The Versatility of Ivan Levynsky’s Cultural Heritage

Attention is paid to the issues of the historical and cultural heritage of prominent figures of the Ukrainian past, its influence on cultural and socio-economic changes, transformational and processes of modernization in Ukraine, and to the formation of a distinctive national socio-cultural space in the modern conditions of Ukrainian state-building, growth of national consciousness and the manifestation of Ukrainian identity.

The article is about Ivan Levinskyi’s public, scientific, pedagogical, architectural, construction and business heritage, which had outstanding consequences on the development of Lviv as progressive European city and had a great influence on the development of Galicia, national culture and economy of Ukraine. It was found out that the outstanding graduate and teacher of Lviv Polytechnic I. Levynskyi had left a multifaceted legacy capable to represent our state in the whole world worthily. He created a scientific and architectural school, trained many talented Ukrainian architects, and was himself an example of an architect of tireless work and endurance. The magnitude of his thinking and the dynamism of scientific developments accumulated and embodied in the structures of Lviv a huge energy of architectural quest, functionality and aesthetic perfection. Through his nationalistic searches, he contributed to the practical realization of the conceptual plans of the creators of Ukrainian style, based on the traditions of folk art. He was one of the founders of Lviv’s secession, developing the theory of “rational architecture”, contributed to the cooperation of professional architecture with industrial production. As a scientist and teacher, he developed his own system of training engineers, supported the development of scientific and technical research and dissemination of the results among all-Ukrainian audience, was one of the organizers of the engineering movement in Galicia. He was a founder and a member of the Ukrainian technical and cultural societies, head of the Educational Workers’ Society “Postup”. He became the founder of the Ukrainian national craft - the production of gypsum, woodwork, roofs, facing tiles and artificial stone, majolica and tiled stoves. By this

I. Levinskyi contributed to the development of the regional economy, the professional development of ceramic production on the basis of professional pottery, and ceramic products of its factories received international recognition and awards. Many ceramists of Galicia have been professionally trained on his enterprises, which had created competition for European masters, gradually replacing them from the factories of the region. The successful entrepreneur I. evinskyi owned the best building materials factory in Lviv and a construction firm which took part in the construction and artistic design of many prominent buildings of Lviv, creating conditions for the cooperation of professional architects and industrial production.