalinski. The early 1600s were tough for the city plague, famine, fires, and military threats wore everyone down. In 1623, local citizen Pavlo Yuriy Boim, along with other parishioners, decided to establish an altar to Saint Roch, seen as a protector during such hard times. A few years later, in 1629, for the first time, Uniate bishops held Divine Services in the cathedral. Among them were Meletius Smotrytsky, known for writing a grammar of the Slavic language, and Metropolitan Joseph of Rutsky. The sermon that day was delivered by Mateusz Bembus, a royal preacher. But not everyone was happy Orthodox townspeople, especially Armenians and Ruthenians, were deeply upset. One local even recalled how people called the bishops “pagans” and cursed them. A major historical moment took place on April 1, 1656. Inside the cathedral, before the image of the Mother of God of Mercy (painted by Józef Scholz-Wolfowicz), King Jan II Casimir made a vow to protect Poland. This became known as the Lviv Vows of Jan Casimir, a symbolic plea for divine help during the Swedish invasion, in return for promising better conditions for the people. In the 18th century, the cathedral was in poor shape. Archbishops Jan Skarbek and Mykola Wyżycki were both concerned. A storm between 1760 and 1761 tore off part of the copper roof. Things finally started moving between 1760 and 1778, when Archbishop Václav Sierakowski pushed through a major renovation. The church was rebuilt in late Baroque and Rococo styles. The tower got a Baroque-style top from blacksmith Jan Niedźwiecki, bringing its height to 64.3 meters. Between 1765 and 1771, a new Rococo main altar was added, designed by Piotr Polejowski it’s still there today. The structure from that renovation, especially the exterior facing Halytska Street and Rynok Square, has mostly survived. Unfortunately, the renovation led to the destruction of many older Gothic and Renaissance elements. Several tombstones and monuments including those of Archbishops Bernard Wilczek, Felix Ligenza, Paweł Tarło, Jan Dymitr Solikowski, Jan Porochnicki, and Stanisław Grochowski were removed and replaced with Baroque ones. This upset many locals, but the Pope at the time, Clement XIII, supported Sierakowski’s decisions. The current main altar, installed in 1776, was made in Baroque style. It features marble columns and statues of Saints Augustine, Gregory, Ambrose, and Jerome, all by Matvey Polejowski. At its center is a copy of the revered image of the Most Gracious Mother of God the original was taken to Poland in 1946 and is now in Wawel Cathedral in Kraków. To the left of the altar is a small, neo-Gothic “royal box.” Outside the cathedral, on the Halytska Street side, you can spot cannonballs embedded into the wall. One dates back to 1672, from the Turkish siege led by Petro Doroshenko, marked with the Latin inscription “Ex obsidione turcica.” Another cannonball is from 1919, during the siege by the Ukrainian Galician Army, labeled “Ex obsidione Ruthenorum.” On the same side, you’ll find a portrait of Jan Domagalich, who founded one of the now-lost chapels, a tombstone from the Scholz-Wolfowicz Chapel, and a fresco of the Virgin Mary with Christ. The fresco is a copy of an icon from 1598, painted in memory of a young girl by her grandfather Józef Scholz-Wolfowicz. In the 2000s, the fresco was carefully restored.
