New Jewish style in Lviv architecture: The historic transformation in the urban space

Abstract

Introduction: The phenomenon of expressing national identity in architecture is manifested in many countries and cities. In this article, it is considered in the context of Lviv with the main focus on Jewish architects. Purpose of the study: We are planning to study the process of the emergence of a new Jewish style in the architecture of Lviv from the mid-19th century to the first decades of the 20th century in the context of urban development, and consider the formation of a characteristic art language, together with the corresponding symbolic elements of décor. Methods: We use a comprehensive art approach, which involves the method of systematization for material processing, comparison and synthesis. In the course of the study, we applied comparative analysis, as well as elements of systematic analysis of the Jewish architecture evolution. Results and discussion: We conclude that the architects used several strategies and theories to express Jewish cultural identity in their works, in particular, neo-romantic transformations of medieval, Renaissance and Oriental architecture, rethinking in the spirit of Art Nouveau of the Neo-Moorish style, incorporation of old regional architecture motifs, applying decor saturated with Jewish symbols.