Description of the attraction
The Armenian Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in 1363 by the architect Doring. The architecture of the church combined different styles: Old Russian, Roman-Gothic and Traditional Armenian. A bell tower was built simultaneously with the church, but during the siege of Lviv by the Turks, it burned down, but was later restored.
The oldest part of the cathedral is the eastern one, built in 1368-1370. In 1437 the arcade was completed, in 1630 - the middle part. From 1631 to 1671, the Armenian Cathedral was expanded and rebuilt. In 1723, the temple also changed in appearance: the stone and brickwork of the walls was covered with plaster, and in 1731 a sacristy was added on the north side. A chapel was built near the temple.
In 1908-1920, according to the project of Francis Monchinsky, the western facade of the church was restored and completed, the tower was decorated with mosaics, and the walls were painted by the artist Jan Heinrich Rosen. In the late 14th - early 15th centuries, the interior of the church was decorated with frescoes in the style of Old Russian painting. Some of them have survived to this day.
The monastery courtyard at the northern wall of the cathedral borders on the opposite side the building of the monastery of Armenian Benedictines, built in 1682. The eastern courtyard is connected with the monastery by the Baroque gate of 1671. This courtyard is called Christopher's, as in its center stands the memorial column of St. Christopher of the 18th century. The courtyard is enclosed on all sides by the buildings of the former Armenian bank, the archbishop's palace, the bell tower and the apse of the cathedral.
In the southern courtyard, located between the street and the cathedral, the remains of an ancient cemetery have been preserved - gravestones transferred from other cemeteries are dated to the 14th-18th centuries.