Modern History (19th–21st Centuries)
During the 19th century, both the inside and outside of the Latin Cathedral saw many changes. In 1802, a new cast-metal pulpit was placed to the left of the presbytery entrance. Then, in 1805–1806, a marble and bronze monument dedicated to Katarzyna Ossolińska of Jabłonowski was added on the opposite side, created by sculptor Hartmann Witwer in the Empire style. Between 1835 and 1846, under Archbishop František Pištek, the façade’s original Gothic brickwork was completely covered in plaster. In 1839, a new organ was installed by local craftsman Roman Duchensky, funded by Canon Jakub Bem. A few years later, in 1844, the cross on the tower was gilded. Around this time, the cathedral also got new tombstones and artwork by Alois Reyhan and Józef Chojnicki. By the end of the century, preparations were in full swing for the Galician Regional Exhibition of 1894, and that led to another round of restorations. In 1892, Bishop Jan Puzyna, historian Władysław Łoziński, and architect Michał Kowalczuk began work, starting with the presbytery. They removed Baroque paintings by Stanisław Stroiński and exposed the older vaults and walls. A new organ was added, built by Jan Śliwiński’s Lviv firm, and Ferdynand Majerski, a sculptor from Przemyśl, designed a neo-Gothic balcony for it. He also designed new portals for the chapels of St. Casimir and St. Joseph, and added what’s now called the “imperial box.” Neo-Gothic stained glass windows were also installed, including works like “The Vows of King Jan Casimir” by Józef Mehoffer, “Casimir the Great Founder of the Cathedral” and “Virgin Mary, Queen of the Polish Crown” by Edward Lepszy, and “Defense of Lviv with the Help of St. Jan of Dukla” by Stanisław Batowski-Kaczor. Other stained glass artists included Jan Matejko, Ferdinand Laufberger, Tadeusz Kruszewski, Julian Makarewicz, and Teodor Axentowicz. Many of the stained-glass pieces were produced by the Mayer studio in Munich. Despite all this, the Vienna Imperial Restoration Commission later criticized the work for harming the original design. By 1899, only the presbytery was fully restored. Plans to redo the nave were dropped entirely. In the early 20th century, Professor Tadeusz Obmiński from Lviv Polytechnic oversaw further restoration from 1908 until his death in 1932. In 1909, tin vases replaced worn stone ones on the tower a move that sparked backlash from the “Circle of Architects” for being unprofessional. More commemorations followed: a memorial for the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald was added in 1910, one for Piotr Skarga in 1912, and another for Tadeusz Kościuszko in 1917. World War I caused real damage in 1916, Austrian troops stripped the copper roof for the war effort. Then, during the Ukrainian-Polish conflict in 1919, a shell hit the cathedral. A tablet with the Latin inscription Ex obsidione Ruthenorum (from the siege by the Ruthenians) was later placed in the buttress on Halytska Street. In the 1920s, Obmiński helped drain the foundations and re-covered the roof with copper. In 1923, two Gothic side portals, sealed since the 18th-century renovations, were uncovered. During World War II, the cathedral mostly avoided destruction, but memorial plaques for Grunwald and Skarga were removed by the occupying forces. Then came a painful chapter: on April 26, 1946, Soviet authorities forced Archbishop Eugeniusz Baziak to leave Lviv. As he departed, he took with him the miraculous icon of the Mother of God the Gracious, the reliquary of Blessed Jakub Strepa, and other items from the church. During Soviet times, this cathedral was one of the few still operating. Many people of different faiths came to services here. Unlike other churches that were turned into storage or sports halls, the Latin Cathedral remained a place of worship thanks in large part to Father Rafał Kiernicki, who bravely served during those years and later survived the Gulag.When Ukraine became independent in 1991, the Lviv Archdiocese was revived. That same year, two new priests were ordained in the cathedral. A decade later, on June 25, 2001, Pope John Paul II visited the cathedral. In honor of this visit, a memorial plaque in Ukrainian, Polish, and Latin was added to the western wall in 2003 (made by sculptor Yaroslav Skakun). Before his visit, the interior of the cathedral including the presbytery, high altar, sacristy, and St. Joseph’s Chapel was carefully restored between 1999 and 2000 by Ukrainian and Polish conservators. Since November 22, 2008, the Archbishop-Metropolitan of Lviv has been Mieczysław Mokrzycki, who took over from Cardinal Marian Jaworski. In 2017, the exterior of the cathedral was enhanced with evening artistic lighting. Then on September 11, 2021, Archbishop Mokrzycki, along with Bishops Bronisław Bernacki and Marian Buczek, blessed a memorial plaque for Cardinal Jaworski, which was installed inside the Chapel of Christ the Merciful.
