The Galician Land Exhibition in Lviv of 1894

Space and its perception

Abstract

ROKSOLYANA HOLOVATA (University of Wroclaw / Ukrainian Catholic University) / The Galician Land Exhibition in Lviv of 1894: space and its perception
The Land Exhibition in Lviv of 1894 was one of the most prominent events in Galicia at the turn of the century. From almost two years of preparations emerged the result – on the Stryiski hill appeared, as local press stressed at that time, a “magical city”. During the four months of the Exhibition, held in the 115,000-strong city, it welcomed more than one million visitors. Guests of the Exhibition were not only from around the province but from all over the Empire and abroad. Lviv, as the host city, tried to present itself as a modern European capital of the province. Various newspaper articles evaluated these measures. The first part of this research presents the place and the stages of the creation of the exhibition’s space. The second part reveals the perceptions of the space in the press. The results of the current survey have shown the difference between the intentions of the exhibition’s creators and the impressions and evaluations among the exhibition’s visitors.