What to do and see in Zhovkva, Lviv Oblast: The Best Sights & Landmarks

St. Josaphat Church is the centrepiece of the Dominican Monastery. The Catholic church in the early Baroque style was erected on the site of a former wooden church of the Virgin Mary in 1653-1655. It was built after the sample of the Naples‘ temples, which was very trendy in Lviv back in those days. Construction of the church was sponsored by Theophile Sobieski, mother of the future Polish king Jan III Sobieski, who wanted it to be the tomb for her son Mark, killed by Batog in 1652. Subsequently, the founder was also buried in the church. Sobieski tombstones are preserved in the Dominican Convent to this day. They are decorated with the allegorical works by German sculptor A. Schluter.The monastery is surrounded by high defensive walls with a circular corner tower, and used to be an important part of the system of the city's fortifications. In the second half of XVIII century, the monastery cells were added to the complex. The wall painting of the church was performed in 1913 by K. Politinski, a painter from Lvov.When the Austrian government of the premises away from the monastery, as in Soviet times, the church was closed. In 1995 the Roman Catholic church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was deconsecrated in St. Iosaphat church of the Greece Catholic community of Zhovkva town. The church is now opened for parishioners and tourists.More info is available at