Sheptytsky Square, Ivano-Frankivsk

Sheptytsky Square in Ivano-Frankivsk welcomes thousands of tourists every year. This atmospheric place was named in honor of Andrey Sheptytsky because he did a lot for the city.

Andrey Sheptytsky is known not only as a famous religious figure. He founded the Lviv National Museum and acquired a large number of exhibits for it. This museum has two buildings, one on Svobody Avenue and the other on Drahomanova Street in the former Dunikowski Palace. Also during World War II, Metropolitan Andrey hid people in his home, regardless of their religion.

But the bishop connected his life not only with Lviv. In February 1899, Sheptytsky was elected bishop of Stanislav (Stanislav was the former name of Ivano-Frankivsk). Although he held this position for a little over a year, he did many good things. During this time, Andrei Sheptytsky visited many parishes. He was the first of the higher Greek Catholic clergy to speak to his parishioners in the vernacular. He was also the first to write a message to the Hutsuls in their dialect.

For this, grateful residents named one of the city's central squares after Sheptytsky. But this name has been relevant only since 1990; before that, the square was named after one of the Russian political figures, Uritsky.

In addition, in August 2015, a monument to Andrey Sheptytsky was unveiled in Ivano-Frankivsk.

The square is popular with both residents and tourists. This is due to the fact that Rynok Square is located nearby. The square also hosts many festivals: "Blacksmiths' Festival, Bread Festival, and Carpathian Vernissage.

There are two main architectural monuments on the square:

1. Holy Resurrection Cathedral.

The Cathedral of the Holy Resurrection was built in the early 18th century as a Jesuit church. It housed a school and a monastery. There is speculation that there was once a wooden church on the site of the present cathedral. An entry about it was found in the journals of the traveler Ulrich von Werdum, who visited Stanislaviv in 1672.

• In the middle of the 18th century, the church had to be rebuilt. The reason was a poor foundation and some structural flaws.
• But in 1773, the territory of Prykarpattia was captured by the Austrian Empire. The Jesuit order was abolished, and the church was closed. Because no one took care of the church, it slowly collapsed.
• When Andrey Sheptytsky came to town, the church was restored. The reconstruction took place with the financial support of the bishop.
• Since 1939, the cathedral has housed a Polish gymnasium, and after the establishment of Soviet rule in the city, a medical school building.

Since independence, services have been held in the church again.

2. The Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Collegiate Farnian Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the oldest building in Ivano-Frankivsk. History hides the exact date of its construction. It is known that once upon a time there was a wooden church on the site of the present church. Andrzej Potocki, the founder of the city, had the church granted the title of collegiate church in 1669. Later, a collegium was opened here, a so-called branch of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Imagine, in this small wooden church, a curriculum similar to that of Western European schools of this type was offered!

It is worth noting that this church is the only religious building that is not used for its intended purpose. The church now houses the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Art Museum.

Sheptytsky Square is located in the very center of the city, west of Rynok Square. To get to the square from the square, you need to walk down Halytska Street (Rynok Square should be behind you) for a few meters and turn right.