Vul. Virmenska, 13 – former Muratowicz townhouse

The townhouse is situated in the historic center of Lviv. In the north, it is attached to the wing of the house number 16 on Lesi Ukrainky street. The two houses, located on a single parcel, were initially an integral structure, but were developed separately beginning from the seventeenth century.

Almost no traces of the house built in the seventeenth century and its predecessors have been preserved. Due to the stylistics which combines some Classicist features in the volume and space structure and some Rococo elements in the décor, it is possible to date the house to the late eighteenth century. This conclusion is also confirmed by written sources.

The rectangular four-story house belongs to the palace type; it is build of brick and plastered, has basements and a wing which adjoins it from the north. A passage leads through an entrance arch to a chamber yard. A spacious staircase is made in the western wing of the house. The internal planning is sectional; the wing has a gallery-like structure.

In the main façade composition, a typical for the Neoclassicist style plane distribution symmetry is combined with Rococo decorative elements. The façade is divided vertically by seven window axes. The central part is marked out by a three-axis projection which is accentuated by a wide balcony with a delicate railing and putti figures placed on platforms. The balcony plate is supported by stone consoles; windows and doors are crowned with segments that have raised insertions. The rest of the second and third floors windows have framings with segmental pediments; the ground floor windows have keystones in the shape of consoles. Rocaille elements decorate the cut corner of the house from the south-west. Corners like this were typical for the late eighteenth century. The façade is crowned with a large protruding cornice. There are galleries along the back façade and along the wing.

The internal space is opened by a wide gate bridged with alunette vault. The floor is covered with Zuliani ceramic tiles dated 1909. The premises adapted to function as a café bar are located in the western part of the house. In general, the house has preserved the features characteristic of the Lviv architecture of the late eighteenth century.