Vul. Kopernyka, 3 – Lviv State Academy of Finance ID: 374

The townhouse was constructed in 1909 according to the design of architect Alfred Zachariewicz for the Assicurazioni Generali insurance company in the late Secession style. Guidebooks refer to it as Italian; however, it was registered in the city of Trieste, which belonged to Austria-Hungary at the time. Prior to World War II, this building, adorned with high reliefs by Tadeusz Błotnicki and sculptures by Zygmunt Kurczyński, housed Józef Bajer's restaurant, where the "UL" ("Beehive") cabaret performed, as well as several fashionable shops. Today (as of 2009), the Financial and Economic Institute is located here.

Architecture

The building is a brick, plastered, five-story structure with a high tented roof. Elements of reinforced concrete construction were used in the framework.

The façade is symmetrical, divided vertically by powerful pilasters and topped by a crest-like Secession attic. The wide window openings are rectangular in shape. The entrance portal is located in the center. The composition of the façade wall is enlivened by the projections of balconies.

The building features a trapezoidal outline in plan. The internal planning structure is of a corridor-and-office type. In the center of the site, there is an enclosed inner courtyard, which is nearly square in plan.

The attic is decorated with four monumental sculptures executed by Z. Kurczyński. An allegorical relief authored by T. Błotnicki is composed in the center of the façade, with majolica inserts and mascarons in the upper section. The central staircase is adorned with stained-glass windows from the beginning of the twentieth century.

People

Tadeusz Błotnicki –– sculptor, art critic, journalist. An allegorical relief authored by T. Błotnicki is composed in the center of the elevation.

Sources