Zhovkva, 25-30 km north of Lviv, is a rare Ukrainian example of a Renaissance "ideal town": laid out to a single plan by Hetman Stanislaw Zolkiewski at the end of the 16th century, and still legible today. Since 1994 it has been a State Historical and Architectural Reserve protecting some 55 monuments. Its core is the square Vicheva (market) plaza with the town hall and arcaded burgher houses, surrounded by the 17th-century Church of St. Lawrence with the tombs of the Zolkiewski and Sobieski families, the Basilian and Dominican monasteries, a 17th-century fortified synagogue, and surviving stretches of the town walls with the Hlynska and Zvirynetska gates. The highlight is the wooden Holy Trinity Church (1720), inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the "Wooden Tserkvas of the Carpathian Region", with a five-tier iconostasis by the Zhovkva school of painters. Zhovkva Castle stands on the same Vicheva square and is a separate key sight of the town.
Zhovkva is 25 km north of Lviv. Suburban buses and minibuses run frequently and take roughly 40-60 minutes; there is also a railway station (32 km by rail from Lviv). By car it is a 30-40 minute drive.
Two to three hours are enough for the historic centre on foot - Vicheva square, St. Lawrence's Church, the monasteries, the synagogue and the town gates are all within a few blocks. Add the Zhovkva Castle museum and the wooden Holy Trinity Church and you need 4-5 hours, i.e. a comfortable half-day or day trip from Lviv.
The wooden Holy Trinity Church of 1720, a UNESCO World Heritage site with a five-tier iconostasis; the Renaissance Vicheva market square with its town hall and arcaded houses; the 17th-century Church of St. Lawrence; the fortified synagogue; and Zhovkva Castle itself.
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Address
м. Жовква, Львівський р-н, Львівська обл. (історичний центр — площа Вічева)
Phone
+380325222498Website
zhovkva-tour.info/Price range
Walking the town - Vicheva square, the churches, monasteries, synagogue and town gates - is free. Only museum exhibitions and guided tours are paid: a ticket to the Zhovkva Castle museum is about 200 UAH (adults), 150 UAH (school pupils), 100 UAH (students), with guided tours inside the castle at 300-500 UAH depending on the group. City tours are booked through the municipal Tourist Information Centre on Vicheva square.
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