«Stryi is a European city» — such slogans can be seen in this Subcarpathian district centre in the Lviv region. It is impossible to build a future without knowing your own origins and without preserving the cultural heritage for those who come after.
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| Stryi, Lviv region. The sign on the road roundabout |
In this Galician city with its heroic and patriotic history the blue-and-yellow flag was raised over an administrative building for the first time.
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| Stryi. The city administration |
Strolling along the cosy streets, getting to know the notable landmarks, meeting the friendly people of Stryi, you feel that Stryi is your friend. Yes, in a friendly way you can rejoice at its successes, refuse to be indifferent to its glad and its sorrowful affairs, offer a hint, wish it well, be saddened, and not pass by the questions of the day.
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| Stryi. 32 Shevchenko Street |
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| Stryi. 63 Shevchenko Street |
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| Stryi. 105 Shevchenko Street |
Stryi was founded in 1385, and a fortress was built around the settlement. Nothing has remained of the medieval structures. The oldest building is the working Roman Catholic church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God, raised in 1445 in the Gothic style. The sanctuary has been rebuilt more than once; the portal of the church has survived to our day in its original form.
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| Stryi. The Church of the Nativity of the Holy Mother of God. 1455 |
In the years of the Hitlerite occupation the Jews were annihilated, and the Jewish house of prayer of 1817 fell into decay. After the war the Jewish community was not restored, and the synagogue, despite the efforts of volunteers to save it, has turned into a ruin with dense thickets inside the building.
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| Stryi. The synagogue |
One of the oldest buildings stands at 26 Shevchenko Street. According to legend the house was built by the city elder. It is a pity that no use has been found for the building and that it is closed up.
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| Stryi. 26 Shevchenko Street |
In the period of economic growth at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the building of two- and three-storey houses was accompanied by decorative finishing.
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| Stryi. Residential and public buildings |
Many little palaces and town houses are adorned with singular stucco mouldings, sculptures and turrets.
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| Stryi. Residential and public buildings |
The former «Tureha» villa of the 19th century is occupied by the centre for children's and youth creativity and by the little academy of sciences.
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| Stryi. The centre for children's and youth creativity and the little academy of sciences |
Modern technologies for insulating buildings, with the walls sheathed in polystyrene foam, mercilessly conceal and knock away the refined decor, and so destroy the historical and artistic value of the architectural gems of Stryi.
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| Stryi. A dwelling house |
Multi-storey blocks are often put up beside historic buildings and memorial places, looming over the old façades and balconies. The historic fabric is disfigured by small architectural forms — kiosks and stalls, the decor is covered over by advertising signs, and the streets are cluttered with cars.
The people of Stryi complain that there are ever fewer green oases, which the city so badly needs.
Stryi is a city of rich cultural traditions. In 1901 the People's Hall was built with the townspeople's money, and a reading room, courses for the illiterate and a theatre opened in it. Outstanding masters of the arts and prominent public figures appeared in this cultural institution.
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| Stryi. The People's Hall with the busts of writers and public figures |
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| Stryi. The People's Hall. The bust of the writer, priest and public figure N. L. Ustyianovych |
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| Stryi. The People's Hall. The bust of the composer and pianist M. V. Lysenko |
The city house of culture opened in 1906 for the «Sokil» gymnastic society. Creative groups work in this splendid building in the Secession style, and concerts and festive events are held there.
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| Stryi. The city house of culture |
The Stryi area is a blessed land, the birthplace of musicians, spiritual leaders and public figures. The city has ten museums on various themes. A one-room museum of the ethnographer and collector of embroidered shirts Olha Bachynska has been opened here, and the memory is kept of the outstanding composers and pianists Ostap and Nestor Nyzhankivskyi, of the political figure Mykhailo Kravtsiv and of his wife, the writer Melaniia.
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| Stryi. The Olha Bachynska Museum |
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| Stryi. The exhibition hall |
The names of the defenders of Ukraine's territorial integrity who fell in the east of our country have been perpetuated by the setting up of memorial plaques.
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| School No. 1. The memorial plaque to former pupils V. Vasylevskyi, A. Aloshyn and V. Prus, who died in the performance of their military duty |
Stryi lies at a crossroads near the state border and many Carpathian resorts. From
Stryi you can reach
Morshyn in 20 minutes,
Drohobych in 40 minutes, and
Truskavets and the Carpathian foothills in 1 hour. Road and rail communication between
Lviv and
Ivano-Frankivsk,
Uzhhorod and
Chernivtsi passes through Stryi.
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| Stryi. The railway station |
It is praiseworthy that Stryi follows the call to draw closer to European standards. Surely the striving to reach the goals that have been set will help to create jobs, to solve municipal problems, to repair the roads and to improve the ecological situation. Let us wish this industrial and cultural centre of Western Ukraine growth in good deeds and opportunities for further development in every direction, and wish the people of Stryi to live in the finest city on Earth and to be proud of it.
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| Stryi. The dwelling house of the sculptor Kostiantyn Levchenko at 10 Mikhnovskyi Street |
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