(Lviv) The general director of Ukraine’s largest museum has started a race against time in case the Russian offensive moves west.
Posted at 12:40 p.m.
In a partially empty gallery of the Andrey Sheptytsky National Museum in Lviv, employees place Baroque pieces packed in cardboard boxes. A few meters away, a group descends an important element of the Bohorodchany iconostasis, an 18th-century work of sacred art.
“Tears sometimes come to my eyes because of the hard work we do. It takes time, energy. When we do something good, we are happy. But today, we see empty walls, so we feel sad, bitter. We could not believe until the last minute that this could happen, ”says Ihor Kozhan.
The museum established in Lviv in western Ukraine has been closed since the start of the Russian invasion. Various heritage sites in the country are also in danger due to the fighting. Mr Korzhan says he receives phone calls from other European cultural institutions offering help.
Anna Naurobska, the director of the department of manuscripts and rare books, laments that she does not know where she can safely store the collection of more than 12,000 objects placed in boxes.
The transfer and the fear that this collection is in danger in the event of an attack on the city upset her.
“It’s our story, it’s our life. It’s very important to us,” says M.me Naurobska.
With tears in her eyes, she goes to another room carrying a big book. “It’s a Russian book,” she said, replacing it on a shelf. I’m so furious. »
Like the museum, other establishments in Lviv are eager to protect cultural and artistic works. The cabinets of the Museum of the History of Religion are almost empty. Employees assemble metal containers to store the last objects that will be stored in the basements. At the Latin Cathedral, the sculptures are covered with cardboard, foam and plastic to protect them from shrapnel.
Mr. Kozhan recalls that his museum survived two world wars.
“The museum must live. People should come here, children first. They have to learn the foundations of their culture,” he says.