Description of the attraction
The only Gothic attraction in Lviv is the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, founded in 1360 by the architect Peter Shtecher. Its first builder was the Lviv master Nikolai Nichko, and the first stone in the foundation of the shrine was laid by the Polish king Casimir the Great.
Over the centuries, the outside of the temple has changed significantly, and the interior has also changed. But the altar part of the church has remained unchanged to this day. In 1527 the cathedral was badly damaged by fire. During the restoration of the Lviv Cathedral in 1760-1780, according to the project of Pyotr Polejovsky, the Gothic forms were replaced by the Baroque ones. It was planned that the church would have two towers, but only one was built, on the north side. The fate of the chapels was different: some were dismantled, others, in particular, Campians, Boims, as well as part of the chapel with the image of Jan Domagalich and the bas-relief, which depicts the Domagalich family, remained unchanged. The frescoes on the walls and vaults of the church are by Stanislav Stroinsky. The sculpture for the altar was performed by Matvey Polejovsky, Francis Olendzky and Jan Ovidzky. At the end of the 19th century, the church was enriched with stained glass windows designed by Joseph Megoffer and Stanislav Batovsky.
Painted in 1598 by Joseph Scholz Volfovich, the icon of the Merciful Mother of God - "The Beautiful Star of the City of Lvov" was placed in 1765 over the main altar of the Lviv Cathedral. In front of this icon, the Polish king Jan Kazimierz took a solemn oath in 1656, choosing the Mother of God as the queen of Poland.
Today the cathedral has eight chapels, the most famous of which is the Campian chapel, which is a masterpiece of Renaissance architecture and is of particular value. The Kampians chapel was built at the end of the 16th century for the family of Lviv patricians Kampians and the Ostrogorsky family related to them. Exquisite marble and alabaster carvings adorn the interior of the chapel. The altar of black marble with sculptures of St. Peter and Paul was created by a Dutch master. The cutter of Johann Pfister is responsible for the design of the side walls with epitaphs dedicated to Pavel Campian and his son Martyn, with portraits of the church fathers and evangelists.
