Vul. Tershakovtsiv, 9 – The Most Holy Trinity church (the former church of the convent of the Benedictine Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament) ID: 194
The construction of a convent for the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament was started in 1739 under a project drawn up by Bernard Meretyn. The church was given its current look after a reconstruction made in 1881–1887 according to a project of architect Adolf Minasiewicz. On the instruction of the head of the Lviv Regional State Administration number 128 dated 2 July 1999 the convent and the church (belonging to the UGCC) on Tershakivtsiv street 9 were entered in the local register of monuments under protection number 245.
Story
1718 — the first convent building and the church are constructed.1739 — the corner stone of the cells buildings foundations is laid.
1743 — the construction of a church consecrated to the Betrothal of the Virgin Mary is started.
1773 — the construction of the convent is suspended.
1785 — the construction of the convent is resumed.
1881–1887 — the church is reconstructed under a project of architect A. Minasiewicz; a Neo-Baroque two-tier tower, crowned with a dome, is built over the porch.
1884 — a marble altar is installed in the church (sculptor Sosnowski).
1950s — the convent premises are adapted to serve as the Zoo-Veterinary Institute dormitory; a gym is arranged in the church; the former school (northern building) is turned over to the academic departments; a student disco club named Danko is arranged in the former refectory (eastern building). A bigger part of the plot is handed over to the Zoo-Veterinary Institute and built up with the latter's structures.
Mid-1990s — the church building is handed over to the local Greek-Catholic community and consecrated as the Holy Trinity church; repair and restoration works are conducted.
The order
of the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament was founded by Catherine de Bar in
Paris in the mid 17th century; it functioned on the basis of the
Rule of St. Benedict having, nevertheless, more strict moral and religious
principles. The order was famous for organizing permanent boarding schools for
girls. On invitation of the Polish queen of French origin, Marie Casimire
d'Arquien, who was the wife of king Jan III Sobieski, several French sisters of
the Blessed Sacrament led by Madeleine d'Avegne arrived in Poland. At first
they settled in Warsaw and stayed there till 1688 when they had to leave the
capital because of a plague epidemic.
The
sisters of the Blessed Sacrament came to Lviv in the early 1710s on invitation
of countess Zofia Cetner. Here they devoted themselves to education of women
and therefore enlisted the support of some Lviv magnate families and bishops,
including Jan Skarbek, Mikołaj Wyżycki, Samuel Głowiński. The first donations
for the sisters were from the Cetner family on the request of Jan Skarbek, the
Roman Catholic archbishop of Lviv. The first building on the Cetners' ground
(not far from the today's convent) was granted by Stanisław Cetner's aunt,
Zofia; two other members of the family donated a large plot of land that
stretched up to vul. Pekarska.
The
complex of the Lviv convent of the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament occupied a
very large plot situated to the south-east from the present day historical
center of the city, in Halytske (Halych) suburb which was called Brodivske
(Brody) later, at the beginning of Austrian rule. For unknown reasons, this
vicinity was called the Dog's Market (Psiachyi
Rynok). The first settlement here was founded by Peter Eisengitel, a
German, in the 15th century. In the 18th century a big
part of it was the property of the Cetner family.
In 1718 a
convent and a church were built at the expense of Franciszek Cetner (100
thousand florins). These first buildings were timber-framed. In 1719, under the
decree of Louis Antoine de Noailles, the bishop of Paris, several French nuns
were sent to the new convent. Later the order was joined by some
representatives of Polish gentry (the families of Potocki, Bełzski, Rabstyński,
Możejowski, Żurakowski, Sierakowski etc.) who brought their dowry to the
convent's treasury. In particular, Zofia Cetner, who entered the convent in
1715, after a long trial against her family brought her huge dowry to the
convent's treasury in the mid-1730s; it was due to this fact that the new
convent buildings were constructed. In 1721 count Cetner granted 100 thousand
florins to the convent, as well as a yearly income of 3 thousand florins to
keep twelve nuns.
In due
course, when the convent had grown rich, the question of constructing new masonry
buildings was raised. In 1739 the corner stone of the cells building
foundations was laid; in 1743 the construction of a new church consecrated to
the Betrothal of the Virgin Mary was started. The architect and constructor of
this church was Bernard Meretyn; however, he managed the construction only till
1744. Owing to a number of different reasons, the building lasted for a long
time. Its chief sponsors were Zofia Cetner and Stanisław Leszczyński (40
thousand florins), as well as princess S. Czetwertyńska who paid for the
construction works till her death in 1773. The construction was suspended and
then resumed under a decree of the Emperor Joseph II approximately some time
before 1785.
The
church's layout was designed by Bernard Meretyn. It included a three-nave
basilica with side chapels, a chancel and a narthex. After Meretyn the church construction
was managed by other architects; it lasted till the very end of the 18th
entury. The
completed building looked like a typical Baroque convent church. The big block
of the nave, which raised above the narrow aisles, and the chancel were covered
with a double-pitch roof covered with wooden shingles. The ascetic walls were
enlivened only by pilasters and window openings. A 1828 inventory says, in
particular, that the church was not finished: "The church is built of brick and
covered with shingles; it is attached to the convent building on one side. It
consists, actually, of two parts. In the bigger part, which is not finished and
can be entered through a big door from the outside, a military depot is
arranged at the moment. It is separated by a crosswall from the rest of the
church of the Betrothal of the Virgin Mary where the Divine Service is
celebrated. This part (sanctuary) was connected with the convent through the
eastern sacristy… and the northern sacristy… through the chapel. … Under the
church there are vaulted crypts where with the permission of His Imperial
Majesty the nuns of the order were buried". In the years 1881–1887 the church
was reconstructed under a project of architect A. Minasiewicz. A Neo-Baroque
two-tier tower, crowned with a dome, was built over the narthex. A new marble
altar, made by sculptor Sosnowski, was installed in the church in 1884.
