Training for Craft People

Over the course of time, a wide range of craft industries arose in Lviv, and their importance to the development of the city can be traced throughout its history. By 1650, there were 35 craft guilds in Lviv, which was then the largest city in Ukraine, with 30,000 inhabitants. This craft tradition left a distinctive mark on the architecture of the city, in façade ornamentations, windows and doors, the railings of balconies and staircases, ornamental grilles, stuccowork and murals.

For centuries, the craft skills of Lviv were put to use by building owners and architects to construct and embellish the city’s official buildings and private homes. Lviv was thus endowed with a unique collection of buildings, each of which carried the hallmarks of the skilled craftspeople of the times.

During the decades of the Soviet era, little attention was given to the preservation and maintenance of the city’s historical built heritage: instead, the focus was on prefabricated concrete mass housing and the construction of symbols of power. As a result of this, Lviv’s rich craft tradition was lost.

To revive and ensure the continuance of traditional craft skills, which are essential to the preservation of the city’s architectural heritage, the project has initiated a comprehensive programme of training courses for craftspeople and other professionals working in the field of restoration: carpenters, masons, painters, plasterers, blacksmiths, architects and engineers.

Courses for architects and engineers are aimed to better enable them to advise owners on how to carry out repairs and renovations of historical buildings. Courses for craftspeople include seminars on theory, but the emphasis is on on-site working practise. Under the guidance of international experts, groups of artisans and restorers learn by working on selected objects in the city.

The locations of the objects worked on during the different training courses are shown here on an interactive map.

All of the courses are based on the following criteria: the maximum preservation of historical substance; the use of historic building techniques and technologies; and the improvement of functionality in order to meet modern requirements.