The Rynok Square
in Lviv is a central square of the
city of Lviv, Ukraine. It was planned in the second half of the 14th
century, following granting city rights by Polish king Casimir III, who
annexed Red Ruthenia. The king ordered Lviv to be moved more to the
south, where a new city was built to the plan of a traditional European
settlement: a central square surrounded by living quarters and fortifications.
Old, Ruthenian Lviv had become a suburb of the new city. The square is rectangular
in shape, with measurements of 142 meters by 129 meters and with two streets
radiating out of every corner. In the middle there was a row of houses, with
its southern wall made by the Town Hall. However, when in 1825 the tower of the
Town Hall burned, all adjacent houses were demolished and a new hall, with a
65-meter tower, was built in 1835 by architects J. Markl and F. Trescher.
Around the square,
there are 44 tenement houses, which represent several architectural styles,
from Renaissance to Modernism. In the four corners, there are fountains—wells
from 1793, probably designed by Hartman Witwer. The sculptures represent four
Greek mythological figures: Neptune, Diana, Amphitrite and Adonis. In
front of the Town Hall, there was a pillory. In 1998 the Market Place,
together with the historic city center of Lviv, was recognized as a UNESCO
world heritage site.
Julia sent me this nice
card, which shows the North side of Market Square.