Boim Chapel

Walking around Lviv, it is hard not to notice the dark facades of the Boim Chapel in the middle of the city center. This building is considered a masterpiece of Lviv Renaissance, in which the traditions of wooden construction and stone decoration are harmoniously combined.

The chapel was built by the merchant Hryhorii Boim, whom King Stephen Batory invited to Ukraine. It is believed that the chapel was built to a design by the Wrocław architect Andrzej Bemer in 1609-1611.

Photo from prolviv.com

 The building’s sculptural decoration stands out for its detailed workmanship, abundance and the complexity of the compositions created. The decor dates from 1612-1615. The sculptor-authors are Jan Pfister and Hanuš Scholz. Its facades inevitably draw passersby’s attention with their church scenes, which decorate all the walls.

The chapel interiors are decorated with fresco portraits. On the eastern wall are images of Hryhorii Boim and his wife, on the northern wall — Jesus Christ and the Mother of God, and the upper part is decorated with a relief depicting St. George the Dragon-Slayer. 

From the XVII to the XVIII century, the chapel was a storage place for 14 members of the Boim family. However, in the postwar years it was turned into a storage facility. Only in 1969 was it made the first branch of the art gallery.

Interesting facts:

• On the chapel roof is a figure of Jesus, and below it there is an inscription that urges passersby to stop and think whether their suffering is greater than Jesus’s suffering.
• Originally, the chapel was multicolored.
• There is a legend that the Boim family could use underground passages to go from their home to the chapel.
• Until the 19th century, three generations of the Boim family were buried in the chapel crypts. However, by order of the Austro-Hungarian authorities, their bodies were reburied in the Lviv cemetery.

Ticket price: adult — 50 UAH, student - 30 UAH, child — 20 UAH.

Tour price: from 30 to 90 UAH