Lviv Candle Manufactory, Lviv

Lviv Candle Manufactory (Lvivska Svichkova Manufaktura) is a cosy space in the heart of the Old Town that combines a shop of handmade candles, a small café and a workshop where anyone can make a candle with their own hands. It hides behind heavy wooden shutters on Muzeina Square next to the Dominican Cathedral: an ivy-clad entrance, a barrel of flowers and, inside, shelves of colourful dinner candles, ceramics, glass and the warm scent of natural wax.

What it is

The manufactory has been making candles since 2013. In that time the Lviv team has created dozens of signature collections, from classic dinner candles and beeswax candles to scented candles in black-smoked ceramics and hand-blown glass. The shop on Muzeina Square is the only place that stocks the full range and is also the "heart" of the manufactory: this is where they experiment with scents, test new candles and run workshops. The brand works with artists too — joint projects include a charity drop with the band DakhaBrakha and writer Serhiy Zhadan, and a project with the Lviv National Academy of Arts.

Workshops: what you can make yourself

• Candles & Wine — 1.5–2 hours of creativity with a glass of wine (or coffee or tea). Participants pour a scented soy-wax candle into a ceramic pot and decorate it with dried flowers, roll a candle from honeycomb wax sheets and make a taper candle by dipping. Price: UAH 1,200 per person.
• Candles & Perfume — an extended version: first you blend your own fragrance from single scents brought from Grasse in France, then pour a soy candle with it, dip a dinner candle and roll a beeswax candle. Price: UAH 1,600 per person.
• Seasonal and private workshops. Before New Year and Christmas the team makes themed candles, and before Easter — pysanka-style Easter-egg candles. Groups of 6 to 12 can book a private workshop (at least 5 days in advance); classes are also held for children.

Group workshops run on a schedule with a minimum of 4 participants. All materials are provided, and on the day of the class participants get 10% off candles in the shop. During an air-raid alert the workshop is paused and resumed after the all-clear or rescheduled.

What to buy

The most popular buys are long dinner candles in many colours hanging in bunches by the counter, honey-scented beeswax candles, multi-wick scented candles in ceramics and the "From Lviv with Love" collection — a lovely souvenir of the city. There are brass and ceramic candlesticks, scented wax melts, aroma lamps, gift sets and workshop gift certificates. Prices on the website range from a few hundred hryvnias for small candles to about UAH 2,200 for large candles in hand-blown glass.

Candle-making is one of Lviv's oldest crafts: guilds of wax-makers and chandlers worked here as early as the days of Magdeburg Law, and candles have always been part of Ukrainian holidays, from Christmas to Easter. The manufactory blends this tradition with contemporary design and natural materials.

Practical information

• Address: 1 Muzeina Square, Lviv — in the Old Town by the Dominican Cathedral, a 3-minute walk from Rynok Square.
• Opening hours: Mon–Thu 10:00–19:00, Fri–Sun 10:00–20:00.
• Contacts: +380 50 430 9029, [email protected], website candles.lviv.ua (workshop tickets sold online), Instagram @lviv.candles.manufactory.
• Café: inside and on a small terrace you can have coffee or wine (including their own "coffee wine") and an éclair.
• Getting there: from Rynok Square walk along Drukarska or Fedorova Street to the Dominican Cathedral. From the station take a tram to the centre and walk; cars cannot be left in the pedestrian zone, so use the paid car parks near the Old Town.

Rated 4.6 out of 5 on Google Maps (over 600 reviews): guests praise the atmosphere, the choice of candles and the workshop hosts.

At a glance

• Address: Lviv
• Opening hours: Mon–Thu 10:00–19:00, Fri–Sun 10:00–20:00
• Season: All year; seasonal workshops before Christmas and Easter
• Prices: Candles & Wine workshop UAH 1,200 per person, Candles & Perfume workshop UAH 1,600 per person (website, October 2026)
• Phone: +380504309029

Website and social media: candles.lviv.ua · instagram.com

Photos: lh3.googleusercontent.com.