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Forgotten Galicia

Forgotten Galicia

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

Tag: guard stones

Guard Stones in Winnetka

January 24, 2013

Winnetka, a suburb of Chicago, has a few guard stones that used to protect the sides and corners of walls from carriages.

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Forgotten Galicia

forgottengalicia

Ghost sign in Przemyśl 🍺 #ghostsign #ghostsig Ghost sign in Przemyśl 🍺

#ghostsign #ghostsigns #starynapis #starenapisy #handpaintedsigns #handpaintedsign #oldsignage #typography #przemysł #galicja #galicia #poland
Visiting the old municipal cemetery in Przemyśl i Visiting the old municipal cemetery in Przemyśl is a powerful way to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of Galicia during the Austro-Hungarian period. The cemetery offers a vivid glimpse into the city’s rich multilingual heritage and its historical significance as both a major religious center—particularly for Roman Catholics and Greek Catholics—and an important garrison town of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The cemetery reflects the diversity of Przemyśl’s past, with graves belonging to a wide cross-section of society: from Greek Catholic bishops and Austro-Hungarian military officials to veterans of Polish uprisings and ordinary townspeople.

The ambiance of the pre–World War I period lingers in the Art Nouveau tombstones, ornate typefaces, archaic orthographies and alphabets, and one of the necropolis’s most distinctive features: inscriptions in multiple languages.

Typical of Galician cemeteries more broadly, inscriptions in Polish, Ukrainian, and German vividly reflect the region’s cultural mosaic before World War I. This linguistic diversity is not limited to separate graves; it often appears on individual family tombstones. This phenomenon mirrors the reality of interethnic marriages, which were relatively common in Galicia—especially between Ukrainians (mostly Greek Catholic) and Poles (mostly Roman Catholic). In some cases, even the epitaph of a single individual was duplicated in both Ukrainian and Polish on the same gravestone.

The embedded ceramic portrait photographs lend a haunting intimacy to the graves, capturing not only the faces of the departed but also the fashion of their time. These portraits showcase period clothing, hairstyles, and—most notably—facial hair, with mustaches being a particularly prominent feature. One striking example is the handlebar mustache worn by Ignacy Biliński (photo 7).

And finally, on a personal note, the cemetery in Przemyśl is also the resting place of my great-great-grandfather, Leon Bednawski, as well as one of his daughters (photos 9 and 10).

#necropolis #oldcemetery #oldcemeteries #burialground #cemetery #cmentarz #austrohungarianempire #galicja #galizien #galicia #gravestone #przemysł #poland
Beautiful Art Nouveau overdoors. Also known as a s Beautiful Art Nouveau overdoors. Also known as a supraporte or a sopraporte, an overdoor is an ornamental painting, carving, or section of woodwork directly above a doorway. 

#artnouveaustyle #artnouveauarchitecture #artnouveau #overdoor #supraporte #sopraporte #woodwork #woodendoors #olddoors #archidetails #architecturalheritage #paintedceiling #secesja #lviv #lwów #ukraine
Lviv at dusk #lviv #cityview #lwów #lemberg #dus Lviv at dusk

#lviv #cityview #lwów #lemberg #dusk #ukraine
Historical lamppost pedestals across Vienna. A use Historical lamppost pedestals across Vienna. A useful clue for identifying historical lampposts in Vienna is the presence of the coat of arms used during the time of the empire, which features the imperial double-headed eagle.

Particularly interesting are the Art Nouveau lampposts, as the exact same models were also installed in other cities of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire—such as Lviv and Krakow—and can still be found in those cities today.

Manufactured in Vienna and decorated with elegant floral motifs, each lamppost included a cartouche bearing the municipal coat of arms of the city where it was installed. Interestingly, in both Vienna and Lviv, the coats of arms featured on these historic pedestals are now obsolete: Vienna’s no longer displays the imperial double-headed eagle, and Lviv’s now features a lion passant (crawling) instead of the earlier lion rampant (standing).

#lamppost #lampposts #streetlights #streetlamp #coatsofarms #austrianempire #austrohungarianempire #artnouveau #jugendstil #secessionism #vienna #wien
Last Sunday, I had the chance to drink a coffee an Last Sunday, I had the chance to drink a coffee and enjoy a slice of Sachertorte—inside a vintage elevator cabin!