Architecture of Metropolitan Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Lviv, Ukraine
Architectural style: Gothic architecture
Architect : Piotr Polejowski
Since the Middle Ages, the cathedral, which is in the center of Cathedral Square, has been the dominant architectural feature of the southwestern portion of the former city center (walled city). The main entrance from the west faces the temple’s axis and is oriented east-west. It is constructed of plastered bricks of two shades (the brick can be heard on the apse buttress). Also used were blocks of calcareous sandstone and lithothamnian limestone from the Miocene, which were mined in quarries near Lviv at the time. The temple has a length of 67 meters, a width of 23 meters, and a tower height of 66 meters. The structure is of the hall type and has three navires. The presbytery is long and has a faceted apse. From the west, the temple’s mass is bounded by two square bell tower volumes. The right bell tower is only constructed to the height of the nave’s vaults. Twelve four-tiered buttresses that ended just below the roof cornice initially provided exterior support for the cathedral. Although later additions have significantly complicated the church’s layout, the main space is nearly cubic. On both sides of the presbytery, one sacristy and one chapel are symmetrically adjacent . In the spaces between the buttresses, 3 chapels are attached to the naves from the north and south sides. Three spans of cross vaults cover the presbytery and each of the three naves. Gables cover the naves and presbytery, complex Baroque roofs with flowerpots cover the left bell tower, and gentle hipped roofs cover the unfinished right tower. On the roof of the nave, two rows of dormers are arranged at different heights. The high roof spike emphasizes the Gothic element. In the interior, four tall, fluted columns support pointed arches and vaults with Gothic ribs . There are numerous frescoes covering the vaults and walls. Today, the Latin Cathedral is an architectural monument of national importance, with a security number of 316/0.e)
Tomb, cemetery, individual chapels
Since its inception, the cathedral has had a cemetery. Since burials could not take place on unconsecrated ground, it probably started around 1405, when the cathedral itself was dedicated. The cemetery occupied almost the entire area of the present Cathedral Square and was surrounded by a wall. Opposite the current sacristy (from the side of Rynok Square ) was a gate for the passage of carts, called “Royal”. On foot, one entered by climbing several steps. Looking through the bars that surround the cathedral’s recess, one can see that the cemetery’s level in the 1770s was significantly lower than it is today. Additionally, there were gates opposite the main entrance on the side of the contemporary Ivan Pidkowy Square. There were butchers’ stalls nearby, where cattle were occasionally killed. The stalls were taken down and moved beyond the Krakow Gate in 1800. In 1762, the Milewski chapel was dismantled, and 2 epitaphs were moved to the cathedral. The walls of the cemetery were demolished during the restoration in 1776. At the same time, the sculptural complex “Christ on the Deathbed” (also known as the chapel “The Tomb of the Lord”), which stood in one of the gates, was moved under the church itself. Emperor Joseph II ordered the demolition of four Lviv church cemeteries and the establishment of four cemeteries outside the city limits in 1783. Of the six chapels that stood separately (in particular, the Scholz-Wolfovich chapel, only the Boim chapel has survived. The statues of saints, which, after the demolition of the cemetery, were placed around the cathedral, have also been preserved. Famous politicians from the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were buried in the church’s crypts, including Stanislaw Olkiewski, the father of Chancellor Stanislaw [47]; Piotr Staechowski, Jan Senenski, Felix Ligenzu, and Piotr Poleiowski, the architect; Johann (Jan) Herbest, the Lviv canon of the RCC; and Dr. Stanislaw Olkiewski, the Stanisław Dybowych (Dybovetsky).
Attached chapels
From the beginning, chapels, or family tombs for wealthy burghers and Lviv patricians, were built in the spaces between the nave’s buttresses and the presbytery. Burials were made in their dungeons. In 1395, the chapel dedicated to St. Peter and Paul is mentioned at the cathedral. In the years that followed, numerous additions were made. These include, in particular, the chapels of the Most Holy Gifts (1440), Zhuravnivska (1441), Buchatski (1440, rebuilt in 1495, and then by Archbishop J. D. St. Solikovsky (1587) Stanislaus in 1440, Rajecka in 1454, Strumyli in 1463, Kushnirska in 1478, the Brotherhood of the Beggars in 1493, and the chapels of Bishops Tomasz Pirawski in 1610 and Jan Zamoyski in 1615 are all examples of this. The chapels’ entrances were arranged in a variety of ways: some had only a hole for entering, while others had doors or grilles made of wrought iron. To accommodate them, walls were usually broken through and buttresses were bricked up, which greatly weakened the structure. Also, the chapels of different times were all different sizes and did not belong to the same style. In In the 1760s, Archbishop V. Serakovsky initiated a radical reconstruction of the cathedral, during which some of the chapels were rebuilt and some were demolished altogether. Of the added chapels, eight have survived.
The Flagellation of Christ
The Flagellation of Christ
It is located in the northern nave , the first from the entrance. It rarely appears in literature under its true name – dedication. The burial site of the family of Lviv parishioners and burgomasters is better known as the Campian Chapel. Built in the Renaissance style during 1584-1629 on the site of the older Strumyli Chapel , which had stood here since 1463. The order frame of the facade with a rusticated plinth was probably made by the architect Pavlo Rymlyanyn . The reliefs “The Entombment”, “The Resurrection of Christ”, “Christ the Gardener” between the pilasters of the facade are attributed to Henryk Horst , and the figures of the evangelists were probably made by Jan Pfister and Sebastian Česek. Bartholomew Zymorovich initiated a renovation that took place around 1660. The interior of the tomb then received brand-new sculptural tombstones, particularly portrait busts by Wojciech Kapinos the Younger. During the reconstructions initiated by Archbishop Wacław Sierakowski, the entrance to the chapel was changed, and the vault, which was painted by Stanisław Strojinski in 1774, was bricked up . It was restored under the leadership of Władysław Sadlowski during 1905–1906. The next restoration took place in 1923. In addition to the Campians, representatives of the related Grosweier and Ostrogorski families are buried in the chapel. The chapel can only be accessed from the church. The interior of the chapel is extremely rich, decorated with black, white, red and pink marble. The interior is also decorated with busts of Martin Campian, his father Paul, and high reliefs depicting prophets and apostles-evangelists.
