The idea of a gymnastics society in Lviv was born among the student fraternity on the initiative of lawyer Klemens Zukotinskyi and engineer Ludwik Goltental. The idea of creating "an association that would educate not only the mind, but also the body, and would be available to everyone regardless of their state, profession or even political views", as we read in the memorial book of Dr Kazimierz Pawlikowski, was borrowed from Czech models, and the new organisation was to be enriched with patriotic aims. Initially, the association involved colleagues from the university and friends, and by the end of 1866 the committee had rented a gymnasium and equipment for its activities. Gymnastics lessons were given by Stanisław Szytyliński, who conducted classes for the city firemen, with the help of Goltental, while Żukotyński took charge of administrative matters.

The adoption of the statutes of the new organisation took place on 7 February 1867. It received support from, among others, Józef Milleret, a councillor of Lvov and physician to the then governor of Galicia, Agenor Gołuchowski. He promised to persuade the count to agree to the establishment of the society. "I am with you in body and soul; I will do whatever you ask," Dr Milleret was to say. It is interesting to note that in the first statute passed, the later functioning name "Sokol" did not appear, but only "Gymnastic Society in Lwów", although the falcon was adopted as the emblem. The Prague Society, to which the Lvov initiators had turned for guidance in establishing the new organisation, encouraged the adoption of the name "Falcon" in a letter of 12 December 1866, explaining that the bird "with its bold and astute flight ascending to the heights above the air, is for us a symbol of manly strength, shrewdness, bravery, swiftness and freedom, and we know of no reason why our Polish brethren, who have shed so much noble blood not only for the freedom of their homeland, but also for the freedom of other nations, should not adopt a symbol so lofty". The name was adopted - first as customary, and in the following years as official (the 1869 statute already bore the title "Statute of Sokół").

At the beginning of 1867, i.e. just after the statute was approved, the number of members of the Lvov Sokol was over one hundred and was growing regularly. As of 1 February, the sporting offer was expanded to include fencing classes with Achilles Marie, who conducted training for twenty people in a social act. At the end of February, Dr Milleret was elected president, with Jan Aleksander Fredro, son of the famous comedy writer, poet and diarist, as his deputy. In the years 1868-70, the number of members of the Lvov Sokol was around 60, of whom, however, just over half were active activists, taking an interest in the fortunes of the society and attending assemblies.

Shortly after the establishment of the Lvov Sokol, a problem arose with the premises. The room with the gymnasium, which was rented, had been purchased for the construction of the Sejm building in 1875, which meant that it had to be moved out. The society's funds, on the other hand, were so small that the construction of its own gymnasium could only be dreamt of. The city council was repeatedly asked to cede a plot of land for construction, but to no avail. It was not until 1873 that the Lvov authorities agreed to hand over the land to the society, while stipulating that ownership would remain with the city, and that the choice of location for the 'Sokol' could only be made once the society had raised funds for construction. This went on for another three years, funds were raised through various routes, and in the meantime the city terminated the lease. The society had to move to inconvenient and small premises on Kurkowa Street, where the school had previously been located. No more than 50 people could practise in the small room there, which was a major inconvenience with over a hundred members. This state of affairs continued for the next seven years.

At the same time, further efforts were made to raise funds for the building. In 1880, talks were held with the city over the issue of land - initially the 'Sokol' was to acquire a site on Czarnieckiego Street (later to become the headquarters of the fire brigade there), but although a preliminary project with a cost estimate was created (prepared by engineer Goltental), the city eventually abandoned the talks. In July 1881, the city council agreed to cede the square at the corner of Zimorowicza and later Sokolska Streets to the society, but made a condition - the building was to be completed within three years, and if the society was dissolved, it would become the property of the municipality. Eventually the square was enlarged by an adjacent plot of land, purchased in August 1882 for the sum of 3696 zloty. The author of the project was Władysław Halicki, while the construction was to be managed by Albin Zagórski, whose bid won the tender. Technical supervision was entrusted to engineer Kazimierz Kułakowski. The cost of the construction was to be nearly 50,000 zloty, while the "Sokół" building fund amounted to only 11,000 zloty. The then president and successor of Milleret, Jan Dobrzański, came to the rescue and took out a loan of 20,000 zloty for this purpose. It was also possible to obtain a subsidy of 3,000 zloty from the national parliament. In the autumn of 1883 the foundations were laid, in the spring the construction of the edifice began and on 1 June, 'amidst the walls leading out to the middle of the great hall, in the presence of the clergy, representatives of the government and autonomous authorities and a large audience, the ceremony of laying the foundation stone took place', as we read in the Memorial Book. President Dobrzański, at his own expense, purchased and donated to "Sokoł" new training instruments and equipment from the Keller factory in Bielsko-Biała, to the value of almost 1,300 zlotys. It is worth mentioning that as the second president of "Sokoł", Dobrzański fought to maintain political neutrality, thanks to which he saved the association from liquidation by the Austrian authorities (this fate befell the "White Eagle", among others).

