Translated by Dictum Factum (Kyiv)
Unbelievable construction. It seems that traditional chapel had been turned out, and the iconostasis appeared outside: the entire facade is covered with a splendid carving, there are lions with gags of rings in muzzles at the foot, and on top there is a sad Christ sitting on the bench.
The interior continues the style begun by the western facade: these cassoons on a dome, these bombastic epitaphs, these winged angelic heads, the roods, armies of figures and statuettes - can it really be true? How at the beginning of XVII century could the man use a cutter so skillfully and subjugate a stone?
The chapel was being built near to the Lviv Cathedral in 1609-1615, probably, by an architect Andrzej Bemer. A sculptural décor, possibly, was designed by J.Pfister, G.Shtolts, J.Belyj and S.Cheshek.
Pay one grivna as an entrance fee and admire an internal decoration of a chapel. All has remained almost without changes except only murals (Stucco), once they were polychromatic.
The first half of XVII century is the transition period from the Renaissance to the Baroque. It shows! It is the transition from the severe simplicity of forms of the Renaissance to the spiral chaos of the Baroque. The bottom deck which was created by an unknown master is simpler. The middle of eastern wall, built by G.Shtolts, is already much more expressive, and the dome was performed with the cutter of the known master of that time of J.Pfister: it is the absolute carved bacchanalia.
Two family portraits on the western wall are the remains of family gallery (of)the Boims. On a southern wall two carved epitaphs, (those are the arts)that is an art of J.Pfister, have remained.
In February, 2004, "The Lviv newspaper" wrote, that before the entrance door to the chapel a hole had appeared: one of slabs by which the yard before the monument was paved had come down. I will quote a little:
"In course of the examination in crypt of chapel archeologists saw the deep niche which was blocked up with construction waste. This finding disturbed researchers, as a breach on a facade over it was spackled during restoration of 1927. The breach, according to researchers, points to an unsatisfactory load-carrying capability of the arch of crypt.
(...) During researches the experts were surprised by that fact that on one of slabs there was not snow at all. It generally occurs over heating mains. Apparently, the heat from crypt reaches surface - for this reason this slab came down, having opened the interstice formed by meltwater and rain water. It testifies that around a chapel there are emptiness caused by (the) absence of the drainage system. (The)Department of protection of the historical milieu of Lviv decided to backfilled the hole with sand, thus mothballing it".
