Traces of Mukachevo’s Czechoslovakian past can still be found in the city. (During the interwar period, Mukachevo along with the rest of Zakarpattia (Transcarpathia) was part of Czechoslovakia.) “In 1883, Antonín Kunz (1859–1910) founded a company in Hranice [Czech Republic] for the repair and production of small farm machinery and then specialized […]

This sidewalk stamp says: “Zarząd Miejski m. Łucka” (Municipal Board of the City Lutsk). This curb dates from the interwar period when Lutsk was part of the Second Polish Republic (1920-1939).

Ferrum-Lwów Machine Factory and Iron and Metal Foundry was part of a large company that had factories in several cities including Lodz, Poznan, Krakow, and Sosnowiec near Katowice. In Lviv, the factory was located in the Pidzamche neighborhood and in addition to various iron and metal works such as manhole covers and […]

I found an old benchmark in Przemyśl, Poland, located on a little post near the city’s central river, the San. You can read more about benchmarks in this post about Lviv’s benchmarks. The outer ring reads “Znak Wysokosci” (Height Marker), followed by 2 letters and 4 numbers, looks like AA-0001, […]

Hidden behind a tall fence at the end of a small street in Kastelivka stands a villa called “Julietka.” It was built for private use in 1891-1893 by Julian Zachariewicz and his son Alfred, two famous Lviv architects. Next to the villa is an old stable with a sundial.

Lviv, like most cities in the nineteenth century, needed chimney sweeps to keep chimneys clean from the soot that accumulated from burning coal. The bas-relief of a chimney sweep on Anhelovycha Street is one of the only reminders of the era of chimney sweeps. At the beginning of the twentieth […]

To my surprise, I found fire marks in my suburb! “Though long past are the days when the metal symbol of an insurance company affixed to the front of a house afforded its owner the only sure means of protection from loss by fire, these quaint marks are still occasionally […]

When I was in Annapolis I saw some oval plaques with images of trees, eagles, engines, etc. on some of the old buildings. I thought they were something exclusive to Annapolis, but when I returned to my suburb I found a couple of them there and realized it was something […]

Oval metal plates with the letter “T” mark trails that are intended to be used for therapeutic exercises involving graduated hiking and climbing. The “T” stands for “terrainkur,” which is German for “terrain cure,” and in Ukrainian it is called “тренекур.” This type of exercise was developed in 1885 by […]

In Lviv’s Passage Andreolli, which leads from 28 Rynok Square (built 1760s-1770s) to Teatralna Street, is a chain (handcuff or fetter) that once was in front of the City Hall. Women were chained to it by the arm or leg so that they would think about their behavior.