<p>Lviv train station, built according to plans <br />

carried out in 1890, by the well-known architect Vladislav Sadlovski, <br />

profesor at the AgriculturalSchool, on the basis of given information, <br />

gathered by the director of the train station Ludwig Wezhbitz. Work on <br />

the project was carried out by experienced rail workers Y. Vysotski, F. <br />

Rybitski, senior commissars E. Tsyprian and A. Zazulia, architects A. <br />

Zakharievych, K. Zhechytski, H. Jablonski, Y. Hornunh, I. Kendzerski, T.<br />

Talovski. In 1902 the construction of this exemplary object began, <br />

which was realized by the building firm of I. Levyns’ky, A. Zakharevych <br />

and Y. Sosnovs’kyi. The momumental building of the Main Railway Station,<br />

built with the use of the newest technologies, was handed over to the <br />

city for use on March 26, 1904. On that day the dedication and grand <br />

opening of one of the biggest and nicest train stations in Europe at <br />

that time took place. Everything that surrounded the passenger in the <br />

train station’s building, created a feeling of comfort. Without a doubt,<br />

the Lviv main train station then was an example of the unity of art and<br />

technological progress, which for many years made it a favourite object<br />

for photographing. The buildings of the train station were temporarily <br />

destroyed in 1915 during the retreat of the Russian armies from Lviv. <br />

The station endured a lot of destruction during the battles for Lviv in <br />

1918 - 1919, during the dramatic events of the Polish-Ukrainian wars; <br />

its full reconstruction was completed only in 1930, in fact, it was then<br />

that it became three-storied. On September 1, 1939, the Main Railway <br />

Station was practically destroyed by German air bombing. 150 km of rails<br />

on the area of 270 hectares were transformed into ruins. The trade <br />

station was ruined; telephone lines torn, Klepariv and Pidzamche <br />

stations ruined. A temporary train station was built in 1940, in 1941, 1<br />

million krb. were set aside for the reconstruction of the train <br />

station. June 22, 1942 the train station and depot were bombarded once <br />

again, which brought about a temporary destruction. The Main Railway <br />

Station was rebuilt during the occupation. After the end of the war 6000<br />

people worked on the reconstruction. The partly ruined main building, <br />

two locomotive depots, collapsed underground passages to the platforms, <br />

and platform trusses were reconstructed. In April 1945 a resolution was <br />

passed in the government “About the reconstruction and development of <br />

trade, transport and public utilities of the city of Lviv”. In the <br />

decree, the demands included, among others, the rebuilding of the <br />

passenger train station before October 1946. The reconstruction was <br />

finished in the established time period. The head of the Lviv train <br />

station at the time (1940-1949) was Petro Kas’ianovych Shakhrai, who up <br />

until the war was the head of the Odessa station, deputy head of the <br />

ministry of transportation of the South-Western railway, head of the <br />

Donetsk highway.</p>