Vul. Halytska, 14 – former Hidelczyk or Volkovych townhouse ID: 2328

The Hidelczyk (or Volkovych) Townhouse (conscription no. 19 old, no. 15 new) is a corner building located at vul. Brativ Rohatyntsiv 7 and vul. Halytska 14, which once stood directly across from the Halytska Gate. It boasts a rich and fascinating history tied to its various residents. This is one of many Lviv townhouses that was owned by a Ukrainian family during the eighteenth century. By Decree No. 393 of the Lviv Regional Executive Committee (dated November 22, 1988), the townhouse was included in the Local Register of Monuments under protection no. 943.

Story

Sixteenth century — construction of the original townhouse, which was known as the Bigosz Townhouse between 1630 and 1642.
1637 — Adam Hidelczyk constructed a new three-story townhouse on the site of the previous building.
1803 — reconstruction by Kazimierz Potakowski, which gave the building its current appearance.
1860 — repair of the water closets.
1898, 1907 and 1912 — installation of storefront displays on the ground floor.

The stone townhouse (conscription No. 19 old, No. 15 new) is a corner property. Its earliest recorded names were Bigosz (1630–1642), Hildeczyk, and Volkovych. During the seventeenth century, the property belonged to the Hidelczyk family. In 1637, the burgher Adam Hidelczyk purchased the plot and constructed a new three-story stone townhouse on the site of an earlier building. Around the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Hildeczykowska Townhouse passed to the Ukrainian Volkovych family, who are recorded in 1734 as the heirs of the Lviv furrier Danylo Volkovych. As Lviv historian Volodymyr Vuitsyk notes, the Ukrainian Volkovych lineage in Lviv is quite ancient. City records as far back as 1550 mention the Ruthenian burghers Stecko Volkovsky and his wife, Anastasia Morokhovska, who owned their own townhouse on Rynok Square between the townhouses of municipal councilor Wolf Szolc and Jaczko Malicki. Specifically, the townhouse at vul. Halytska 14 belonged to a descendant of Stechko Volkovsky named Pavlo Volkovych, who served as an assessor in the city magistrade. In 1750, he is also mentioned as a senior member of the brotherhood of the Church of St. John the Theologian, where he was eventually buried; in 1751, he was enrolled in the Stauropegion Brotherhood. Pavlo Volkovych was married to Kateryna, the sister of the famous muralist Stanislaw Stroiński. Together, they had two daughters, Marianna and Anna, and a son, Illia.

One of the daughters, Anna, married Dmytro Ochavsky, and they took over a portion of the Volkovychivska townhouse. The second daughter, Marianna, married the Lviv sculptor Antoni Sztil, a student and follower of the renowned Johann Pinzel. Together with the Ukrainian sculptor Ivan Shchurovsky, Sztil crafted the altars for the church of the Greek Catholic Theological Seminary, which had been converted from a Dominican nuns' church following the monastery's dissolution in 1784. Following Pavlo Volkovych's death, the sculptor Sztil became the legal guardian of his underage son, Illia. Although Illia Volkovych was not officially listed as a member of the Stauropegion Brotherhood like his father, he still took an active role in its cultural endeavors. Alongside Hryhoriy Komarynsky, he managed the distribution and sale of books from the Brotherhood's printing press, transporting them throughout the region and beyond in 1771.

In addition to Volkovych's heirs, a portion of the townhouse was occupied by the shoemaker Martyn Bilostotsky, who acquired his share from Marianna and Antoni Sztil. After selling his portion of the Volkovychivska townhouse, Antoni Sztil purchased a courtyard on the grounds of the Benedictine convent. From that point on, the townhouse changed hands and fell into a state of severe disrepair. City records from 1773 describe it as "ruinosa et desolata". In 1788, Franciszek Trybalski transferred the property to Józef Kuczyński. Twenty years later, the ruins of the Volkovychivska townhouse were purchased at a public auction by the nobleman Kazimierz Potakowski. An entry in the city mortgage registry from 1803 notes that Kazimierz Potakowski was restoring his townhouse, bringing it flush with the building line of the neighboring houses. In fact, he is the one credited with the appearance of the townhouse as it stands today. By 1860, when the property belonged to city council member Ignacy Lewakowski, it was a three-story building in good structural condition, with the exception of the water closets, which required repair. The building's satisfactory condition affirmed its relatively recent reconstruction at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Storefront windows were installed on the ground floor in 1898, 1907, and 1912.

During the interwar period, the ground floor housed Henryk Bertel's fashion boutique, and starting in the 1950s, it became home to the "Dytyachyi Svit" store.

Architecture

The building is located within the city block bordered by Halytska, Staroievreiska, and Brativ Rohatyntsiv streets, as well as Mitskevych Square. The townhouse is a four-story, three-axis structure featuring both horizontal and vertical façade divisions. The ground floor is accentuated by an undivided cornice. The windows on the second and third floors are adorned with Corinthian and Tuscan pilasters, complete with keystones. The windows on the side façade are detailed with segmental and simple pediments. The corner of the ground floor is clipped. Finally, the cellars feature vaulted ceilings, while the upper floors are finished with flat ceilings.

People

Adam Hidelczyk — a burgher who purchased the plot in 1637 and built a new three-story townhouse on the site of an earlier building.
Anastasia Morokhovska — a Ruthenian burgher, wife of Stechko Volkovsky, who lived in a townhouse on Rynok Square.
Anna (Volkovych) Ochavska — daughter of Pavlo and Kateryna Volkovych.
Antoni Sztil (†1770) — a Lviv sculptor, student and follower of Johann Pinzel, and husband of Marianna Volkovych.
The Volkovych Family — a Ukrainian family of burghers who became the owners of the Hidelczykowska Townhouse at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
Volodymyr Vuytsyk — an art historian and Lviv researcher.
Wolf Szolc — a burgher and municipal councilor who lived in a townhouse on pl. Rynok 23.
Henryk Bertel — owner of the fashion boutique.
Hryhoriy Komarynsky — a book merchant for the Stauropegion Brotherhood's printing press.
Danylo Volkovych — a Lviv furrier.
Dmytro Ochavsky — husband of Anna Volkovych and owner of a portion of the Volkovychivska Townhouse.
Ivan Shchurovsky — a Ukrainian Baroque sculptor.
Ignacy Lewakowski — a member of the city council and owner of the townhouse from 1860.
Illia Volkovych — son of Pavlo and Kateryna Volkovych, and a book merchant for the Stauropegion Brotherhood's printing press.
Johann Pinzel — a renowned Baroque sculptor.
Józef Kuczyński — owner of the townhouse from 1788.
Kazimierz Potakowski — a nobleman and owner of the Volkovychivska Townhouse from the early nineteenth century, who was responsible for its reconstruction.
Kateryna (Stroińska) Volkovych — wife of Pavlo Volkovych and sister of Stanislaw Stroiński.
Marianna (Volkovych) Sztil — daughter of Pavlo and Kateryna Volkovych, and wife of Antoniy Shtyl.
Martyn Bilostotsky — a shoemaker and owner of a portion of the Volkovychivska Townhouse.
Pavlo Volkovych (†1756) — a burgher, assessor in the city magistrate, senior member of the brotherhood of the Church of St. John the Theologian, member of the Stauropegion Brotherhood, and owner of the townhouse at vul. Halytska 14.
Stanisław Stroiński — a renowned muralist.
Stechko Volkovsky — a Ruthenian burgher.
Franciszek Trybalski — owner of the townhouse until 1788.
Jaczko Malicki — a burgher who lived in a townhouse on Rynok Square.

Sources