During my recent visit to Vienna, I made sure to stop by @aufzug.cafe , the elevator-themed café founded by Christian Tauss. I’d been looking forward to it ever since the café opened two years ago, having followed Christian’s mission to rescue and restore historic elevators for some time—even before the café became a reality.

To my delight, I also had the chance to meet Christian in person—dressed in a classic liftboy uniform—and chat briefly with him about the project.

On his website, he writes: “Together we want to bring the elevators from the Kaiser’s era back to life. In the buildings where they had spared residents from climbing stairs for over a hundred years, these beautiful wooden cabins had to make way for modern technology. So we took matters into our own hands—to preserve these delicate, history-steeped cabins. But not just to put them in a museum—we wanted to fill them with life again.”

Since the project began, 15 elevators and two paternosters have been saved.

Now, anyone curious to see these architectural gems and soak in the atmosphere of the Austro-Hungarian Empire can stop by the café—and maybe enjoy a coffee inside one of these beautifully restored cabins from a bygone era.

#oldelevator #oldelevators #aufzug #vintageelevator #oldlifts #winda #archidetails #austrianempire #cafe #vienna #wien
Summer sunsets in Lviv ❤️ #summer #summerinth Summer sunsets in Lviv ❤️

#summer #summerinthecity #summertime #architecturalheritage #oldbuildings #archilovers #lviv #lwów #ukraine
The Barbareum in Vienna was founded by Empress Mar The Barbareum in Vienna was founded by Empress Maria Theresa in 1774 and officially began operating in 1775. It was established at St. Barbara’s Church to train priests for the Eastern (Greek) Catholic eparchies across the Habsburg Monarchy. The seminary educated clergy from regions such as Galicia, Transcarpathia, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Croatia. In 1784, the Barbareum was closed and replaced by a crown boarding school.

In 1783, Emperor Joseph II established the Greek Catholic Theological Seminary in Lviv, which became the principal center for educating Greek Catholic clergy serving the Ukrainian population of the Austrian Empire.

St. Barbara’s Church, originally built by the Jesuits in 1652, was transferred to the Greek Catholic Church in 1775 following the suppression of the Jesuit Order in 1773. A formal Greek Catholic parish was established at the church in 1784. Over time, it grew into a vibrant center of Ukrainian religious and cultural life in Vienna.

Architecturally, the church was constructed in the Early Baroque style and later modified with 19th-century historicist facade additions.

Outside the church stands a monument to Ivan Franko, the renowned Galician Ukrainian writer and political activist. Inside, a commemorative plaque honors Vasyl Vyshyvanyi (Archduke Wilhelm von Habsburg-Lothringen), who supported Ukraine’s struggle for independence during World War I.

In May 2025, the 250th anniversary of the Barbareum was commemorated in Vienna with a major conference of Greek Catholic seminary rectors and liturgical celebrations, underscoring its historic role in shaping priestly formation and a shared Eastern‑Catholic identity in Europe.

#barbareum #greekcatholicseminary #vienna #wien #austrianempire #architecturalheritage #archilovers
#sacredarchitecture #oldchurches #churches #ukrainianhistory #galicia
Monument to Yuriy-Frants Kulchytskyi on Kolschitzk Monument to Yuriy-Frants Kulchytskyi on Kolschitzkygasse, Vienna.

Yuriy-Frants Kulchytskyi (Polish: Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki; German: Georg Franz Kolschitzky) was a Ruthenian (Ukrainian) nobleman born in the village of Kulchytsi (Polish: Kulczyce) near Sambir in the historical region of Galicia.

A man of many talents, Kulchytsky was a soldier, diplomat, and spy who gained enduring fame for his role in the 1683 Battle of Vienna, where he aided in the city's defense against the Ottoman siege. Celebrated in legend, he is also credited with introducing coffee to Vienna and founding its first coffeehouse, the famed Hof zur Blauen Flasche (“House under the Blue Bottle”).

Today, his legacy lives on in Vienna not only through myth and memory, but also in the street named after him—Kolschitzkygasse—where a monument (erected in 1885) honors his contributions to the city’s cultural and historical heritage.

#wien #vienna #austrianempire #austria #yuriykulchytskyi #coffee #coffeehouse #archidetails #architecturalheritage #architecturalsculpture
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