Lychakiv Cemetery. An 18th-century museum-necropolis with chapels, sculptures and the graves of famous Ukrainians

A sculpted tombstone at Lychakiv Cemetery
Stone sculptures at Lychakiv Cemetery
A marble tombstone of a woman at Lychakiv Cemetery
A Gothic tombstone at Lychakiv Cemetery
Chapels and paths of Lychakiv Cemetery
Brick chapels at Lychakiv Cemetery
The main gate of Lychakiv Cemetery
A sculpted tombstone at Lychakiv CemeteryStone sculptures at Lychakiv CemeteryA marble tombstone of a woman at Lychakiv CemeteryA Gothic tombstone at Lychakiv CemeteryChapels and paths of Lychakiv Cemetery

Lychakiv Cemetery is one of the oldest necropolises in Europe and a true open-air museum. Its 40 hectares of old trees shelter chapels, crypts and tombstones by renowned 19th-century sculptors. Ivan Franko, Solomiya Krushelnytska, Markiian Shashkevych, Volodymyr Ivasiuk and hundreds of other notable people are buried here.

Why visit

  • One of the oldest necropolises in Europe, founded in 1786 – a true open-air museum
  • Chapels, crypts and tombstones by renowned 19th-century sculptors among old trees
  • The graves of Ivan Franko, Solomiya Krushelnytska, Markiian Shashkevych and Volodymyr Ivasiuk in one necropolis
  • Shady alleys across 40 hectares, where every bend in the path reveals a new story
  • The Fields of Honorary Burials – a place of remembrance for the Heroes who gave their lives in the Russian-Ukrainian war
  • A quiet walk of a few hours, less than two kilometers from Rynok Square

Good to know

Ticket prices
Admission is UAH 100 for adults and UAH 80 for university and school students.
Entrance and box office
Visitors enter only through the main gate on Mechnykova Street, where the box office is. The side entrances on Cheremshyny and Vakhnianyna Streets are open only to relatives of the buried, with a pass.
Opening hours
The museum is open daily from 9:00 to 18:00, and until 20:00 in summer.
Best photo spots
The most photogenic spots are the old chapels and sculptures in the shade of ancient trees, especially in spring and autumn.
Good to know
Lychakiv Cemetery is an active necropolis and a place of remembrance: quiet, modest clothing and respect for the graves are appropriate.
Getting there
The cemetery is less than 2 km from Rynok Square, so you can easily walk here or take public transport to Mechnykova Street.

The cemetery was founded in 1786, and over more than two centuries it has become a necropolis where more than 400,000 people are buried across 40 hectares. Today it is an open-air museum visited by both Lviv residents and the city’s guests. A walk along its shady alleys feels like a tour of a sculpture museum: Neo-Gothic chapels, crypts with coats of arms, stone angels and mourners. Renowned 19th-century Lviv sculptors worked on the tombstones, so almost every bend in the path reveals a new story. Here lie writer Ivan Franko, opera singer Solomiya Krushelnytska, national awakener Markiian Shashkevych and composer Volodymyr Ivasiuk, as well as Polish artists – writer Gabriela Zapolska and painter Artur Grottger. Since 2014, Heroes who died in the Russian-Ukrainian war have been buried on the Fields of Honorary Burials. The best place to start is the main gate on Mechnykova Street: the box office is here, and the main alley leads deep into the necropolis past the most famous graves. Allow at least an hour and a half to two hours for your walk.