Description of the attraction
St. George's Cathedral, located on the square of the same name, is one of the pearls of Lviv late Baroque architecture. This is the main shrine of the Greek Catholic Church. The construction of the cathedral, designed by Bernard Meretin, lasted from 1744 to 1764. The construction was completed by Sebastian Fesinger.
The cathedral is located on a hill, which allows you to see its golden dome from many parts of the Lviv suburb. The architectural ensemble includes metropolitan chambers, a bell tower, chapter houses that surround the cathedral on three sides, and a gate decorated with sculptures of saints.
The temple itself can be reached by a staircase decorated with balustrades and sculptures, as well as numerous lanterns. On the main facade there are statues of St. Athanasius and Leo by the sculptor I. Penzel. Above, on the attic, there is a sculptural group by the same author - "Yuri the Zmeeborets".
The interior design of the temple attracts with its splendor and beauty. The royal and deacon's gates in the altar part were made by S. Fessinger in 1768. There are two miraculous icons in the temple - the icon of the Terebovelskaya Mother of God of the 17th century. and the icon of the Kiev-Pechersk Mother of God of the 17th century.
In the cathedral there are crypts-tombs where prominent figures of the Ukrainian church are buried: Cardinal Sylvester Sembratovich, Metropolitans Andrey Sheptytsky, Vladimir Sternyuk, cardinals of the UGCC Joseph Blind, Miroslav-Ivan Lyubachivsky. The remains of the Galician prince Yaroslav Osmomysl, who lived in the 12th century, are also buried in the tomb.
In the 90s of the twentieth century, the cathedral was returned to the believers and since then the temple has been under restoration. In 2001, during his visit to Ukraine, Pope John Paul II lived in the Metropolitan Palace of the Cathedral of St. George.
