Lesya Ukrainka street (formerly known as ''Jagiellońska'' - Jagiellon street) is a central
pedestrian street in
Lutsk,
Ukraine, running from
Fellowship Bridge Square to the city's central
Theatre Square. The street is 730 metres long, and is the main street of the northern and eastern areas of the
Glushets suburb of Lutsk. There have been at least ten churches and monasteries located on the street. The street began to develop with more intensity during the eighteenth century when the city began to extend along the street's path. It became the main street in the city in the early 19th century. In the 1980s, it became a pedestrian-only street. The street was renamed to
Lesya Ukrainka
Lesya Ukrainka ( uk, Леся Українка ; born Larysa Petrivna Kosach, uk, Лариса Петрівна Косач; – ) was one of Ukrainian literature's foremost writers, best known for her poems and plays. She was also an active ...
in the 1990s. Lesya Ukrainska has many architectural landmarks and has become an important trade artery of the city.
History
The street was formed in the 12th century due to the presence of
Saint Mary Monastery granted by
Mstislav I of Kiev. Running over hills, it was separated by the
river Glushets from the island containing the central city. The Prince of
Volhyn
Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. The ...
,
Vasilko Romanovich
Vasylko Romanovych (1203–1269), Prince of Belz (1207–1269), Prince of Brest (1231–1269), and Prince of Volhynia (1231–1269).
He was the son of Roman the Great, the younger brother of Daniel of Galicia.
Family
Father
*Roman the Great
Bro ...
, founded the monastery of
Saint Basil on a neighboring hill in the 13th century.
These hills were known as Pomostychi and were surrounded by strong defensive constructions. The terrain of these hills was advantageous for both economical and defensive purposes making it a suitable place to build churches and monasteries. In the 15th century, it is likely that many churches were built along the main road. By the 16th century, there were eight churches and monasteries. The
Bernardine monastery was built nearby.
The street began to develop rapidly in the second half of the 19th century. It became very important and prestigious because it was a part of the
Kyiv-
Brest highway that crossed through the city in the 1860s. The street was paved with
cobblestone
Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings.
Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...
s at that time and, although it was renamed to Highway street, it kept many of the same public institutions. The
North side of the street was dominated by the imposing presence of the
circus and amusement rides. The first public city park was created near
Trinitarian monastery in the 1870s. There were 2 electric theatres opposite the park - Modern and Renaissance.
At the end of the 19th century, there was progress in improving the street's architectural coherence. Many buildings were built in a brick nonplastering style characterized by a special kind of
decoration
Decoration may refer to:
* Decorative arts
* A house painter and decorator's craft
* An act or object intended to increase the beauty of a person, room, etc.
* An award that is a token of recognition to the recipient intended for wearing
Other ...
using colored, figured bricks, usually yellow and red. The
Cornices of every building, crowded by
attic
An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...
s, had original ornaments and
facades were decorated by
alabaster relief ornaments and forged details such as
balcony grating, flowerpots, shelters, fences, railings etc. In 1894 the Lutsk Orthodox Fellowship granted the construction of the Iverian
chapel near the street. A
Granite-
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
statue of
Alexander III of Russia was built behind the church. At that time, the wealthy
Jewish Kronshtein family constructed several buildings with magnificent architecture in
Italian Renaissance and Russian styles. The street had become a kind of open-air museum representing modern,
eclectic
Eclectic may refer to:
Music
* ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014
* ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996
* Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act
* Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...
, brick-style buildings.
In 1920–1939, when the town was part of
Poland, the street was called
Jagiellon
The Jagiellonian dynasty (, pl, dynastia jagiellońska), otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty ( pl, dynastia Jagiellonów), the House of Jagiellon ( pl, Dom Jagiellonów), or simply the Jagiellons ( pl, Jagiellonowie), was the name assumed by a cad ...
street. Half of the buildings on the street were destroyed following the
invasion of Poland. After
World War II, it was renamed
Soviet street. Smaller shops joined together and building façades were reconstructed to make big shop windows. The street changed shape again during post-war reconstruction. Poor planning controls in the 1970s and 1980s had a negative impact on the vitality and presentation of Soviet street. Inappropriate reconstruction and design of the new buildings led to the demolition of historic properties. Brick-style façades were plastered over and many architectural details were destroyed in spite of their landmark status. The street was renamed to
Lesya Ukrainka
Lesya Ukrainka ( uk, Леся Українка ; born Larysa Petrivna Kosach, uk, Лариса Петрівна Косач; – ) was one of Ukrainian literature's foremost writers, best known for her poems and plays. She was also an active ...
in the 1990s.
Current status
Currently, Lesya Ukrainka street is the central pedestrian street running from the square Fellowship Bridge to Central Theatre square and is one of the city's most crowded streets. The street's architecture is generally rooted in the 19th - first half of the 20th century, though Soviet-era buildings do remain. Landmark buildings on Lesya Ukrainka Street include numbers 2, 5, 13, 32, 53 and 61. There are many shops and restaurants on the street. There are also 2 garden squares on the street and the landmark Trinitarian monastery.
Buildings
Gallery
File:ЛуцькЛесіДімВ2.jpg, Street
File:ЛуцькЛесіФ1.jpg, Fragment of facade
File:ЛуцькЛесіФ2.jpg, Balcony
File:ЛуцькЛесіФ4.jpg, Street
Sources
* В.Пясецький, Ф.Мандзюк. Вулиці і майдани Луцька. — Луцьк, 2005
* Adam Wojnicz. Łuck na Wołyniu, — Łuck, 1922 — s.29
* Луцьк. Архітектурно-історичний нарис. Б.Колосок, Р.Метельницький — Київ, 1990. — с.118
References
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Tourist attractions in Lutsk
Streets in Lutsk