There
were two ponds, which belonged to the convent, to the north of the convent
complex. They were connected by a stream that was bridged in the 18th
century. The stream, which flowed out of the lower pond called Vorobliachy,
fell into the Pasika stream that flowed along vul. Na Rurakh ("On the tubes"). On the northern side of vul. Sakramentska a park was arranged; its
alleys led to the Vorobliachy pond.
The
convent buildings remained virtually not changed till the Second World War. In Soviet
times the convent was abolished and the church was closed. In the 1950s the
convent premises were adapted to serve as the Zoo-Veterinary Institute
dormitory; a gym was arranged in the church; the former school (northern
building) was turned over to the academic departments; a student disco club
named Danko was arranged in the former refectory (eastern building). The convent
territory took on a quite different look too as a bigger part of the plot was
handed over to the Zoo-Veterinary Institute and built up with the latter's
structures. Thus, in 1954–1961 the main building of the Institute was
constructed in the style of Stalinist Empire style on vul. Pekarska; in the
1970s a sports hall was built near the pond; in 1991 an academic building was
built along vul. Pekarska. Some part of the neglected park on vul. Sakramentok was occupied by a residential five-floor Khrushchyovka-type building. In
the late 1950s the former convent territory was crossed by a street which
extended the lower part of vul. Sakramentok (later Marchenka, now Tershakovtsiv) to Pekarska. The construction of this street was planned by the
Polish authorities as early as the interwar period. A dormitory was built in
the western part of the Vorobliachy pond. In the mid-1990s the church building
was handed over to the local Greek-Catholic community and consecrated as the
Holy Trinity church.
The ensemble
of the convent of the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament has been preserved
virtually unchanged; however, only some fragments have remained of all the
parks, gardens, and ponds. The lower convent pond, situated on the plain part
of the ground, has been preserved in the form of a concrete pool; some fruit
trees, the remains of the former convent garden, grow on the slope to the east
and south of the former convent building.
Architecture
The convent of the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament is built of brick in the Baroque style. The church was patterned upon the traditional European three-nave basilica with an elongated sanctuary, two sacristies, a tower over the porch and stair towers on both sides. The big block of the main nave, which is raised above the narrow side naves, and the sanctuary are covered with a double-pitch roof. The main nave and sanctuary are lighted by big semicircular windows; the side naves are lighted by oval windows. The main entrance on the western façade has some stairs. There are vaulted crypts under the church where the nuns of the order were buried. The façades are decorated with pilasters having capitals. The northern and eastern façades are adjoined by the convent buildings with cells, a refectory, a library, a school and other utility premises, forming a little enclosed yard and a bigger open yard. The convent buildings are built of brick and have two tiers. All these buildings have corridor planning and are vaulted. The architectural appearance of the rear façades is rather modest while the main façades facing Tershakivtsiv street have rich Baroque decorations.People
Madeleine d'Avegne — a French nun who was at the head of the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament invited to Poland.Mechtilde (Catherine) de Bar — the founder of the order of the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
Bełzski family — a magnate family, the founders of the convent of the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
Franciszek Cetner — the founder of the first convent buildings.
Stanisław Cetner — a count, one of the founders of the convent of the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
Zofia Cetner — a countess who invited the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament to Lviv and granted them a plot of land for a convent.
Cetner family — a magnate family.
S. Czetwertyńska — a princess, one of the chief sponsors of the convent.
Peter Eisengitel — a German who founded the first settlement in the Halytske suburb, in the area called the "Dog's Market".
Samuel Głowiński — a Catholic assistant bishop of Lviv.
Joseph II — an Austrian emperor.
Stanisław Leszczyński — one of the chief sponsors of the convent.
Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien — a Polish queen, the wife of King Jan III Sobieski, who invited the order of the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament to Poland.
Bernard Meretyn — a builder and architect who managed the construction of the convent of the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament until 1744.
Adolf Minasiewicz — an architect who designed the church reconstruction in 1881–1887.
Możejowski family — a magnate family, the founders of the convent of the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
Louis Antoine de Noailles — a bishop of Paris, cardinal.
Potocki family — a magnate family, the founders of the convent of the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
Rabsztyński family — a magnate family, the founders of the convent of the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
Sierakowski family — a magnate family, the founders of the convent of the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
Jan Skarbek — a Roman Catholic bishop of Lviv (18th century).
Jan III Sobieski — a king of Poland.
Mikołaj Gerard Wyżycki — a Catholic bishop of Lviv.
Żurakowski family — a magnate family, the founders of the convent of the sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
Sources
- Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine in Lviv (CDIAL). Item #146/20/70.
- CDIAL. Item #186/8/633.
- CDIAL. Item #726/1/1739.
- Scientific-technical Archive of "Ukrzakhidproektrestavratsiya" Institute. Item #Л-164/3 (1985). Історична довідка 1985 року С. Барер.
- Tadeusz Mańkowski, Lwowskie kościoły barokowe (Lwów, 1932).
- Іван Крип'якевич, Історичні проходи по Львові (Львів, 1991), 106-107.