Gunpowder Tower, Lviv
A tower of 1554–1556 on the outer line of the walls, where the city kept its gunpowder; now the Centre for Architecture.
The Gunpowder Tower was built on the outer line of the city fortifications together with the new arsenal in the eastern part of the city: according to the LIA of the Center for Urban History, in 1554–1556, according to lviv.travel, in 1556. It is a free-standing horseshoe-shaped four-storey stone structure under a steep tiled roof, with walls 2.5–3 metres thick and loopholes: 6 for cannon on the first tier, 9 on the second. Gunpowder was stored here, and grain as well; in 1895 the city bought the tower. After the reconstruction of 1954–1956 the tower became the Architect's House: according to the LIA, in 1956, while according to lviv.travel it opened on 9 May 1959; by the entrance are 19th-century stone lions. Since 2018 it has been the Centre for Architecture, Design and Urbanism. In a dispute over the premises that had lasted since 2017, the Lviv Regional Council and the union of architects signed a memorandum on 4 September 2026: the tower remains in the joint ownership of the communities of the Lviv region, and the architects are to receive a new lease agreement.
Inside during events; the exterior can be viewed anytime.