Potocki Palace

The Potocki Palace is one of the most significant architectural monuments of the late 19th century in Ukraine. It also serves as a museum branch of the B. H. Voznytsky Lviv National Art Gallery, where a collection of European art from the 14th to the 18th centuries was opened in early 2007.

The Potocki family was extremely wealthy, influential, and an extended noble aristocracy that received nobility in the mid-12th century. They played an important role in European history, intertwining with it not only through marital connections but also through personal contributions to the development of science, literature, and art. Notable members of the Potocki family include Jan Nepomuk Potocki, the famous author of the novel "The Manuscript Found in Saragossa," and Mikołaj Vasily Potocki, a patron who helped Ukraine create the world′s only collection of works by the famous late Baroque sculptor Johann Georg Pinzel.

The palace was built at the behest of Count Alfred II Józef Potocki, a prominent politician of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, who was awarded numerous orders and held important positions in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria from 1875 to 1883.

The palace is an impressive example of the "historicism" architectural style of the late 19th century. Its design was developed by the fashionable Parisian architect Louis Dauvergne (1854-1937).

Pleasantly, the project did not require specialists from abroad. The palace was built by local professionals, and the responsibility for its decorative decoration was assigned to the Lviv firm led by the famous sculptor Leonard Marconi and his student Petro Vitalis Herasymovych. Decorative works were also carried out by the highly skilled master Jan Daszek, and his firm performed all types of locksmith and artistic blacksmith works and casting.

This majestic palace, the former residence of the imperial governor in Lviv, always attracts attention with its grandeur and how it structures the space around it. Its semi-transparent fence with high gates decorated with the coat of arms of Alfred II Potocki and the count′s crown allows one to enjoy the architectural ensemble and the vast courtyard, which could simultaneously accommodate up to eight carriages. Guests who had the fortune to visit the palace were enchanted by the French formal garden located behind the palace, with its beautiful flower beds and rare species of trees (including the only metasequoia in Lviv, which now adorns one of the central alleys of the garden).

Visitors can explore the palace interiors on the first floor, which consist of a suite of salons in the Louis XVI style. Among them are:

The Reception Salon: An elegant interior with a view of the terrace, distinguished by a refined combination of old ivory colors, white decor, and golden silk wallpapers.

The Green Salon: With concealed doors, this salon remains a place for high-level meetings.

The Music or Red Salon: Notable for its white Carrara marble fireplace, copper decorations, and rich neoclassical gold stucco.

The Ballroom or White Salon: The walls of this salon are done in stucco technique and mirrors in figurative bronze frames with gilded stucco and images of musical instruments.

The Banquet or Turquoise Salon: All walls and the ceiling are decorated with hunting, fishing, and nature gift attributes. The highlight of this salon is the oil painting "Still Life with Flowers and a Red Parrot," which the Potocki family once admired.

These interiors create an unparalleled atmosphere and preserve the spirit of past eras, allowing visitors to enjoy the cultural richness of the Potocki Palace.