The Boim Chapel ( uk, Капли́ця Боїмів, pl, Kaplica Boimów) is a monument of religious architecture in Cathedral Square,
Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. It was constructed from 1609 to 1615 and is part of
Lviv's Old Town, a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
.
History
The chapel was built for the Boim family on the territory of a contemporary urban cemetery near the
Latin Cathedral. The Boims came to Lviv ( pl, Lwów, then in the
Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to:
Historical political entities
* Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031
* Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...
) from the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
. Their national origin is unclear.
They were affluent patricians of Catholic background and became
polonized
Polonization (or Polonisation; pl, polonizacja)In Polish historiography, particularly pre-WWII (e.g., L. Wasilewski. As noted in Смалянчук А. Ф. (Smalyanchuk 2001) Паміж краёвасцю і нацыянальнай ідэя ...
.
George (Jerzy) Boim ( hu, György Boym) is credited with the foundation of the chapel.
The building was finished by his son, Paweł Boim. 14 members of the Boim family are buried there.
The chapel was designed by
Andrzej Bemer.
He followed a simplified diagram of the architecture of the
Sigismund's Chapel at the
Wawel Cathedral
The Wawel Cathedral ( pl, Katedra Wawelska), formally titled the Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus, is a Roman Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it is part of the ...
in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
with Italians' elements.
In the second half of the 18th century, the chapel was replaced by the Lviv cemetery as a burial place for the Boim family.
Architeсtural features
The chapel combines a variety of stylistic trends. The ornamental decorations are of
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
provenance. The narrative
reliefs bear some degree of resemblance to those found in central and southern Poland, but are presumably based on German or Dutch graphic models. The appearance of the facade and the altar recalls the
iconostasis form. The sculptor Jan Scholtz, who was likely responsible for the second stage of the work, originated from
Königsberg
Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...
.
The quality of the design and the lack of moderation persists in
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
active works of Italian masters, but acting example of bourgeois art. The chapel was built on a square plan and is covered by a paneled dome based on an octagonal tambour. On the chapel lantern rises on eight fluted pilasters with Corinthian capitals, covered again with a small dome, having a statue of Christ on top.
External appearance
The walls of the chapel are focused according to the sides of the world. Entablature creates the external appearance of the walls, which revolves around them, breaking down in accordance with their relief.
The southern side is closed with a residential house, which is attached to the chapel. It was built in the 19th century.
The eastern wall is divided by five pilasters and decorated with two mural portraits of Georgy Boim and his wife, Jadwiga. The portraits were created in 1617, by Jan Gianni.
The northern wall is also divided by pilasters. Two fresco images are located there: the Virgin and Jesus Christ. A bas-relief of
Saint George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldie ...
(the name saint of Georgy Boim) fighting the dragon is situated on the wall of the octagonal tambour.
Western wall
The façade’s decorations are attributed to Andrzej Bemer. The western wall is considered to be the most important. It includes a great amount of decorative elements. The whole façade is covered densely with figures and ornamental sculptures, made of sandstone. The facade is divided with cartouche frieze and cornice on two parts. The upper part is decorated with two corinthian columns. The lower part is decorated with six corinthian columns. It also includes the statues of the Apostles Peter and Paul, which are located in the niches on both sides, with the prophets’ circular medallions over the door, windows and niches. Though this façade demonstrates the impression of exaggeration and manners.
