Pl. Rynok, 43 – former Rottendorfivska/ Rottendorfovska townhouse
History
The building is known by the tradition name of “the Rottendorfivska Manor”, and was recorded as such in the tax registry of 1767. It is also recollected that in the 17th century Lviv’s famous Łatynowiczewa café was here, a favorite gathering spot and singular cultural center for the Austrian population of Lviv.
In the 18th century the building was purchased by the Dominican Order. It underwent its first reconstruction – of the basement – in 1768, and again in 1781. Repairs continued into the 19th century. The most extensive remodeling project took place in 1908, though the original 18th century manor house structure was not altered. Lviv architect Vasyl Nahirnyi led the latter reconstruction.
An UKRPOSHTA (Ukrainian Postal Service) Office currently occupies the first floor of the building. The Rottendorfivska Manor is listed as a registered national architectural monument of urban development as decreed by the Ukrainian Soviet Republic Council of Ministers, 24 August 1963, Decree № 970, 326/40.
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Architecture
The Manor occupies a lot among a row of buildings abutting Market Square from the north. It has an elongated rectangular design with a side wing, an addition on its west side and an enclosed internal courtyard. The current building appeared in the 18th century, built on the same lot and employing the cellar and exterior walls of the previous renaissance structure that stood there.
The house is a four-story masonry block (first floor) and brick structure with barrel arches in the cellar and first floor and wooden ceiling joists between floors. It has a sloped, metal-paneled roof. A wide staircase with overhead lighting sits at the center of the structure. From the main entrance a narrow hall approaches the stairs. The gallery runs lengthwise along the upper storey wings.
The three-bay façade reflects a mix of rococo and second empire architecture. Banding divides the first floor from the upper floors. The entrance doors to the apartments (left) and the post office (right) are framed with elliptical lintels. The central bay is accented by a balcony with an elegant wrought iron railing seated on corbels. Raised vertical bands divide the plane of the wall on the upper floors. The upper floors windows are narrow-framed and feature decorative vignettes and bands of Empire-style garlands below; those on the top floor also have iron jardinières. Below the second story window sills recline female figures done in high relief. The façade is capped with a broad, beveled cornice.
Overall, this landmark is typical of 18th century Lviv construction which incorporated the preserved elements of a previous structure – in this case, an earlier renaissance brick manor house – in the new building.
Personalities
Łatynowiczewa – a
café-owning family
Vasyl Nahirnyi – architect
Sources
- Catalogue of 17th-20th Century Engraving from the V. Stephanyk Lviv Research Library Foundation of the Ukrainian SSR. Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, 1989.
- Charewiczowa Ł. Czarna kamienica i jej mieszkańcy: Z 33 ilustracjami w tekscie (The Black Manor and its Inhabitants, with 33 illustrations). Lwów: 1935. Reissued, 1990. (Polish)
- Kapral, M. Native Assemblies in Lviv of the 16th-18th centuries (civil and legal interrelations) Lviv: Piramida, 2003.
- Scientific-Technical Archive, "Ukrzakhidproektrestavratsia" Institute (UZPR Archives): Architectural Monuments of the 18th century. Residential Building #43 on Market Square, Lviv. Blueprints. 1993.
- Vuitsyk, V. The State Historical Landmark Preserve in Lviv. Lviv: Kamenyar, 1991.