乌克兰狮城利沃夫所见（庄婷）

​利沃夫(Lviv)是乌克兰西部的主要城市，有狮城之称，利沃夫州首府。该市是乌克兰西部的工业、政治、经济、文化、教育中心，拥有许多大型工厂、乌克兰最古老的大学和著名的利沃夫歌剧与芭蕾舞剧院。

利沃夫市素有小巴黎之美称，这里风景旖丽迷人，建筑风格别致，历史悠久曲折，文化兼收并蓄，不仅是东欧旅游胜地，而且是著名的人文荟萃之乡。2010年，联合国教科文组织已将其确定为欧洲古都。利沃夫的旧城区有16至19世纪名胜古迹，拥有许多珍贵的剧场和博物馆建筑，被列为世界文化遗产。利沃夫是乌克兰民族文化的中心都市，乌克兰语的使用情况也比其他乌克兰都市要广。利沃夫有12所大学，其中包括利沃夫大学-乌克兰的第一所大学，也是欧洲最古老的大学之一。

利沃夫1256年见于史籍，历经沧桑，几易国别。14世纪归波兰管辖，1772年隶属奥地利，1867-1918年属奥匈帝国， 1918年又回到波兰，第一次世界大战后归波兰，1939年划入苏联的乌克兰。欧洲其他民族亦将本民族的文化、艺术、传统与宗教带到了利沃夫，得天独厚的条件使利沃夫集中融合了中东欧和西欧国家厚重的历史积淀。因此，利沃夫的建筑兼有哥特式与巴洛克式、文艺复兴式与罗马式的风格就不足为奇了。当你在排列着巴洛克式教堂的利沃夫老城区漫步时，就仿佛置身于某座西欧古城。从这个意义上说，利沃夫也可称为一个浓缩的“小欧洲”了。

古老的市场广场是利沃夫悠久历史的见证。这里是利沃夫的老城区，曾是利沃夫上流社会阶层世代居住的地方，周围环绕着利沃夫建城以来风格各异的历史建筑，其中大都镶嵌和装饰着不同造型的雕塑。广场的东北角是利沃夫历史博物馆，这是16世纪文艺复兴时期风格的建筑，被称为“黑石之家”。与历史博物馆并排的是展示中世纪家具和陶器的博物馆。而建于1735年的利沃夫最古老的药店博物馆则与历史博物馆隔街相望。历史博物馆的东侧是多米尼加教堂，它具有典型的18世纪巴洛克式建筑风格。广场西南角是一座建于14—15世纪波兰时代的罗马天主教大教堂，这里如今已成为乌克兰天主教总部，是乌克兰人心目中的“精神支柱”。

最令利沃夫人引以自豪的当属1900年建成的利沃夫歌剧与芭蕾舞剧院。它是利沃夫建筑、历史和文化最光辉的遗产，早已成为利沃夫的标志。1895年，利沃夫高等工业学校校长戈尔戈列夫斯基在众多著名欧洲建筑设计师中脱颖而出，成为利沃夫歌剧与芭蕾舞剧院的建筑设计师。因此，在利沃夫人和来自世界各地的许多参观者看来，这座气派、华丽、典雅的剧院丝毫不逊色于享誉全球的维也纳大剧院和莫斯科大剧院。

Lviv is one of the biggest cities of regional significance in Ukraine. It was a part of Poland until 1939 when it became part of Ukraine. It is currently the biggest city in the region and a major Ukrainian cultural center. The historic city center is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The city has a multicultural history. It was founded in 1256 by King Daniel of Galicia (the city was named after his son, Prince Leo), and it fell under Polish control in the 14th century. Poles, Jews, Ukrainians, Germans and others lived there together for centuries. The Polish king John II Casimir founded Lviv University in the 17th century and Lviv (known as Lwów) was by that time one of the most important cities in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, along with Krakow, Warsaw, Gdansk and Vilnius.

In 1772 the city was taken by the Habsburgs and in Austrian times it was known under the name of Lemberg, the capital of Galicia. After the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, it was returned to Poland. As result of World War II, Stalin moved the Soviet frontier westward so Lviv became part of the USSR, as Lvov. The name was officially changed to Lviv (Львів).

Lviv is located in the most Ukrainian region of Ukraine; during Soviet occupation, most signs were put only in Ukrainian. Because of its Polish and Austro-Hungarian history, Lviv has a Central European flair in its architecture that makes it one of the most beautiful cities in Eastern Europe. Its tourist potential is yet undiscovered because infrastructure is rather undeveloped and most people don't speak any foreign languages except Russian and Polish. This is changing among young people, some of whom will speak English. Nevertheless, visiting Lviv is very rewarding for the pioneer traveller, as living is still pretty cheap by Western standards and the place has a truly authentic feeling, unlike places like Krakow or Prague, which are swamped with tourists.