hand-painted signs Archives - Forgotten Galicia

Ghost Signs of Przemyśl

Areta — Thu, 07 Aug 2025 14:18:46 +0000

Today a small city in eastern Poland, Przemyśl (Peremyshl in Ukrainian transliteration) was once a major city in Galicia. Przemyśl’s population consisted of many nationalities, including Ukrainians, Poles, Jews, Germans, and Czechs. According to the Austrian census of 1830, the city was home to 7,538 people of whom 1,508 (20%) […]

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Ghost Signs of Kraków

Areta — Fri, 28 Apr 2023 09:36:52 +0000

Kraków was considered as the unofficial capital of the western part of Galicia and the second most important city in the region. As in other former Galician cities, today various traces of its time under the Austrian Empire can still be found in the urban landscape. In particular, Kraków has […]

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German-Era Bomb Shelter Signs in Kraków

Areta — Sat, 15 Oct 2022 06:58:00 +0000

One of the obsolete remnants of the past has again become relevant in Lviv is the WWII-era bomb shelter signs. Across the city traces of such signs from the times of the Nazi occupation can still be found. Soon after I arrived in Kraków (in late February 2022) I found […]

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Photographs of Prewar Lviv: Ukrainian Signage

Areta — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 09:58:10 +0000

In Lviv, according to the Austrian census of 1910, 51% of the city’s population was Polish Roman Catholic, 28% Jewish, and 19% Ukrainian Greek Catholic. Linguistically, 86% of the city’s population used the Polish language while 11% used Ukrainian (Lviv). Looking at these statistics, it’s no surprise that the Ukrainian language was […]

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

Areta — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 11:52:00 +0000

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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Photographs of Prewar Lviv: Hand-Painted Signs

Areta — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 13:01:34 +0000

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 […]

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Ghost Signs: Galician Towns

Areta — Thu, 09 Nov 2017 10:13:27 +0000

Sambir, Drohobych, Boryslav, Rohatyn, and Striy are small cities in Galicia, about 1-1.5 hours south-west or south of Lviv. Not many traces of their Austrian or Polish histories remain, but I did find a few ghost signs—one in German and the rest in Polish. Sambir Drohobych Boryslav Rohatyn Stryi

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Sztuka Cafe: Recreating the Atmosphere of Austro-Hungarian Lviv

Areta — Thu, 07 Sep 2017 12:04:39 +0000

One of the best well-preserved examples of prewar Lviv hand-painted signs is found on the façade of a lovely cafe called Sztuka. A cafe of the same name existed in Lviv during the Austrian era. Today’s cafe, though continuing the tradition of the original cafe which was founded in 1909, is located […]

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New Ghost Signs in Passage Andreolli, Part II

Areta — Mon, 04 Sep 2017 14:59:33 +0000

In May I came across newly uncovered ghost signs in Lviv’s Passage Andreolli. Several years ago a couple of very nice ghost signs were uncovered on the other side of the passage and fortunately they were promptly restored. However, I am uncertain about the fate of these. One of the […]

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Prewar Painted Stripes in Lviv

Areta — Sun, 23 Jul 2017 12:50:14 +0000

An interesting feature of Lviv’s ghost signs is black and yellow or red and white painted stripes found on former storefronts. There are several opinions floating around as to what exact function they served, so I have yet to have a definitive answer. However, many working in Jewish heritage recently […]

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