In the second tier of the cartouche above sculpture’s images of the prophets are located the quotes from the Bible in Latin (on the facade from left to right):
* «Morte turpissima condemnemus / eum sapi I» ("Condemn him to death shameful" (Bk. Wisdom 2.20) - above St. Peter;
* «Foderunt manus meos et pedes meos / DA Psal. XXI » ("They pierced my hands and my feet" (Psalm. 22 (21). 17);
* «Corpus meum dedi percucientibus et genas vellentibus / Esai. L »(« I gave my back to those who hits, and my cheeks to those who pinches" (Isaiah 50.6);
* «Mittamus lignum in panem eius. Et eradamus eum de terra viventium / Ier: XI » ("Cut down the tree with its fruit, and cut off it from the land of living " (Jeremiah 11.19));
* «Et post hebdomadas LXII occidetur Christus / DAN. IX » ("And after 62 weeks Messiah shall be cut off "(Daniel 9.26);
* «Et appenderunt mercedem meam XXX argenteos / Zach XI» ("So they weighed my wages - thirty pieces of silver" (Zechariah 11.12) - the entrance;
* In Virga percutien
maxillam ivdicis / Mich. V. ("Rod upon the judge’s cheek" (Micah 4.14)) - the entrance;
* «Et dicent non est Rex Noster / Ose X» ("And they say, We have no king" (Hosea 10.3) - above St. Paul.
The third tier has many relief images. It contains compositions, dedicated to the Passion of Christ: "Castigate", "Carrying the Christ," "Crucifixion", "Withdrawal of Christ." Due to the expressiveness these compositions and the interior’s composition are called "Bible of the poor". As it does not need to know the letters, to understand the essence.
Chapel interior
The interior of the chapel includes four stone figures of prophets, located in the altar, which resembles some images on frieze. The whole plastic decoration is made of stucco. A special attention is paid to
pendentive
In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to point ...
s and the dome. On the pendentives, which have the rich framing of the telescopes from both sides. This framing consists of a flat - convex brass motifs and medallions with heads of angels, the same type as on the frieze external. On the pendentives there are angels, which hold cartouches with images of divinities, coats of arms and
house mark
A house mark was originally a mark of property, later also used as a family or clan emblem, incised on the facade of a building, on animals, in signet and similar in the farmer and burgher culture of Germany and Scandinavia.
These marks have t ...
s.
Beneath them there are figurines of patrons, both founders:
St. Stanislaus and
Adalbert of Prague
Adalbert of Prague ( la, Sanctus Adalbertus, cs, svatý Vojtěch, sk, svätý Vojtech, pl, święty Wojciech, hu, Szent Adalbert (Béla); 95623 April 997), known in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia by his birth name Vojtěch ( la, ...
. The majority of sculptures of the chapel’s interior are made by Hans Ficher.
The dome is divided into 36 rectangular panels, recessed in three rows. They fill the figures of Christ, the apostles, prophets, angels with instruments of the Passion Pańzkiej and saints. At the top of the dome there is the octagonal lantern light. This arrangement gives the impression of a much bigger height chapel than it actually is.
Three round windows provide chapel’s interior lighting. Two of them are situated at the top of the northern wall and another — under the dome of the octagonal lantern light on the western facade. Additional lighting is provided by four lower tier of the lower windows of the main facade.
File:Lwów - Kaplica Boimów 13.jpg, Inside the dome of the chapel Boim bowl with three rows of caissons
File:Boim Chapel, inside, window.jpg, Round windows
File:Каплиця Боїмів, Львів.jpg, Part of the altar
References
#
Mieczysław Gębarowicz
Mieczysław Jan Gębarowicz (17 December 1893 – 18 February 1984) was a Polish art historian, soldier, dissident, museum director and custodian of cultural heritage.
Early years
Gębarowicz was born in Jarosław, one of three sons in a patri ...
„Studia nad dziejami kultury artystycznej póznego renesansu w Polsce” 1962
# Władysław Łoziński „Sztuka lwowska w XVI i XVII wieku” 1898
# Tadeusz Mańkowski „Dawny Lwów. Jego sztuka i kultura artystyczna” 1974
# Adam Miłobędzki „Zarys dziejow architektury w Polsce” 1988
# Возницький Б. Г., «Каплиця Боїмів у Львові». Львів, «Каменяр», 1979
Латинські написи у Львові
External links
{{Lviv-related topics
Churches in Lviv
Religious buildings and structures completed in 1615
Renaissance architecture in Ukraine
1615 establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
1615 establishments in Ukraine
Mausoleums
Museums in Lviv Oblast
Museums in Lviv