Saint Anthony
In the northern nave, second from the entrance. Formed in the volume of the former vestibule of the side entrance. Outside, the Gothic portal of the former entrance has been preserved on the facade. In 1898, new stained glass windows were installed in the chapel. A monument to Andrzej Ankwicz was installed here (moved in 1925 from the Chapel of the Crucified Christ). In 2008-2009, a comprehensive restoration was carried out. The sculptural group “The Tomb of the Lord” was attached to the facade from the street.
Holy Gifts
In the northern nave, third from the entrance. Also known as the Most Holy Sacrament chapel and the Vyshnevetsky chapel. On this site was the Buchachsky chapel, built before 1440, rebuilt by Archbishop J. D. in 1587, Solikovsky At the end of the 16th century, the original Gothic chapel was rebuilt in the Renaissance style. The author of the reconstruction was probably Pavlo Rymlyanyn . The lower tier has maintained its distinctive stylistic characteristics ever since. In 1701–1707, the princes Vyshnevets (the founder was the widow of Prince Konstantin Vyshnevets, Anna of Chodorowski built a new chapel (it was reconstructed in 1737–1740 at the expense of Janusz Antoni Wyshnevets and his wife Teofilia Leszczynska). An unknown artist’s lavish late Baroque altar was installed in 1747. The altar sculptures were probably made by Thomas Gutter or Christian Seiner . Stanislav Stroyinski is credited with creating the dome paintings (around 1771). Repairs were made from 1870 to 1872, and in 1888, sculptor Tadej Baroncz erected a marble memorial to Archbishop Franciszk of Wierchka Restoration continued in 2009–2015. The chapel’s lower tier has a plan that is rectangular. Its northern wall has two windows. Slabs of stone line the facade. It is flanked by two pilasters at the edges, and above the pilasters is a decorative frieze. A table with the relief letters “IHS” can be found between the windows. The second tier has an octagonal plan. It has large windows on its eastern, northern, and western sides. On the oval copper dome with the inscription “1770” there is a light lantern , crowned with the coat of arms of the Vyshnevetskys and a cross. At the northeastern corner, a Turkish cannonball is hung on a chain, probably from the time of the siege of the city in 1672. Martin Laterna, a martyr who died in 1598, Archbishop of Lviv Mykolay Krosnowski, his nephew, Voivode of Chernihiv Mykolay-Francisk Krosnowski, who donated 10,000 zlotys for the chapel, brothers Pavel and Krzysztof Grodzycki (1659), members of the Wyszniewiecki family, were buried in the chapel.
Chapels
Saint Casimir Chapel has an entrance from the presbytery and was built in the latter half of the 18th century, replacing the earlier chapel of St. Stanislaus. During the second half of the 19th century, the side altars were taken down. From 1892 to 1899, the presbytery underwent redevelopment, and during this time, a new neo-Gothic white-stone portal was put in, crafted by the Ferdinand Majerski firm from Przemyśl. The chapel’s polychrome was restored by 1977, and the entrance portal was further restored in 2000–2001. When you enter the ancient Buchachsky Chapel, you can see the famous alabaster Renaissance altar of Scholz-Wolfovich (Holy Trinity). This altar was likely sculpted by Jan Zaremba in Herman van Gutte’s workshop. Originally, it was positioned near the wall of the northern nave but was later moved to the Buchachsky chapel entrance. During Archbishop Vaclav Sierakovsky’s renovation of the church, this altar was sold to the Church of St. Nicholas, where it remains today. It’s considered one of the most valuable and rare pieces of Lviv Renaissance sculpture. There’s also mention of a Buchachskys’ chapel, as pointed out by M. Orlovych. The Saint Joseph Chapel, dedicated to All Saints, has an entrance from the presbytery and lies opposite the Saint Casimir Chapel. It was built over the site of the old chapels of Archbishop Jan Zamoyski and Suffragan Tomasz Pirawski. The Zamoyski chapel had three alabaster altars, likely depicting Saints Wojciech, Stanisław, Casimir, and Jan Kanta. Only statues of Archbishops Jan Tarnowski and Jan Zamoyski, along with angels from the tombstone of the latter (sculpted by Jan Pfister), remain. The Pirawski chapel contained an altar and a tombstone with an epitaph, some fragments of which are still housed in the present chapel. One fragment, made from dark red marble, depicts “The Belief of Saint Thomas” (1610), and another, crafted from light marble, shows Pirawsky’s figure with a Latin inscription.
