About the Platform

Lviv Interactive is a digital encyclopedia and platform focused on the city of Lviv and its historical past. Its main idea is to research and present the history of Lviv through space in relation to the actions and interactions of individuals, institutions, and events. The web map that forms the basis of the platform aims to demonstrate the contemporary, living city in its historical context, including its appearance, internal organization, and sociocultural dynamics.

The materials that comprise the platform primarily encompass the period from the 19th to the 20th centuries, extending to the present day. Key topics include architectural history, urban planning, heritage, and cultural and social history, which align with the research foci of the Center for Urban History.

Since 2007, the platform has published over 1,500 texts in collaboration with researchers from various disciplines. These materials are integrated into a series of overarching narratives that collectively depict a complex network of urban life. This network allows us to examine the dynamic interrelationships between its elements and their impact on the development and perception of the city.

It is essential to be able to navigate the platform's materials efficiently. Therefore, we have provided several ways for working with them:

Map

Since Interactive Lviv primarily tells the history of the city through places and spaces, the Map is a key way to work with the platform's materials. The map shows the location of buildings and other structures. By clicking on any of the markers, you can view the history of this place, as well as related figures, organizations, and stories. Individual spaces, such as streets, squares, cemeteries, and parks, are displayed on the map as polygons that repeat their boundaries. Other markers on the map show stories — research projects, as well as materials grouped around a specific topic, accompanied by researchers' comments.

Lists

One way to view the content published on Interactive Lviv is the List mode. Here we offer several categories: Stories — where topics, micro-projects, and events are presented; Walks — digital guides that allow you to take a thematic walk around the city on your own; Buildings and Spaces; People; Organizations — lists where the content is displayed in alphabetical order.

Gallery

Gallery mode is another way to work with the platform's materials. In this mode, users can view the same materials as on the map, but through their visual representation. For example, selecting the "Secession" filter will allow you to not only see the location of these buildings, but also immediately compare examples of Secession architecture with each other.

Searches and filters

Using search queries on the map, you can view materials related to a specific topic, name, or location. The results will show texts that contain the keyword. The filter panel allows you to group search results by specific categories. For example, using the "Architectural Styles" search filter, you can select buildings related only to Secession or Historicism. If you are only interested in public buildings built in this style, adding this filter will show you several dozen buildings that match your query out of several hundred. In addition to searching on the map, we have integrated Google search into our system for better navigation of the platform and other projects of the Center for Urban History.

Team

The team previously included

Markian Prokopovych

head of the Lviv Interactive platform (2008-2011)

Oksana Dudko

head of the Lviv Interactive platform (2011-2016)

Vasyl Rasevych

editor for the Lviv Interactive platform (2017-2021)

Myroslava Liakhovych

assistant of the Lviv Interactive platform (2020-2022)

Andriy Linik

author of the platform's web design (2015-2018)

Zhanna Ozirna

assistant of the Lviv Streets project (2014)

Serhiy Tereshchenko

assistant of the Lviv Interactive platform (2007-2011)

LIA seminar

The Lviv Interactive seminars (LIA seminars) bring together authors who work on the platform's textual content. LIA seminars have been held regularly at the Center for Urban History since 2019.

Each seminar serves as a meeting place for both the invited researchers and the Center for Urban History's research team. At these meetings, most of the articles, descriptions, and larger projects published on the platform are discussed and reviewed (peer review).

Contribute

Lviv Interactive is a long-term project and a collective effort. A number of researchers and authors are working on the platform with the Center for Urban History team. We consider proposals for topics related to the history of Lviv, mainly from the 19th and 20th centuries.

We assign a DOI index to original research exceeding 10,000 characters.

If you are interested in collaborating with the Lviv Interactive platform or would like to learn more, please send your proposals to lia@lvivcenter.org.

Authors and collaborations

Andronatiy Olena

A journalist, a tour guide, a researcher of history of Jews of Galicia, author of digital city walk "Underworld: Holocaust Survival in the Sewers of Lviv"

Maria Antoniuk

Researcher and interviewer for the project "The City of Art and Urban Art: Theaters in Lviv Since 1945"

Olena Arkusha

Historian, author of biographies about the presidents of Lviv

Natalya Bahnyuk

A linguist, performed literary editing of the platform's articles (2015-2017)

Maryana Baidak

Historian, researcher of women's history

Waitman W. Beorn

Historian of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, lecturer at the University of Virginia, author of the entries about the Janowska camp and Leon Wells story

Andriy Bezsmertnyi

Historian, researcher of merchants in interwar Lviv

Stepan Bilostotskyi

Historian, author of texts in the City on the Line project

Harald Binder

Historian, founder of the Centre for Urban History, author of the description of the Jam Factory

Blikharska Liana

Historian, translator of the articles from Polish

Halyna Bodnar

Historian, author of the project "Oral History of Lviv"

Yulia Bohdanova

Researcher of architecture of the interwar period, author of architectural descriptions of buildings, in particular for the map of interwar modernism

Andriy Bondarenko

Researcher, author of the project "Pidzamche: places and spaces"

Oksana Boyko

Architecture researcher, author of architectural descriptions of buildings in Lviv, coordinator of the research "Around Staroyevreiska" about the former jewish district in Lviv

