Some 100,000 people visited Lviv to mark the city’s 750th anniversary. The chartered flights, additional trains, and limousines with diplomatic license plates were proof that the festivities were considered a major event. It was not only their desire to see the unique architecture and marvel at the festive decorations that made Lviv so attractive on those warm September days.
Ukraine demonstrated its respect for the ancient city because it never betrayed it. In many respects Lviv has been more farsighted, with firmer convictions and at the same time markedly flexible in serving the Ukrainian idea, despite being at the crossroads of Europe and essentially a multicultural city. At times unintentionally and sometimes quite consciously, Lviv served as a litmus test for social consciousness; if something began in Lviv, it meant that there were substantial reasons for others to follow suit. If Lvivites could not hold their emotions in check about something, it meant that no people with enough self-respect could tolerate it. Therefore, Lviv had every reason to expect guests, accept presents, and hope for a better future.
Significant funds were allocated for the festivities from the scarce state budget, and Lviv residents made every effort to put this money to the best use. This was not easy, considering that the first amounts for the restoration of museums, repair of roads, schools, and homes were received only last August. A list of what had to be done, including renovations and major repairs, occupied eight pages. People were so tired that they wanted to go to bed and wake up only for the festivities.
We seem unable to go about such projects without last-minute decisions, emergency jobs and inhuman effort. If truth be told, not everything was done on time or properly. Much remained to be done, so the Public Forum of Lviv, a reputable civic organization, addressed a message to residents and guests of Lviv, stating that Lviv would welcome everyone, fellow Ukrainians and guests, and would make their stay interesting with journeys down the centuries and all kinds of modern entertainment.
In addition to everything that the hospitable residents of Lviv prepared for their visitors, the message asked people to consider the destiny of the city and its problems, which are unfortunately characteristic not only of this gem of European culture but of all ancient Ukrainian cities.
Problems and debts notwithstanding, the festivities took place. The number of events was impressive, and it was physically impossible to attend all of them. For three days the city was immersed in a festive atmosphere that satisfied all tastes and age groups. Market Square invited people to late 19th-century Lviv, perhaps the most romantic period in the city’s long history.
As promised by the organizers, dramatized events were held on an unprecedented scale. Visitors could watch blacksmiths, potters, weavers, embroiderers, and basket-weavers at work. The craftsmen, clad in ancient attire, skillfully handled authentic tools. Nearby, burghers wearing costumes strolled alongside guests dressed in contemporary clothing and listened to an orchestra from Jena that was specially invited to Lviv to give concerts during the three-day festivities. Fans of pop music could walk a short distance and listen to Viktor Morozov’s pop group, Wojtek Mrozek, and Leopolis.
It’s hard to tell how much beer was consumed. The Lvivske Pyvo Company not only treated everyone to their golden beverage, but also restored the old tradition of dancing on the street on special festive occasions, sometimes with precious steins in hand.
There was also Chernihiv beer. The company of the same name organized a “Festival of Festivals” combining folk, rock, alternate, and dancing fests — and of course with lots of beer.
Guests tired of beer could taste mead in Shevchenko Grove, where a mead festival was held with all the required components: contests, exhibits, and fairs, and beekeepers from Poland and Slovakia. They were all greeted by the Combat Hopak Association with its masterful dances and delicious kulish cooked according to an ancient recipe. After eating kulish, the guests could watch duels between knights that have become popular in Europe after many years of being neglected.
Those who attended the Silver Wolf Festival could watch beautiful ladies and chivalrous knights, clowns, and hangmen, try their hand at archery, and purchase goods made by blacksmiths and potters to the accompaniment of Scandinavian, Irish, and Slavic folk songs performed by the Stara Olsa and Litius groups from Belarus, Muzika Radikum from St. Petersburg, and Lviv’s Burdon.
There were many ancient and sophisticated things to be seen in Lviv on those festive days, including the five-day drama festival Zoloty Lev (Golden Lion) with guest stars from Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Russia. The French drama company Couleurs Mecaniques attracted a lot of attention because its cast members, walking on hydraulic stilts, were skillful gymnasts and magicians.
The 11th International Festival Faith, Hope, and Charity was held on the patio of the City Council, attended by journalists from 14 countries representing more then 200 world media. There were creative contests with various nominations, awards ceremonies, and extensive media coverage. There was an international motor rally, the Golden Horseshoe, with cars zooming past castles in Lviv oblast, and a concert by Goran Bregovic, the noted composer who wrote the music for such films as Emir Kusturica’s Time of the Gypsies, Arizona Dream, and Underground. Last year this renowned composer, who often performs his arrangements of gypsy music in concert, gave his first performance in Ukraine, on Lviv’s Mykhailvska Square.
Visitors attended the literary and art festival NaLIT, the first street festival of new Ukrainian cinema, called KinoLEV, the jazz festival Lviv Weathercocks, the 1st International Symposium of Monumental Sculpture Bernardengarden 2006, the Lviv Horseshoe 2006 blacksmith festival, the Capital City of Crafts festival, and an international antique car festival. In a word, there was enough to satisfy every taste.
A children’s sports playground was opened in Sykhiv with special guest Vitaly Klychko; all the equipment was contributed by the Klychko Brothers Foundation. This event was part of the project “Call Your Friends and Let’s Play Together.”
Lvivites, who say if it’s time for fun, let’s make the most of it, could not deny themselves the pleasure of inviting an artist who puts on excellent photography exhibits: Gert Hof, without whom no world- class photography show can take place. In 2003 he organized the giant project Lights of Freedom in the US, financed by millionaire Donald Trump. That same year Hof staged a visual show during the Day of Moscow in Russia. Now he was working in Lviv, a credit to the organizers of the festivities, who tried to gather as many contemporary talents in Lviv as possible.
This is what made Lviv’s 750th jubilee especially significant, because in this city the distant past is emphasized by modern achievements that would be impossible without our ancestors’ cultural and spiritual attainments. Long live Lviv, a city beloved by so many people, among them The Day’s readers and journalists!
