The Lviv Oblast Administration, represented by its head Mykola Kmet, signed an agreement on bringing under concession the 19th century palace located in the village of Tartakiv, Sokal raion, which is an architectural monument of national importance. According to the agreement, the concession term is 49 years. The concessionaire (individual entrepreneur Novosad) has agreed to work on the building’s condition, restoring it (including drainage system) and rendering it operational. After the above-mentioned requirements are met, the palace will function as a tourist-recreation complex. The sum of money invested into the reconstruction is not disclosed.
For reference: according to the decree no. 1338 of the Cabinet of Ministers, two castles and a palace have been added to the list of objects in the Lviv region that belong to the state which can be placed under concession. These are the castle in the village Svirzh, Peremyshliany raion (built in 1484), the castle in the village Stare Selo, Pustomyty raion (16-17th centuries) and the palace in the village Tartakiv, Sokal raion (19th century).
As the head of the department of protection of cultural heritage of the Lviv ODA Vasyl Ivanivsky told The Day, no bids have been invited concerning either Svirzh, or Stare Selo. “We decided to hold the tender on the object in Tartakiv, which is the least conflict-prone and problematic,” the statesman noted, “We have done this to develop a model for such agreements, using the palace as an example. I believe that the attempt was a success.”
Asked why one should rent out monuments of cultural heritage, the head of the Lviv Art Gallery Borys Voznytsky replied, “I am against this. Our Svirzh Castle, for example, was nearly sold – I defended it. I am against concession, because too few monuments have been preserved in Ukraine. Ukraine has only 25 castles. Poland has 180, and the Czech Republic – 360. We should try to develop tourism rather than simply renting sites! Having three castles, in Olesko, Pidhirtsi, and Zolochevo, we have marketed them as Ukraine’s Golden Shoe. And this has made people come. Now 100,000 people arrive in the castles annually. We have even started to see profits. We can buy and repair something. So, I repeat, I am against giving castles for concession. However, we also have buildings that, in my opinion, can be sold and given for concession. These are palaces built in the 19th century, damaged or having no historical importance. Specifically, I am not against privatization in Tartakiv, because after a fire burned it 20 years ago, only a few moldy walls are left.”
