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Forgotten Galicia

Forgotten Galicia

Remnants of the past found in Lviv, Galicia & the former Austrian Empire

Tag: vault lights

Vault Lights in Vienna

July 30, 2015

The most intersting vault light that I found in Vienna was the one made by the German copmany Luxfer, examples of which can also be found in Lviv.

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October 3, 2013

Vault Lights in Tallinn

I found a few vault lights in Tallinn made by а Russian company before the Russian Revolution. The inscription says: “С.-Петербургское стекольно-промышленное акц. о-во” The St. Petersburg Glass Work Manufacturing Company (Санкт-Петербургское стекольно-промышленное акціонерное общество) existed between 1911 and 1918, but as St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd in 1914, it […]

September 30, 2013

Vault Lights in Edinburgh

Vault lights are glass prisms set into sidewalks to let light into basements below. I first came across a vault light in Lviv, but I didn’t know what it was until I saw them in Edinburgh and Tallinn and started researching what they were. Hayward Brothers In Edinburgh, I found a […]

Forgotten Galicia

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Wojciech Wentz Villa, built in 1907, designed by a Wojciech Wentz Villa, built in 1907, designed by architect Ludwik Weltze. The first owner was Wojciech Wentz, a police advisor. In the early 1920s, the property passed to Zygmunt Radzyminski (1843–1928), a Polish historian and renowned researcher of genealogy and heraldry. The villa’s final owner before the Soviet era was Jerzy Kuryłowicz (1895–1978), a prominent Polish philologist and linguist. From 1926 to 1946, he resided in the villa while serving as head of the departments of Indo-European linguistics and Romance philology at Lviv University.

#oldhouse #oldhouselove #houseportrait #villas #villa #willa #archidetails #architecturalheritage #lviv #lwów #architecturehunter #archihunter #galicia #galicja #ukraine
Last June, I took a walk through my favorite neigh Last June, I took a walk through my favorite neighborhood to show an acquaintance some of Lviv’s finest architectural gems. We stopped near the former Ludwik Heller Villa to admire and photograph the beautiful rose garden set against a backdrop of carved wooden details—a radiant sun and folk motifs inspired by the Podhale region’s mountain architecture. These elements reflect the Zakopane Style, which emerged in southern Poland but found expression across Galicia, including here in Lviv.

Little did I know that just three months later, the villa would be damaged in a russian missile attack on the city. The roof, in particular, was severely affected and had to be completely replaced.

This June, I returned to the villa once again to admire the flowers and intricate architectural details—camera in hand, as before. But the experience is now different. Though the windows have been replaced, and the roof is undergoing restoration, the neighborhood no longer feels quite the same to me.

Soundtrack: The English folk song "Bonny Bunch of Roses," which recalls the time "Moscow was blazing" during Napoleon’s invasion—an image we are eager to see repeated.

#zakopanestyle #zakopanestylearchitecture #stylzakopiański #villas #villa #willa #archidetails #architecturalheritage #architecturaldetail #woodwork
#roses #garden #oldhouselove #lviv #lwów #galicja #galicia #ukraine
Golden hour | Lviv center | Constitution Day | Jun Golden hour | Lviv center | Constitution Day | June 28

#oldtown #architecturalheritage #archilovers #goldenhour☀️ #goldenhour #lviv  #ukraine #uaflag
Facade fragment of the former Credit Land Society Facade fragment of the former Credit Land Society building (1912–1914), designed by Alfred Zachariewicz and Józef Sosnowski. Red granite from J. L. Urban & Co. Ołomuniec (Polish) / Olomouc (Czech) / Olmütz (German).

#inscription #oldsigns #oldsignage #makersmark #manufacturersmark #redgranite #archidetails #lviv
#lwów #ukraine
#lviv #lwów #archidetails #architecturaldetail #a #lviv #lwów #archidetails #architecturaldetail #artnouveau #artnouveaustyle #archihunter #ukraine
#paintedceiling #archidetails #artnouveau #archite #paintedceiling #archidetails #artnouveau #architecturalornamentation #architecturaldetail #artnouveauarchitecture #oldbuildings #lviv #lwów #galicia #galicja #ukraine
Boot scrapers of Helsinki - both modern and histor Boot scrapers of Helsinki - both modern and historical.
One of my favorite remnants of the past in the urban landscape is the humble boot scraper. In most cities (like Lviv), these small fixtures—once essential for scraping mud and snow from shoes—have become obsolete, relics of a time before paved roads and modern infrastructure. But walking through Helsinki, I was intrigued to see not only historical boot scrapers still in place, but also modern versions—fitted with sturdy brushes—installed near building entrances. In Helsinki, their continued relevance is clear. With long winters and frequent snowfall, these practical devices still serve an important purpose. 

#bootscraper #bootscrapers #decrottoir #archidetails #archihunter #architecturaldetail #oldbuilding #oldbuildings #helsinki #finland #doorsofinstagram
Owls in Helsinki’s Architecture | Finland’s in Owls in Helsinki’s Architecture | Finland’s interpretation of Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) wove together threads of national identity, blending Finnish folklore, Kalevala mythology, medieval church motifs, and the rugged beauty of the Nordic wilderness. Among the most intriguing symbols found in this architectural style are owls.

In the early 1900s, while Finland was still under Russian rule, architects used this richly symbolic style to help shape a visual language for a nation yearning for independence.

#archidetails #helsinki #finland #jugendstil #artnouveau #artnouveaustyle #artnouveauarchitecture #architecturalheritage #archihunter #architecturaldetail #archilovers #owls
🩷 Art Nouveau fence 🌹 Summertime in Lviv # 🩷 Art Nouveau fence 🌹 Summertime in Lviv 

#summer #summertime #artnouveaustyle #artnouveau #secesja #secessionism #ironwork #metalwork #archidetails #archihunter #lviv #lwów #ukraine
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