In 1867, a Renaissance altar was restored here by restorer Mieczysław Potocki. It had been found with the Lubych coat of arms in the cathedral’s basement, where it had been kept since Archbishop Sierakowsky’s large-scale reconstruction. Part of the altar, made in 1592 by Lviv sculptor Jan Biały, still exists. The side altars were removed in the second half of the 19th century, and in 1898, new stained-glass windows were installed. Between 1892 and 1899, the neo-Gothic portal was created by Ferdinand Majerski’s workshop. In 2000–2001, the stone entrance portal was also restored. A monument to General Józef Dwernicki was placed here in November 2000. Originally sculpted from limestone by Paris Filippi and installed at St. Michael’s Church in Lviv in 1869, it was moved after being damaged during the Soviet era. Before installation in the cathedral, Polish specialist Dr. Janusz Smazy restored the monument. The second floor of the building is where the archbishop’s personal chambers are located. The Merciful Christ Chapel, also known as the “Chapel of the Poor” or “Dziadówska”, is the first chapel in the southern aisle from the entrance. The entrance arch has the epitaphs of Canon Piotr Milewski and his father, transferred here from the Milewski chapel in the cathedral cemetery when it was dismantled in 1762. The sculptor of these epitaphs was likely Oleksandr Prohenkovych. Between 1905 and 1907, the chapel was reconstructed in the Art Nouveau style, designed by Władysław Sadlowski. The marble altar was made by Ludwik Tyrowicz, while the bas-reliefs were crafted by Tomasz Dykas and Aloysius Bunsch. The stained-glass windows were designed by Luna Drexler, and the superports paintings were done by Stanisław Dembicki and Valerian Krycinski. In 2001, specialists M. Rajewska and K. Bromilska, under Janusz Smazy’s leadership, restored the chapel. Memorial plaques honoring 20th-century Lviv bishops were added, and a silver reliquary of Saint Zygmunt Gorazdowski was placed in the chapel, which led to further modifications to the altar.
The Our Lady of Czestochowa Chapel, located in the southern nave and second from the entrance, occupies the former vestibule of a side entrance. The walled-up Gothic portal can still be seen from the street. In 1897, stained-glass windows were installed here, and in 2008-2009, the chapel underwent significant restoration. The Christ Crucified Chapel, also known as the Jablonowski Chapel, is the third chapel from the entrance in the southern nave. Built by Piotr Polejowski between 1769 and 1771, it was funded by Princess Anna of Sapieha Jablonowski, the second wife of Jan Kajetan Jablonowski. Ivan Obrotski created the stucco decoration between 1775 and 1776. Monuments to Archbishops W. Sierakowski (1787) and Ferdinand Kicki (1797), both by Franciszk Olenski, stand here. New stained-glass windows were added in 1880, and the chapel was restored in the second half of the 19th century. In 1909, a silver reliquary containing relics of the archdiocese’s patron saint, Blessed Jakub Strepa, was placed here, sculpted by Tadeusz Blotnicki. Another restoration took place between 1925 and 1930, during which artist M. Vysotsky restored the frescoes. A monument to Archbishop Józef Bilczewski, created by Petr Wijtowicz, was also added at this time. On March 19, 1928, a casket with the archbishop’s heart was built into the chapel’s plinth. In 2000, a plaster bust commemorating Rafal Władysław Kernytsky, a longtime parish priest, was installed. It was consecrated on December 12, 2000. Among the lost chapels, there was the Domagalich Chapel, which once stood behind the church, between two buttresses. It housed the miraculous icon of the Mother of God the All-Merciful, which was later moved to the cathedral and crowned on April 12, 1776.
