Saint Lazarus Church in Lviv, Renaissance and Gothic church in Lviv, Ukraine
Saint Lazarus Church is a brick structure built in Renaissance and Gothic style, featuring a single nave, a rectangular apse, and two three-story towers topped with pointed Gothic windows and tent-shaped roofs. The building sits on the Kalicha Mountain slopes and is enclosed by walls that separate it from the surrounding streets.
The building was constructed in 1634 under architect Ambroży Przychylny as part of a larger medical complex meant to serve the poor. It was intentionally built outside the city walls to the south, away from the urban center.
The church was built as part of a hospital complex meant to care for sick and poor people in the city. Visitors can still sense this blend of spiritual and medical purpose in how the space is organized around the central structure.
The church sits on elevated terrain on the Kalicha Mountain with surrounding walls that define the visit area clearly. Access is best on foot, and the elevated location means visitors should be prepared for some walking on the hillside.
Two-story hospital buildings are symmetrically positioned on the north and south sides of the church, showing that medical care was given equal architectural weight as the spiritual mission. This balanced arrangement is rare for religious buildings and makes the site a distinctive example of a combined church and medical facility from the 1600s.
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