Vul. Tarasa Bobanycha "Khammera", 1A — cinema (no longer in operation) ID: 1758

The building housed a cinema that changed names and owners several times: Pax (1935–1939), Saturn (1941–1944), 27 July Cinema (1944–1946), and V. Korolenka Cinema (1946–1990). Until 2017, the premises housed the Russian Cultural Society named after A. S. Pushkin. Since 2018, it is home to the "House of the Warrior."

Story

Pax, 1935–1939

The Pax cinema (from the Latin word for "peace"), with a capacity of 300 seats, was founded in 1935 by Marian Leikert. He rented a building belonging to the Franciscan Order at ul. Franciszkańska, 1a (now vul. Tarasa Bobanycha "Khammera") on the condition that 50% of the cinema's net income would go to the Order. The cinema building was constructed in 1932–1934 according to a design by architect Wawrzyniec Dajczak. Marian Leikert owned all of the cinema's equipment. 

The repertoire of Pax included films mostly on religious and ethical subjects. In August 1939, the cinema was not operating. The opening was planned for September 1, 1939. The film "Rays of the Heart" was announced for September 2. At the end of the 1930s, the cinema's activity was characterized as moderately successful.

Saturn, 1941–1944

During the Nazi German occupation of 1941–1944, the cinema operated under the name Saturn.

27 July Cinema, 1944–1946

In 1944, the cinema was renamed the 27 July Cinema — the name refers to the day when Soviet troops "liberated" Lviv in 1944. Officially, in 1944, the cinema had 20.5 employees (including a doorman). However, it did not function for a while, being used for a military hospital. Its 300 seats were removed in 1945 and transferred to the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR.

V. Korolenko Cinema, 1946–1990

In 1946, the cinema was renamed in honor of Volodymyr Korolenko (1853–1921), a Russian writer of Ukrainian origin. In terms of its location and comfort, it was considered a second-grade establishment.

In 1966, it had 21 employees. Its auditorium had 280 seats, and an average of 6.5 screenings per day took place (in 1948, there were 255 seats and 3 screenings per day). In 1966, the management of the V. Korolenka Cinema explained the failure to meet the plan by the fact that "the cinema is almost in the center of the city, and all viewers in our neighborhood go to single-screen cinemas, since the Korolenka Cinema receives new films last. This is also evidenced by the fact that a number of box office hits did not bring us the expected profit. Most of our organized audience consists of schools and colleges, which have little impact on the fulfillment of the plan." In 1989, the V. Korolenka Cinema was visited by 80,028 viewers (less than the other cinemas). In 1990, the building was given to the Russian Cultural Society named after Alexander S. Pushkin.

Selected repertoire:
April 10, 1936 — "Golgota"
November 13, 1946 — "The White Fang" (USSR, Mosnauchtfilm, 1946)
November 20, 1946 — "The Cloth Peddler" (USSR, Azerbaijanfilm, 1945)
May 13, 1948 — "The Tale of Siberian Land" (USSR, Mosfilm, 1947)
May 31, 1949 — "The Battle of Stalingrad" (USSR, 1949)
May 12, 1955 — "Lymerivna" (film adaptation of the work by P. Mirnyi, directed V. Lapkonysh, USSR, 1954)
July 22, 1958 — "The Day of Reckoning" (USA, 1914), "The Day of Fun", "The Pilgrim" (USA, 1923), short films starring Charlie Chaplin
09.08.1958 — "Driver Involuntarily" (USSR, Lenfilm, 1958)
04.11.1958 — "Symphony in Gold" (Austria, 1956)
23.03.1965 — "Jack Frost" (USSR, Gorky Film Studio, 1964)

Telephone numbers:
1936 — number not specified
1943 — cinema not specified
1949 — 1-39-78
1954 — 1-39-78
1955 — 1-39-78

"End of October 1942. From a memorandum from the head of the propaganda department to the governor of the district of Galicia on methods of recruiting labor for Germany.

[...]

Saturn Cinema. At around 5 p.m., police patrols visited the cinema, but since there were no visitors, they moved on."

(Радянський Львів: 1939–1955. Документи й матеріали (Л.: Книжково-журнальне видавництво, 1956))

People

Wawrzyniec Dajczak — architect who designed the Pax cinema building.
Marian Leikert — founded the Pax cinema in 1935.

Sources