Pl. Halytska – monument to King Danylo Halytskyi

ID: 123

The monument, made under a project designed by sculptors Vasyl Yarych and Roman Romanovych and architect Yarema Churylyk, was installed in 2001. The monument was installed near the place of the former Galician gate, one of the two old entrances to the city.

History

Danylo Halytskyi, prince and king, is considered to be the founder of Lviv. For Soviet propaganda, he personified the unity of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, and the idea to establish a monument to him appeared in 1947 (Мельник і Масик, 2012, 67). However, for a number of reasons, these plans were not implemented.

In 1999 the Lviv city authorities, the Union of Architects, and the Union of Artists of Ukraine announced an all-Ukrainian contest for the project of the monument. Among the locations for installation, the Soborna and Stary Rynok squares were considered, as well as the Vysoky Zamok (High Castle) hill. The monument was opened during the International Economic Forum on Frontier Cooperation on 29 October 2001, in the year when the 800th anniversary of the king's birth was celebrated.

Architecture

The 10-meter-high monument is made of granite and bronze. A bronze horseman stands on a stone pedestal decorated with a frieze with the trident in the center and a royal crown on top. On the sides, there are lion mascarons. The king faces the ancient Galician road, now Halytska and Kniazia Romana streets.