Ewa Bukowska-Marczak

Researcher, scholarly interests include the history of Jan Kazimierz University in and social history of Львова during the interwar period

Ivanna Cherchovych

A historian, researcher of women's and social history, author of the publications "Private in the City", "Women, (In)security and the City", "The City and Women Criminals"

Halyna Glembotska

Author of biographies of artists and architects

Liliana Hentosh

Historian, author of articles for the City on the Line project

Roksolyana Holovata

Historian, author of articles about the Regional Exhibition in Lviv and the Society of Friends of Fine Arts

Ostap Hot'

Author of texts about heating plat in Lviv

Andriy Husak

Author of architectural descriptions

Danylo Ilnytskyi

Literature historian, took part in the project "Imaginary Map of the Literary Lviv (±1939)"

Andriy Karpyak

Art historian, author of texts about Franz and Karl Dopplers

Tetiana Kazantseva

Architectural historian, author of architectural descriptions of Lviv buildings

Khrystyna Kharchuk

Architecture historian, author of architectural descriptions of the buildings, author of the theme "Lviv's Cemeteries"

Nazar Kis

Historian, publicist, author of the project  "City as a Stage. When politics took to the streets"

Olha Korniyenko

Author of articles on fashion and clothing in the Soviet Union

Iryna Kotlobulatova

Researcher of Lviv photographers

Areta Kowalski

Translator of the articles into English

Sergey Kravtsov

Art historian, researcher of Jewish art

Andriy Kryzhanivskyi

Researcher of Lviv electrification

Pavlo Kucherskyi

Author of texts about cinemas in Lviv

Liubov Kuibida

A cultural historian and author of texts in the project Lviv at Great War

Oleksandra Kushchenko

Art historian, author of texts in the project 'City and Art on the Edge'

Roman Lekhnyuk

Historian, researcher of Ukrainian conservatism, author of articles on Oleksandr Barvinskyi, the New Era, and the assassination of Andrzej Potocki

Oksana Lepak

Author of historical descriptions of Lviv’s cinemas

Myroslava Liakhovych

Assistant of the Lviv Interactive platform (2020-2022), worked on the topic of Lviv's industrial heritage

Oleksandr Losyev

Historian, military history researcher, author of texts in the City on the Line project

Joanna Majczyk

Architect, author of an article about Frydecki architects

Joanna Majewska

She is a literary historian and researcher of Stefan Grabiński's work

Taras Martynenko

Researcher, is author of the project "World War II in Lviv: events, people, places of memory"

Viktor Martynyuk

Literary historian, coordinator and one of the authors of the project "Imaginary Map of Literary Lviv (±1939)"

Andriy Masliukh

Translator, provides English translations for the project since 2014.

Ihor Melnyk

Author of architectural records

Roman Melnyk

Historian, author of the project the Spring of Nations in Lviv

Vladyslava Moskalets

Historian, researcher of Jewish history, author of a narrative about the Jewish city, articles about Eruv in Lviv, the history of the Jewish Museum

Bohdan Mykhayliunio

Author of descriptions of sports infrastructure

Natalia Mysak

Researcher of the modernist architecture of Sykhiv which is one of the largest districts of Lviv, author of buldings' architectural descriptions

Natalia Otrishchenko

Natalia Otrishchenko was responsible for coordinating two oral history projects "Artistic City and Urban Art: Lviv's Theaters after 1945", and "The Cinemas of Lviv"

Oksana Paliy

Author of descriptions of theatres in Lviv

Iryna Papa

Historian, author of a text about Georg Brandes' visit to Lviv

Yulia Pavlyshyn

Literary editor of the Lviv Interactive platform (2013-2015)

Iľja Rákoš

Translator, provided English translations for the project in 2012-2015

Vasyl Rasevych

Historian, author of a text on the Habsburg University in Lviv

Martin Rohde

Historian, author of articles on the Shevchenko Scientific Society, the Petro Mohyla Society of Ukrainian Scientific Writing, and Scientific Vacation Courses

Andriy Shulyar

Researcher of Lviv's soviet modernist architecture, author of architectural descriptions of Lviv's buildings

Bohdan Shumylovych

Art historian, author of the project 'City and Art on the Edge'

Oksana Sikorska

Researcher, author of the project "Gimpel's Theater, other theaters and Lviv: interactions and relations within the city"

Iryna Sklokina

A historian and author of a text about the Jam Factory

Ihor Syomochkin

Art historian, author of architectural descriptions of buildings in Lviv

Olena Tykhonenko

Literary editor. 

Olha Tytko

Author of architectural descriptions

Andriy Usach

Historian of the Holocaust, author of the virtual tour along the Holocaust sites in Lviv, history of the Lviv Pogrom in 1941, and Stalag 328

Tetiana Vuyeva

Art historian, author of articles in the project 'City and Art on the Edge'

Maria Zakharchyshyn

Аuthor of architectural descriptions

Olha Zarechnyuk

A researcher of architectural history, author of architectural descriptions and articles on the beginnings of cultural heritage protection in Lviv

Ihor Zhuk

Expert, author of architectural descriptions of the buildings in the project "LvivInteractive," author of themes "Kastelivka", "Parks and Gardens of Lviv"

Inna Zolotar

Guide, author of digital city walks