Experts continue to check the condition of the cultural heritage monuments that, together with restorers and volunteers, were protected from possible destruction at the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
On 18 October, experts examined 6 more sculptures on the facade of St George’s Cathedral. They found certain flaws. So the old cover was dismantled and replaced with a new special hydraulic barrier. In the spring, the sculptures will be treated with a special protective solution.
“The sculptures on the cathedral’s facade are a monument of national importance and part of the UNESCO heritage. So at the beginning of the full-scale war, they, like other valuable monuments, were protected from possible destruction. The protection was carried out by volunteers without the involvement of the city council. And, as it turned out, it was not done very well. We saw this when we checked the first 8 figures on the temple – certain lichens had formed on them. So we had to check the rest of the sculptures.
So we inspected six more sculptures. To do this, we had to use a truck mounted aerial platform, as they are located at a considerable height. Here, we found the same defects – lichens. To neutralise them, the sculptures need to be treated with a special liquid. We have already purchased it. But now the weather conditions are unfavourable. So together with the experts – Andrii Saliuk and Oleh Rybchynskyi – we agreed that we would do it in the spring. Right now, in order to stop the process of lichen spreading, we have removed the old protection and wrapped the figures in a special hydrobarrier. This will protect them from ultraviolet radiation and thus make it impossible for lichens to multiply,” said Tetiana Balukova, head of the Lviv City Council’s Department of Historic Environment Protection.
Next week, it is planned to open and check two more, the last, closed sculptures on the cathedral’s facade. They are located very high and another aerial lift will be used for this purpose.
The official added that all the sculptures in the cathedral need restoration. It was agreed that they would be restored free of charge by students of the Institute of Architecture at Lviv Polytechnic National University under the guidance of Doctor of Architecture, Associate Professor Oleh Rybchynskyi.
Earlier, Lviv inspected the condition of the sculptures of the fountains on Rynok Square. Rynok Square – Adonis and Neptune. No damage that could have been caused by the protective structures was found on the figures. In total, more than 40 large objects have been protected in Lviv since the first days of the war, and dozens of smaller valuable exhibits have been dismantled and moved to storage.