Lviv's Haunted Church

Photo by Maksym Kozlenko
WikiCommons

The Dominican Church of Lviv, Ukraine is a massive, but beautiful piece of architecture. Although the Dominican Order came to the Lviv area centuries before, the current church's cornerstone was laid in 1749. Designed by Polish engineer, Jan De Witt and largely financed by the Potocki Family, the church was finished 15 years later. In 1764, it was consecrated by the archbishop of Lviv, Waclaw Hieronim Sierakowski. 

Over the next couple of centuries, additions and renovations slightly changed the look of the building. In the years following World War 2, the church was occupied by the Soviets, who used it as a storage warehouse before finally turning it into a museum of religion and atheism. However, following the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the church was given back to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, and resumed its function as a parish church. 

Somewhere along the line, the church picked up a reputation for being haunted! 

Witnesses report that quite often, as the midnight hour descends upon the city, the church comes alive. For at least three hours at a time, loud, passionate, ghostly sermons can be heard thundering through the empty building. A phantom choir sings out, their voices amplified by the wonderful acoustics in the building. 

The church library is also a scene of regular paranormal activity. Books tightly packed on library shelves still manage to wriggle themselves free and fling themselves on the floor. Sounds of an old-fashioned typewriter, pecking away with unseen hands, are also observed. 

According to various websites, more than a few night watchmen have quit their post after experiencing these disembodied sounds, and even more have quit when they've run into the ghost monk! It is believed that the hauntings of the church only began over the past few decades when the basements were opened up and renovated, setting lose the ghost of a monk who was most likely buried on the property. This monk appears as a translucent shape, wearing a white robe. He seems trapped in a time long gone by, as he performs his usual duties, going about on his usual route, oblivious to the frightened night watchmen who have encountered his image. 

It is my great hope that this wonderfully historic (and haunted) showpiece to Ukraine's architecture still stands tall and proud and in the ownership of the Ukrainian people for generations to come. Theresa's Haunted History of the Tri-State proudly supports a FREE and Democratic Ukraine and stands with the Ukrainian people as they currently fight to keep their freedom. Please keep the people of Ukraine in your thoughts during these horrific times, but also remember to include the Russian people who are NOT responsible for the acts of their government, and whom of which many don't support this assault on Ukraine. 

Source: 

Top 10 Mystical Spots in Ukraine, by Oleh Apostolov. 24 February 2012.  The Ukrainian Week.