In Lviv, tourists are awaited by many mystical places
Experts from the daily rental service Dobovo told where to go in Lviv to touch the city's secrets and meet ghosts.
Underground beneath the Jesuit Church of Saints Peter and Paul
Lviv residents claim that the ghost of the Black Monk roams the underground beneath the Church of Saints Peter and Paul. The unfortunate man sold his soul to the devil and now seeks to find and annul the contract, frightening tourists who lag behind their groups.
According to legend, one Jesuit rebelled against the order's rules and was locked in a cell. One day, the monks let a mysterious visitor in black in to see the rebel, but when they returned, they found no one. On the floor lay a contract written in blood, resembling a pact with Satan. Tour guides assure that a copy of the contract is still somewhere in the archives.
A stone head of the Black Monk is installed at the entrance to the catacombs. The sculpture is surrounded by coins with which tourists "appease" the ghostly guardian of the underground.
Treasures of the Alchemist near Pidhirtsi Castle
The majestic Pidhirtsi Castle (village of Pidhirtsi, Lviv region) long belonged to the noble Zhuyevsky family. One of the family members, Severin Zhuyevsky, sought to increase his wealth through alchemy. A laboratory was created in the castle where the owner worked on obtaining gold from base metals.
The treasures obtained in this way were hidden in underground caches, the location of which is still unknown. Locals claim that the alchemist's ghost occasionally appears near the castle, opens doors to the underground vault, and beckons random passersby to show them the way to the gold.
You can get to the castle by bus in 1.5 hours. To save time, try renting a daily apartment in Lviv near the bus station (Bus Station-2 "Northern").
Madhouse on Kulparkivska
At the beginning of the 20th century, one of the inmates jumped from the window of the madhouse on Kulparkiv. It was Anton Charnytsky, a former chief of the Lviv fire department. Legend has it that Charnytsky fell victim to fire spirits that possessed him while he slept.
The fire spirits – Zharnyk, Chornyvets, and Dymnyk – long threatened the firefighter for fighting their native element for many years. Threats did not help, and then the fire spirits expelled his soul from his body, taking its place. According to legend, one night, guided by the spirits, Charnytsky set several houses on fire in the city, for which he was caught and placed in a psychiatric clinic. The ghost of the mad arsonist still roams the Kulparkivska hospital, trying to find his lost soul.
Ghostly Inhabitants of the Lviv City Hall
If you are interested in the mystical side of Galicia, stay in the Old Town. The optimal rental option is a daily apartment in Lviv. Many tourists prefer to live near the City Hall, because here, if lucky, you can meet not just one, but three Lviv ghosts.
Two ghosts of the City Hall are the spirits of conscientious executioners. One tries to give passersby money that he received as a bribe for not carrying out a sentence. The second asked during his lifetime to cut off his blood-stained hands, and after death tries in vain to find and retrieve them.
The third spirit is a monk who guards the tower clock. The church servant rang the bells for several years while the mechanical clock on the City Hall was being repaired. After completing his mission, the monk suddenly died: legend has it that his soul moved into the restored clock and still keeps its mechanism in working order.
Not scared? Then go to Lviv and check the legends yourself!