The museum was opened in January 1993 in the former building of St. John the Baptist Catholic church, which was one of the oldest temples in the city.

The history of the church is quite remarkable.
There are several possible dates of its founding suggested. According to the first one, the temple was built in 1201 by the Prince Roman Mstyslavovych and dedicated to the birth of Prince's son Danylo Romanovych (baptized as Ivan). That time, the newly built church was consecrated in honour of St. John the Baptist — the holy patron of the newborn prince.
The other version, which became a popular story, says that the church of St. John the Baptist was built in 1250 by the Prince Lev Danylovych who gave it as a present to his Catholic wife Constance, the daughter of Hungarian king Béla IV.
The church was functioning untill the beginning of the World War II. After the war it became a nearby hospital's storehouse.

The studies of the temple began in 1984, held by the director of art gallery Borys Voznytsky. It was his initiative to reconstruct the buildng and turn it into a museum, centered around a unique icon of the 14th century — Lviv Virgin Mary, nowadays placed in the chapel of Pototsky Palace in Lviv.

The exhibits in the modern museum collection: two panoramas of Lviv (13th and 18th centuries), local archaeological finds from the city and its suburbs. There are also fragments of frescos preserved inside the temple (dated back to the 14th-16th centuries).
Since 2009 liturgies are conducted in the temple on Sundays and holidays (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church).

10:00-17:00; Sundays 13:00-17:00.
Monday is a day off.

Adults — 10 UAH.
Children — 5 UAH.

Adult groups — 30 UAH.
Pupils and students — 15 UAH.

Lviv city
Uzhgorodska St. 1

Tel.: +38 (032) 260-14-96

By public transport
Go by bus or tram to the city centre. The museum is in the centre, behind the Opera House and nearby Stary Rynok Square (the Old Market).
More information about public transport.

By car
Go to the city centre, then go straight on onto Torhova Street untll the crossroads; then turn left onto B. Khmelnytsky Street and go straight on untill Stary Rynok Square. The last step — turn right onto Uzhgorodska Street.