The opening ceremony of the gymnasium in the newly built building took place on the evening of Tuesday 2 December 1884. In the December "Gymnastic Guide" (no. 12) published by the society, we read:

"The building itself is not yet finished, for neither the external scaffolding nor the external shuttering has been removed. Only the main hall has been finished and plastered, its floor has been given a temporary makeover, it has been lit by gas and four large iron cookers have been placed there so that training can begin now. At present, therefore, the main hall is not even completely dressed and finished."

Nevertheless, the opening was celebrated in a festive manner - a portrait of the society's president in national costume was hung on the wall, an orchestra played in the gallery, the hall was consecrated and commemorative speeches were made, and finally a banquet was held in the town's casino premises.

The "Sokół" building was being constructed on a square of 922 square metres, with the courtyard occupying 65 square metres and the rest to be occupied by the buildings. The main entrance from Zimorovicha (now Dudayeva) Street led to a vestibule, from which steps entered the main hall, in the depth of which there was a staircase leading to the first floor. Opposite the main entrance was a second entrance to the building, made available for concerts or other special events. To the left of the hall was a large, bright cloakroom measuring 12.5 x 5.8 metres, from which one entered a gymnasium almost 24 metres long, sixteen wide and over nine high, which occupied more than 377 square metres, almost half of the entire built-up area. It was estimated that it could accommodate up to 500 exercisers. The hall had twelve windows facing the street (three on the ground floor and nine on the ground floor), providing natural light, four iron cookers of the Franciszek Rychnowski system (caloristats) in the gymnasium and tiled cookers in the other rooms, a ventilation system and gas lighting. In 1891, the building was enlarged by the purchase of a neighbouring property, thanks to which the changing rooms were extended. On the first floor there was a library, a fencing room, a meeting and social hall and a caretaker's flat. The roof and ceiling over the gymnasium were based on ironwork, the roofing was made of slate. The building was built of brick and had stone foundations. The November eleventh issue of the 1884 Gymnastic Guide notes that the façade was planned to be finished the following year "for the better drying of the walls". We also find there an interesting description of the floor construction:

"The ground floor throughout the building, elevated one metre above the level of the street pavement, ensures that the building is sufficiently dry. However, in order to better protect the hall itself, under which there are no cellars, from dampness, the entire area under the floor, at the level of the street pavement, is lined with a brick floor on cement, the floor itself being laid on beams supported by deliberately walled offices, and the entire space under the floor left empty, and the arranged vents from below will maintain perfect dryness. It goes without saying that the construction of the floor is of such a kind that it will not let the cold through from below."

Unfortunately, it was not possible to erect the edifice as planned because Zagórski broke the contract, forcing the society to complete the roofing as a matter of urgency on its own. The finishing of the façade was therefore postponed, but the magistrate demanded by official order at the beginning of 1887 that this be dealt with without delay. In March this task was entrusted to the "Sokol" druids - Alfred Kamienobrodzki (future winner of the gold medal for architectural work at the Universal Exhibition of 1894) and Piotr Harasimowicz (later lecturer at the Lviv Polytechnic, author of monumental decorations for many Galician buildings). At the same time, a second entrance to the building was created on the corner side, which was handled by the Wczelak brothers - owners of a well-known carpentry factory in Lviv, also "Sokol" druhs. Unfortunately, the following year there were further problems with the building - a faulty roof truss and chimney wall construction caused part of the ceiling above the entrance to the exercise room to collapse and a fire broke out on 7 April 1888. A swift rescue operation avoided tragedy - junior high school students were practising in the hall at the time. In a few days, compensation was obtained, for which Kamienobrodzki carried out repair work, and in the process the causes of the disaster were thoroughly investigated and any defects that might have posed a similar accident in the future were rectified. The following year, too, was not without repairs - this time to the floor and ventilation, which had been so carelessly done that the wood rotted and the floors threatened to collapse. As the Memorial Book reads:

"For fear of an accident, all more numerous meetings and more crowded exercises in the hall were halted, and immediately in the first summer month of 1889 the reconstruction entrusted to Kamienobrodzki and engineer Rychnowski began. The costs were not insignificant, but the ventilation is now working properly and the floor is in no danger of rotting again any time soon."

In 1891, another property adjacent to the "Sokol" building was purchased for expansion, including changing rooms and staff quarters.

At the beginning of the last decade of the 19th century, the number of members of the Lvov "Sokol" exceeded one thousand. In 1892, its members included (among others) 13 professors of Lviv university and polytechnic, 22 professors of secondary schools, 129 university and polytechnic students, 27 writers, journalists and artists, 58 lawyers, 37 doctors, 39 engineers, and 27 women. Of these, 220 people took part in exercises six days a week, with women and girls practising three times a week.

It is worth mentioning that the activities of the 'Sokol' expanded over the years to include different areas of activity. Initially, gymnastics and fencing classes were held at its headquarters, with time a volunteer fire brigade was established at the society, and sports excursions were regularly organised. From 1875, the head of "Sokół" was a famous pioneer of gymnastics in the Polish lands, co-creator of the programme and system of the so-called Sokol gymnastics, and creator of the native terminology in this field, Alfred Maciej Durski. The Polish system replaced the German and Czech systems previously used in the Lvov 'Sokol', and itself gave way to a system of so-called 'Swedish' healing gymnastics, popularised in the second decade of the 20th century.

The construction of its own building called the Sokolnia or the Sokol-Matrix building was one of the many achievements of the Lvov society, which inspired the creation of more than 800 nests in the Polish lands (including the extremely strong Krakow organisation), which resulted in the establishment in 1892 of a unified organisation called the "Union of Polish Sokol Gymnastic Societies in the Austrian Empire" with its headquarters in Lvov. From its inception, the society was active in the development and popularisation of sport, physical activity and health, and over time took on the character of a patriotic-national movement. Sokolstwo was active in the Polish lands not only during the period of the Partitions of Poland, but also after the restoration of independence and in the inter-war period, already as a member organisation of the International Gymnastics Federation. Many outstanding and titled Polish coaches and athletes, including multiple Polish, European and World champions and champions, as well as Olympic champions and champions, were associated with "Sokoł" during this period. The Society was also involved in a wide range of cultural and educational activities, publishing activities, and was one of the few organisations in Poland authorised to conduct military training. Its aim was to build a civil society based on the values with which the "Falcon" identified itself, such as a patriotic attitude and service to the country in accordance with the motto "Honour to the Fatherland, claw to the enemy!", national traditions, Catholic faith, brotherhood, self-discipline. The ideas of the falconry movement were supported by Adam Asnyk, Maria Konopnicka and Henryk Sienkiewicz, among others.

The falconry movement was outlawed by the Soviets in 1945 and was only revived in the Third Republic of Poland. The first society to be registered was the Society in Warsaw, which took over the function of the Mother Society (10 January 1989), followed by the Union of Sokol Gymnastic Societies in Poland (1 March 1990). Currently, the Polish "Sokol" has about 8 thousand members training in over 30 different sports in about 40 nests. Unfortunately, the Lvov branch - the mother of all Falcon nests - did not survive the turmoil of history. The building, which was its pride and model, is still standing, and its original inscription - Mens sana in corpore sano ("in a healthy body a healthy spirit") - is the only evidence of the past. The building now houses the Faculty of Physical Education and hosts gymnastics classes.

Location: Square at the corner of Zymorovycha Street and the later Sokolska Street, Lviv, Ukraine