Lviv Museum of Ethnography and Crafts

Two days ago we visited the Lviv Museum of Ethnography and Crafts. There was only one room of the hand tools and huts I expected, and the rest of the collection was either modern or a more straightforward reflection of Lviv's cultural history. A collection of Habsburg clocks, watches, and pocket-sized sun dials for instance.

The building itself turned out to be the highlight of the trip. A grand stair case flanked by a pair of lion bannisters led up to decked out hall on the second floor. The lions had breastplates. Not the first time I've seen lions with breasts here, I've also seen lions with curiously phallic faces serving as skirts for male statues. Amy and Axel sat in a window seat under one of a dozen stained-glass windows, taking in grandeur that you just don't find in a country that's been a democracy from the get go.



The handtools and huts didn't disappoint. They had the long and pointy quality that I associate with broken bones, accusations of witchcraft, and devil's horns. Also the sort of visual spareness that I equate with sensible design.


There was a surcharge for photographs here as well (5 Hryvnia). In the first room we visited a docent told us to keep it handy for the inevitable requests to see it. Turns out no one asked. But each of the subsequent rooms we visited had at least two docents. They would pass from room to room, gallery to gallery, through a series of doors that were off limits to visitors. As with the Railway Museum we were asked to fill in the guest book. I get the sense that everyone is, not just folks from far away — most people seem to think Amy is from Poland.