Lviv & Western Ukraine - Ukraine - page 189

Lviv's relatively compact centre makes for a pleasant walking tour that will get you
to most of the major sites. This tour will take approximately two hours - 2½ hours
if the Castle Hill loop is included. It starts at the spiritual centre of modern-day Lviv,
the Taras Shevchenko statue on pr Svobody, and ends at vul Virmenska in the old
city.
With your back to the Shevchenko statue , start walking right, glancing up at
the interesting cast of stone-carved characters (one resembling New York's Statue
of Liberty) on the parapet of the Museum of Ethnography, Arts & Crafts ( Click
here ). Continue north on pr Svobody towards the Solomiya Krushelnytska
Lviv Theatre of Opera & Ballet . Skirt right around the theatre, then take a right on
vul Horodotska and carry on for about 250m until you reach the Church of St
Mary , parts of which date from 1340. Carry on past the church then take a right in-
to vul Chornomorska , scene of Cold War tragedy. Vibration from Soviet tanks
heading to Hungary in 1956 shook several houses to the ground, hence the gap
now occupied by a children's playground. A few steps further bring you to pl Stary
Rynok, where the 1845 Progressive Jews Synagogue once stood. Destroyed
by the Nazis during WWII, a plaque marks the spot.
Glance up at the old buildings around pl Stary Rynok before performing a quick
there-and-back movement up vul Plynikarska to see the Church of St Nich-
olas . Local historians claim this is Lviv's oldest church - elements of the building
date back to the 13th century. Back on pl Stary Rynok head east, passing the di-
minutive Church of St John the Baptist , now a book museum, on your left,
then bear right on vul Uzhhorodska. Continue uphill about 200m to the corner of
vul Zamkova. From here you can easily spot the TV tower that tops Castle Hill .
High Castle (Vysoky Zamok) is about a 45-minute round-trip walk from here, and
it's worth it for the views across the city. If you're not up for the climb, take a right
on vul Zamkova, which leads to the Old Town.
Proceed about 300m on vul Zamkova to a three-way intersection and bear right
down vul Vynnychenka. In the park on your right is the 16th-century Gun-
powder Tower , part of the old system of walls and bastions. The twin-spired
church looming up the hill on your left is the Greek Catholic St Michael's
Church . It's worth taking a peek inside to see its striking baroque sanctuary.
Continue south to vul Valova at the southern end of the park.
If you need a breather, Kabinet Cafe ( Click here ) is an atmospheric place for
a coffee. If not, backtrack about 30 paces and cross the park and tram tracks. You
will see No 20 Bapova on your left. Skirt inside the fenced sidewalk and continue
along the old brick walls on your right. This is the last standing section of Lviv's
medieval fortifications . Go down the steps and duck right through the arched pas-
sageway. You are in the yard of the splendid Bernardine Church & Monastery

( Click here ).