Lviv is a city full of magic, one that is easy to fall in love with. This is down to its leading, exceptionally talented architects, including, amongst others, Alfred Zachariewicz – through his designs for the first Art Nouveau buildings in Lviv, he defined the direction in which the architecture of the Galician capital ‘moved’ at the beginning of the 20th century. What is worth knowing about this architect and his achievements? We provide the answers.

Alfred Zachariewicz ( 1871–1937) was a Polish architect and the son of Julian Zachariewicz (also a well-known architect), who chose to make his life in the Galician metropolis. He studied at the Faculty of Civil Engineering at the Lviv Polytechnic and at the Vienna University of Technology. Once he had obtained his building licence, he set up his own firm with Józef Sosnkowski – at that time, he popularised the use of reinforced concrete in Galician architecture , a building material that was innovative for its time.

The architect designed both residential buildings and public buildings . Which architectural styles were particularly close to Zachariewicz’s heart? As it turns out, he most frequently worked in the aforementioned Art Nouveau style – good examples of this include, amongst others: the tenement house at 15 Neczuja-Lewickiego Street and the now-demolished Mikolasch Passage. Inspired by the ideas of Otto Wagner, a renowned Austrian urban planner and a leading figure of the Art Nouveau movement, he also brought to life the design of Maria Szczepańska’s house .

Some of the buildings designed by Zachariewicz are also in the Neoclassical style , such as the building of the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office . Later, the architect also took an interest in Modernism – this style is exemplified by the Teodor Bałaban tenement block he designed , situated on the corner of 7 Wałowa Street and 21 Halicka Street. In the meantime, he was also inspired by the Zakopane and Hutsul styles, which he combined with Art Nouveau – the best example of this is the house at 2 Metrologiczna Street.

When discussing Zachariewicz’s achievements, one must not forget the Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the PKO building in Lviv. His plans formed the basis for the waiting rooms at the city’s Main Railway Station, as well as the Lviv Bank on Wałowa Street.