Legends and Interesting Facts
Back in 1472, Pope Sixtus IV granted a special privilege to all those involved in building the cathedral. Anyone who worked on its construction was released from their duties by papal decree. King Jan II Casimir of Poland is the monarch who visited the cathedral the most. Over the course of his seven trips to Lviv, he never missed attending mass here. This church clearly held a special place for him. In 1772, during a time when Lviv was occupied by the Austrians, the residents of the city took a bold stand. They bricked up the main entrance to the cathedral as a form of protest. The pointed arches of red brick that were laid down back then are still visible today. Since that time, the cathedral could only be entered through side doors. In 1910, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald, a plaque was installed on the western wall of the church. This battle, fought in 1410, was a major victory for the Polish, Ruthenian, and Lithuanian forces over the Teutonic Order. Sadly, when the Nazis occupied the city, the plaque was destroyed. In its place today is a tablet dedicated to Pope John Paul II.
The Fresco of the Most Gracious Mother of God
The cathedral also became the final resting place for many soldiers who died in battle. Among them were Piotr Odrovonzh, a Ruthenian voivode, and Mykola Porava, a Galician starosta. Both were brought here after dying in the war against the Moldavian lord Bohdan II in 1450. Also buried here are the brothers Janusz and Adam Zamkhiv, commanders of the Lviv volunteers, and the Strusi brothers, who died fighting the Tatars in 1506. Nobles from prominent families like the Gerburts, Boratynskis, and Fredrys were also buried here, after dying in the Battle of Sokal in 1519. Their coffins were draped in bright red velvet as a sign of the blood they shed in battle. The funerals of these fallen heroes were grand affairs. Military escorts, banners lowered, and trumpeters all played a part in the procession. Monks would chant funeral psalms, and hired mourners would go to extreme lengths to draw out the grief of the crowd. They would beat their heads, tear their hair, and scratch their faces in a dramatic show of sorrow, all to stir the emotions of the people. At the end of the service, a feast would follow, where the mourners would drink slowly, trying to put an end to their sorrow. On the eastern wall of the church, facing Halytska Street, there is an inscription that tells a deeply touching story. In 1598, a 9-year-old girl named Katarzyna, the daughter of a local burgher named Wojciech Domagalich, died of an incurable disease. Her grandfather, Józef Volfowicz, a well-known geometer in Lviv, was devastated by her loss. In her memory, he painted an icon of the Most Gracious Mother of God and had it placed on the church wall. This icon is a replica of the original, but it still stands as a testament to the grief and love of a grandfather mourning his beloved granddaughter.
Latin inscriptions
The Latin Cathedral in Lviv preserves a powerful tapestry of inscriptions and epitaphs that reflect centuries of faith, conflict, and memory. Carved into its walls are historical markers like: “From the siege of the Ukrainians in the year of God 1919, March 3,” near a shell embedded in the wall, and another recalling the 1672 Turkish siege: “During the siege of Lviv by the Turks… this 36-pound ball… got stuck under the image of the most holy Christ, without causing any damage…” Inside the cathedral, quotes from saints glorify the Virgin Mary, including St. Hilary’s “She strengthens the convalescent,” and St. Maximus’s “Great words have been spoken about You, O Mother of God…” These spiritual reflections are joined by epitaphs honoring those buried in the cathedral, such as Balthazar Bzovsky, Stanislav Hanel, and Peter Milevsky, whose memorial reads: “Say, may God have mercy on both of you.” Military figures like Stanislav of Zhovkva and Mykola Krosnovsky are remembered for their bravery, patriotism, and devotion to the Commonwealth. Together, these inscriptions offer a living narrative of the cathedral’s sacred role in the spiritual and civic life of Lviv over the centuries.
Feast Day
Feast Day : 15 August
The feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is celebrated on August 15. It honors Mary’s ascent into heaven, body and soul, after her earthly life. This event is marked with special services at the Metropolitan Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lviv, a key religious site in Ukraine.
Church Mass Timing
Monday to Saturday : 07:30 AM, 10:00 AM, 5:30 PM, 6:30 PM
Sunday : 07:00 AM, 08:00 AM, 09:00 AM, 10:15 AM, 11:30 AM, 01:00 PM, 03:00 PM, 06:00 PM
Church Opening Time:
Monday to Sunday : Open 24 Hours
Contact Info
Address : Latin Cathedral
Cathedral Square, 7, Lviv, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine, 79000
Phone : +380 322 355 692
Accommodations
Connectivities
Airway
Metropolitan Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Lviv, Ukraine, to Danylo Halytskyi International Airport, distance between 18 min ( 6.6 km )via Lyubinska Street.
Railway
Metropolitan Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Lviv, Ukraine, to Lviv Railway Station, distance between 12 min ( 3.0 km ) via Horodotska St./M11.
