The first gymnastic society in Galicia was founded in Lviv in 1867, following the example of the Czech. Sokol gymnastic society (founded in 1862). Founded in 1884, the Stanislawow Sokol nest was, together with the Tarnów nest, the first branch of the society after the Lvov matrix.

The history of the building of the "Sokol Gymnastic Society" began in 1893, when the City Council donated a parcel of land at Mickiewicz Square to the "Sokol", founded several years earlier.

With a view to building its own representative headquarters, the Society appointed a special building committee. As a rule, in addition to the president, it consisted of members with technical training, primarily local builders. The Society did not have enough material resources to afford to buy the design of the headquarters. In 1893, the building committee asked Matice Lvov to act as an intermediary in acquiring an architectural design for their building. As a result of stirring up some publicity, 14 different sketches of the future 'Sokol' were submitted to Stanislawow.

"Kurier Stanislawowski" of January 2, 1894, reports that the committee designated as "the most suitable sketch to be executed the sketch of Teofil Wiśniowski", already known in the city as the winner of the competition for the design of the building of the Citizens' Casino. Two weeks later the "Kurier Stanislawski" reported that it had been accepted to build the "Sokol" building according to a plan sent by Karol Zaremba from Krakow. Most probably, this plan was only a sketch-proposal, which had to be elaborated and adapted to local requirements. According to the tradition established in Galicia, the "Sokół" headquarters were designed, and usually realised, by the members of the society. In the absence of funds, members carried out their designs without being paid for them. In the same year, i.e. 1894, architect Jan Tomasz Kudelski came to Stanislavov and settled there for many years. In the memoirs after him we find the following words:

"He designed and built private houses, but also churches and the headquarters of public utility organisations, such as the Sokol. He built the latter buildings largely selflessly, treating it as a social activity".

In view of the above information, the question of the authorship of the original Stanisław Sokolny remains open. However, stylistic features alluding to the architecture of French castles characterised many of Jan T. Kudelski's designs from the late 19th century. It is known, however, that the construction work was managed by Jan Merunowicz and Józef Radwański, and eventually by Roman Chlebowski. The masonry and carpentry work was carried out by Tadeusz Grodzicki and Stanisław Troskiewicz.

The society's task was not only to improve physical fitness, but also to develop spirit and awaken the national spirit. Therefore, an important role in the architecture of the falconry was played by appropriate, patriotically oriented, decoration. In 1905, the social activist and owner of the printing house, Stanisław Chowaniec, on his own initiative paid for the work of the then unknown and still young painter Jan Rubczak, who decorated the front of the attic on the front facade with a large fresco. It was a painting modelled on Jan Grottger's graphic work 'The Battle', depicting a scene from the 1863 uprising. The arcaded cornice, meanwhile, housed 27 coats of arms of the Polish lands.

To its harmonious body and picturesque composition, the new building owed its rapid popularity. The Polish "Falcon" turned out to be a favourite motif on postcards and postcards of the time, thus becoming one of the symbols of Galician Stanislavov.

The building survived (rebuilt during the Second Republic from a fire).

It now houses the Regional Children's Library building at 2 Mickiewicza Square.

Location: Mitskevycha Square 2, Ivano-Frankivs'k, Ukraine