The buildings he designed are true symbols of Lviv. As well as his rich architectural legacy, he mentored whole generations of artists. Władysław Sadłowski is a figure who is difficult to do justice to in a short article. What is certain is that he worked mainly in the Art Nouveau style, though throughout his professional career he also drew on other artistic movements.

Władysław Sadłowski ( 1869–1940) was a Polish architect who lived in Lviv all his life and it was there that he created his architectural masterpieces. He honed his skills at the Vienna University of Technology ( Technische Universität Wien), where he was inspired by the concepts of Otto Wagner, as well as at the Faculty of Architecture of the Lviv Polytechnic (Lvívska Politékhnika) – later becoming its dean and full professor.

Sadłowski began his professional career by designing the interiors of the Grand Theatre ( now the Lviv Opera House) in Lviv, working at the time with its chief architect – Zygmunt Gorgolewski . For many years he remained faithful to Art Nouveau and modernised historicism , though his body of work also includes buildings representing the Constructivist aesthetic . Moreover, he conceived his designs as a harmonious whole , as he was also an interior designer.

Sadłowski’s true opus magnum was the design of the eclectic Main Railway Station in Lviv , which continues to delight with its unique aesthetic to this day – in this case, Art Nouveau is combined with Neo-Renaissance elements. The architect’s rich legacy also includes the Galician Musical Society, inspired by the ideas of Otto Wagner, the father of highly innovative architectural designs – the building now houses the Lviv Regional Philharmonic. Nor should we forget the Art Nouveau design of the Industrial School, whose interiors are just as impressive as the façade itself and which today houses the Ivan Trush Lviv State Institute of Decorative and Applied Arts.

The architect also supervised the work on the Latin Cathedral , specifically the Milewski Chapel, which features exquisite polychrome decorations. He also built an Art Nouveau townhouse at 8 Rustaveli Street, where metal reliefs are interwoven with plant motifs.