The Korniakt Palace (, ) on

Market Square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

is a prime example of the royal '' kamienica'', or townhouse. The fabric of the palace is of various dates. It was originally built by Polish architect Piotr Barbon for merchant

Konstanty Korniakt Konstanty Korniakt (, Konstantinos Korniaktos; c. 1517 – 1 August 1603) was a merchant of Greek descent, active throughout Central and Eastern Europe; a leaseholder of royal tolls who collected customs duty on behalf of the king. During his lif ...

, a champion of

Greek Orthodoxy Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Roma ...

and co-founder of the

Lviv Dormition Brotherhood Lviv Dormition Brotherhood () also known as ''Lviv Stauropegion Brotherhood'' was an influential religious organization associated with the Dormition Church, Lviv, Dormition Church in Lviv and one of the oldest Brotherhood (religious community ...

. Construction of this severely elegant

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

palazzo A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

was completed in 1580. After Korniakt's death in 1603, King

Władysław IV Vasa Władysław IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and claimant of the thrones of Monarchy of Sweden, Sweden and List of Russian monarchs, Russia. Born into the House of Vasa as a prince ...

stayed at his palace. He got

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

and recovered here. The son of Korniakt sold the tenement house to the

Discalced Carmelite The Discalced Carmelites, known officially as the Order of the Discalced Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel () or the Order of Discalced Carmelites (; abbrev.: OCD; sometimes called in earlier times, ), is a Catholic mendicant ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

, from whom it was purchased in 1640 by

Jakub Sobieski Jakub Sobieski (5 May 1590 – 23 June 1646) was a Polish noble, parliamentarian, diarist, political activist, military leader and father of King John III Sobieski. He was the son of castellan and voivode Marek Sobieski and Jadwiga Snopko ...

, the

Voivode of Bełz Bełz Voivodeship (, ) was a unit of administrative division and local government in the Kingdom of Poland from 1462 to the Partitions of Poland in 1772–1795. Together with the Ruthenian Voivodeship it was part of Red Ruthenia, Lesser Poland ...

. After his death and that of his wife, Teofila Sobieska née Daniłowicz, the tenement house was inherited by

Jan Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

, the future king of Poland. The Polish-Lithuanian ruler remodelled it into a palatial residence, with spacious rooms and an audience hall where he signed the

Eternal Peace Treaty of 1686 The Polish-Russian Peace Treaty of 1686, officially known as Treaty of Perpetual Peace , , but also known in Polish tradition Grzymułtowski Peace, ) was concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth to finally ...

. The house remained in the possession of the

Sobieski family The House of Sobieski (plural: Sobiescy, feminine form: Sobieska) was a prominent magnate family of szlachta, Polish nobility in the 16th and 17th centuries, from which the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Jan III Sobieski originated. ...

until 1724, being inherited by Princes Aleksander and Konstanty. Its next owner was the Crown Field Hetman

Stanisław Mateusz Rzewuski Stanisław Mateusz Rzewuski (1662–1728) was a Polish nobleman (szlachcic). He was a Royal Colonel since 1690, General of foreign mercenaries contingent and Krajczy of the Crown since 1702, Great Recorder of the Crown since 1703, Field Cro ...

. At that time, he already owned several nearby tenement houses, which allowed him to create a large urban residence. The grandson of the purchaser, Józef Rzewuski, sold the tenement house in 1804 to

Aleksander Chodkiewicz Aleksander Chodkiewicz (, , ; ca. 1475 – 28 May 1549) was a Ruthenian noble from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, founder of the Supraśl Orthodox Monastery. He inherited vast possessions from his father Ivan Chodkiewicz, which made him 11th we ...

. The next owner of the tenement house was Helena Ponińska, née Górska, a writer and social activist. She carried out numerous modifications and renovations of the building, with contributions from architects and artists such as Antoni Bauman, Jan Ziółkowski, and Joseph Engel. After her death, the house was inherited by her son Kalikst Poniński. Following his death in 1902, the property passed to the Lubomirski family, who sold it in 1908 to the city council of Lviv to be used as the National Museum of King Jan III. The building also housed the Historical Museum of the City of Lviv. Restoration and conservation work aimed at returning the building to its original appearance began immediately and continued until 1931, under the supervision of

Wawrzyniec Dayczak Wawrzyniec Dayczak (August 27, 1882 – April 28, 1968) was a Polish architect and independence activist. Dayczak was born on August 27, 1882, in the region of Podolia, in a village of Reniów (Reniv) near the town of Załoźce (Zaliztsi) in the ...

. It is now part of the Lviv History Museum. The royal chambers are used for exhibiting

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

furniture and clocks, a collection of

medallion A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

s, and precious

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

ware.

References

* Вуйцик В. С., Липка Р. М. Зустріч зі Львовом. Львів: Каменяр, 1987. С. 50. * Памятники градостроительства и архитектуры Украинской ССР. Киев: Будивельник, 1983–1986. Том 3, с. 42. {{Lviv Historic house museums in Ukraine Houses completed in 1580 Museums in Lviv Palaces in Ukraine Residences of Polish monarchs Royal residences in Ukraine 16th century in Ukraine 1580s establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Renaissance architecture in Ukraine Sobieski family residences

See also

References