Vul. Kalicha Hora, 5 – an abandoned building

The block within present-day Kalicha Hora, Martovycha, and Popovycha streets consists mainly of row residential houses. According to a 1766 map, in the second half of the 18th century on the plot, where the house number 5 stands now, a wooden house was located amidst a garden. In the late 18th – early 19th century the plot was assigned conscription number 293 ¼ which was not changed till 1939.

As evidenced by available historical maps, the first brick building was constructed on this plot between 1829 and 1844. A residential townhouse (an elongated rectangle in plan) was placed parallel to the street somewhat deeper into the area. Nearby, perpendicular to the street, a building containing a stable and a cart shed was located, its rear façade bordering upon the sidewalk of ul. Kalecza (now vul. Kalicha Hora). In 1845 the plot was owned by Sylwester Berski. It was he who commissioned constructor Wincenty Rawski Sr. to design a project of a two-storied brick building which was to be built on the edge of the plot along the street. However, according to maps and later situational plans of the site, the project was never realized.

In 1862 the owners Sylwester and Adam Berski rebuilt the old brick building of the stable and cart shed into a residential building. The project was designed by Sylwester Berski, who was a builder. After the reconstruction the building retained its overall dimensions and outline; the second floor was added. Given an identical set of rooms on the floors, namely three rooms, an entryway and a kitchen, the house was probably designed for two families. The project was submitted to the Magistrate for approval in June of 1862 (DALO 2/1/4840:4). In 1867 an extention was added to this house, consisting of a room for the caretaker (DALO 2/1/4840:61).
 
In 1870 the premises of the building, situated in the depth of the site, were rented by the Imperial-Royal Provintial School Board for the newly established men's teachers' seminary (Wiczkowski, 1907, 113). The house was repeatedly extended and rebuilt afterwards. In particular, in 1871 two avant-corpses were added: one from the side of the street, while the other from the side of the garden. At this time, the house looked like a half of the present-day one and had the same décor. However, the entrance was not on the basement floor but on the ground floor and could be accessed via stairs and a terrace. The stairs had railings made of crossed wooden bars. In 1880 the building was expanded by almost half as a symmetrical second half was added; that is when the house acquired almost its modern look.

In 1891, when after the death of Adam Berski his property was distributed according to his will, the real estate was divided into four parts among Sylwester Berski, his wife Ludwika Berska, née Lucka, Stanisława  Gozdziewska, née Berska, and Maria Hornungowa, née Berska. As Ludwika suffered a mental illness, her share of the property was disposed of by her husband, but, according to the will, she had a lifelong right to live in this building (DALO 2/1/4840:7).

In 1891 Sylwester Berski was commissioned by the Imperial-Royal Provintial School Board to carry out a project of constructing four extensions to the seminary building. Three of them, one-storied wooden porches, were to be constructed at the corners between the main building and the avant-corpses. The fourth brick two-storied extension was to be used as a toilet (fr. pisoir) and was to project from the rear façade. The Magistrate prohibited the construction of the porch facing the garden, but the rest of the plan was adopted. The construction was completed in September of 1892 (DALO 2/1/4840:8-9,12). In 1893 some problems appeared because of an unorganized flow of water from the roof and from the building area flooding the sidewalk on the street as water poured through two holes in the stone retaining wall from the side of the garden (present-day Popovycha street). The Magistrate for several years forced the owners to arrange a gutter and a pipe so that water could flow to the sewer (DALO 2/1/4840:15-16).

Józef Wiczkowski, a doctor who wrote a book about Lviv (1907), referring, in the section on educational institutions, to the seminary building, described it as a rudera (a half dilapidated building), and emphasized its shortcomings. According to him, the building was unsuitable for educational purposes in terms of sanitation and functionality; due to the lack of space the conference hall was used for music and singing lessons while physical education classes were held in the building of the society "Sokół" located on ul. Zimorowicza, 8 (now vul. Dudayeva. In addition, several class-rooms, the seminary office and an audience for drawing were located in rented rooms in the house on ul. Długosza, 17 (now vul. Kyryla i Mefodiya). The author also drew attention to the shortage of rooms and corridors where the seminarians could have some rest during breaks (Wiczkowski, 1907, 114-116).
 
In 1911 Maria Hornungowa, née Berska, sold her share of the legacy to Józefa Piątkowska (DALO 2/1/4840:22).
 
In 1913 the building was bought by the National Ossoliński Institute which adapted it to its needs. Thus a binding shop and the Institute's expedition department were located there, as well as imperial-royal publishers of school textbooks. In 1913, it was planned to build a two-storied printing house in the courtyard under a project designed by architect Zbigniew Brochwicz Lewiński; however, the plans were not implemented, which is obviously due to the outbreak of the First World War. Subsequently the residential building of the Berski was dismantled.
 
In Soviet times and till the 2010s, the military registration and enlistment office of the city's Halytskyi district was located there. Now the house is not used and is in a neglected condition.