ironwork Archives - Forgotten Galicia

Decorative Hangers in Lviv’s Courtyards

Areta — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 11:45:43 +0000

These intriguing metal fixtures are a common sight in many of Lviv’s courtyards. They are decorative hangers integrated into the ironwork of the galleries’ banisters. Historically, they served for drying, brushing, and airing out coats. Another theory suggests they may have been used for hanging plants or flowers. Similar hangers […]

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Capturing Ternopil in its Historical Architectural Details

Areta — Sat, 28 Aug 2021 07:32:42 +0000

Architectural detail is found everywhere, from the defining shape of a doorknob and the waves created by a balustrade to the winding form of a staircase and the rounded culmination of a handrail. It is in these details that we can see the thoughtfulness, care, time, and skill that was […]

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Remnants of Coal Elevators in Lviv

Areta — Sat, 04 Apr 2020 14:19:00 +0000

Remnants of old manually operated coal elevators remain tucked away in a some of Lviv’s courtyards. These artifacts date from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries — a time when coal was widely used for domestic heating. At that time, coal would have been delivered to the courtyards of […]

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Holding Together Historical Buildings: The Anchor Plates of Lviv

Areta — Sat, 14 Sep 2019 05:47:50 +0000

Anchor plates (also called wall washers, pattress plates, masonry stars, etc.) are used to reinforce the structure of masonry buildings. Made from cast or wrought iron, these plates are connected to rods that penetrate the building. Sometimes the rod is exposed, which can be seen on balconies and porticos. The […]

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Lost in a Sea of Cobblestones: Lviv’s Historical Manhole Covers & Storm Drains

Areta — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 08:05:33 +0000

To find traces of Lviv’s prewar past, one must not forget to look down from time to time. Indeed, below our feet are hiding hundreds of manhole and utility covers, which have been serving the city’s infrastructure since before the war. These Austrian- and Polish-era cast iron plates cover buried […]

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The Forgotten Boot Scrapers of Lviv

Areta — Fri, 04 Aug 2017 16:48:39 +0000

Many years ago I started noticing strange-looking metal objects near certain doors in Lviv. I didn’t give them much thought until I saw one in Przemyśl, Poland, and my friend told me what it was: a boot scraper. Little did I know that this was the start of a new […]

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Boot Scrapers in Oxford

Areta — Mon, 08 May 2017 10:02:24 +0000

In addition to its abundance of beautiful architecture, famous colleges and courtyards, spires, museums, and canals, Oxford also has its fair share of lovely boot scrapers. In a quiet residential area, I stumbled across a long street filled with boot scrapers — almost every one with a unique shape. But they […]

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Anchor Plates: Amsterdam

Areta — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 19:21:53 +0000

Along with hoisting beams, anchor plates are a prominent feature of Amsterdam’s building facades.

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Anchor Plates: Stockholm

Areta — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 17:59:56 +0000

Stockholm has a wide range of anchor plates — of all shapes and sizes, spanning back at least to the seventeenth century. My favorite is the one that looks like an owl: A collage of the various kinds of plates that can be found in Stockholm: I found several examples […]

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Baltimore’s Boot Scrapers

Areta — Sun, 12 Oct 2014 11:47:15 +0000

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