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Forgotten Galicia

Forgotten Galicia

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

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Ghost Signs of Lviv: A Look into the City’s Faded Past

June 1, 2020

I love ghost signs. These messages from the past are one of my favorite parts of the urban landscape. I get overly excited every time I discover a new one. Ghost signs (aka fading ads or brick ads) are old hand-painted signs that have been preserved on a building for […]

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February 8, 2020

Photographs of Prewar Lviv: Hand-Painted Signs

I’ve combed through hundreds of old photographs of Lviv (Lemberg / Lwów) in search of hand-painted signs that are visible today as “ghost signs.” While I’ve only been able to find one such example – a photograph of a milkhouse, the search was not in vain: I came out with […]

February 27, 2018

Medieval Signage in Lviv

Medieval ads and signs have survived in and around Lviv’s Rynok Square. These are metal signs or stone carvings located above entrance ways. The emblems marked the locations of guilds, workshops, stores, taverns, etc. Signage during this era used symbols since the general populace was illiterate. Entrances to taverns were […]

April 25, 2016

Prague’s House Signs

Before Empress Maria Theresa introduced identifying numbers to Prague in 1770, houses were known and located by allegorical symbols. Many of them originally had alchemical significance. The Two Suns The Golden Key Castle goldsmiths lived in this house in the 17th century They paid fees to the city and thus […]

September 15, 2014

Chimney Sweep Sign in Lviv

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 […]

Forgotten Galicia

Forgotten Galicia

forgottengalicia

Door detail #doorsoflviv #doorsofinstagram #doors Door detail

#doorsoflviv #doorsofinstagram #doors #olddoors #archidetails #archihunter #architecturaldetail #architecturalornamentation #lviv #lwów #ukraine
The stairwell in Ivan Dolynskyi’s villa. Built b The stairwell in Ivan Dolynskyi’s villa. Built by Ukrainian architect Ivan Dolynskyi (1852-1916) in 1899 in Picturesque style, the villa served as a residence for his family, housed his office, and was also rented out to tenants. Currently, it functions as a multi-apartment residential building.

#villas #villa #staircases #stairwell #stairwells #stairway #balustrade #ironwork #archidetails #architecturalheritage #archihunter #archilovers #lviv #ukraine
#windowkitty #archidetails #oldbuildings #catsofin #windowkitty #archidetails #oldbuildings #catsofinstagram #catscatscats #lviv #ukraine
An atlas (aka atlante or atlantid) - a sculpted ma An atlas (aka atlante or atlantid) - a sculpted male figure serving as an architectural support in place of a plain column, pillar, or pilaster.

#atlantes #archidetails #architecturalsculpture #archihunter #springvibes🌸 #oldbuilding #lviv #ukraine
#courtyards #courtyard #lookup #oldbuilding #oldbu #courtyards #courtyard #lookup #oldbuilding #oldbuildings #archidetails #lviv #ukraine
#oldhouselove #houseportrait #archidetails #archih #oldhouselove #houseportrait #archidetails #archihunter  #architecturalheritage #archilovers #oldhouses #lviv #lwów #ukraine
Blooming cherry blossoms framing one of the most b Blooming cherry blossoms framing one of the most beautiful Secessionist buildings in Lviv 🌸🌸🌸

#springvibes🌸 #architecturalheritage #archidetails #secession #secesja #artnouveaustyle #mascaron #artnouveauarchitecture #architecturaldetail #mascarons #lviv #lwów #galicia #ukraine
Before (2010) & after (2025) 🙁 #houseportrait Before (2010) & after (2025) 🙁

#houseportrait #oldhouse #oldhouselove #oldhouses #architecturaldetail #archihunter #lviv #ukraine
#archidetails #architecturalsculpture #archihunter #archidetails #architecturalsculpture #archihunter #architecturaldetail #architecturalornamentation #lviv #lwów #ukraine
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