Restoration work has begun in Lviv on the sculpture of Saint Elizabeth, located on the facade of the Church of Saints Olha and Elizabeth. The monument lost its head and part of an arm after bombings during World War II. Its restoration is planned to be completed by September 11. This is reported reported Suspilne.
Restorer Yuriy Ovsyannikov has already begun cleaning the stone and researching historical materials that will help recreate the lost elements of the sculpture. According to him, specialists are studying archival photographs and other sources to convey the author's intent as accurately as possible. Ovsyannikov noted that they have already scanned the location of the sculpture. After that, the head and hand will be reconstructed, and then these elements will be carved on a special machine.
According to the restorer, the most time-consuming part is cleaning the surface from soot and other deposits. This stage allows for an assessment of the stone's actual condition and the scope of further work. It is already evident that the sculpture shows numerous signs of decay due to prolonged exposure to wind, precipitation, and pollution.
"One could say that this is 50-60% of the entire work. After cleaning, it will be immediately clear what state the sculpture is in and what needs to be done. At this stage, the cleaning revealed many areas of weathering. The sculpture is located in an air corridor, so it is heavily damaged by wind, rain, and soot from locomotives," - explains Yuriy Ovsyannikov.
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The sculpture, 3.5 meters high, is made of sandstone. As Yuriy Ovsyannikov notes, for its time, it was an expensive and high-quality material, which was likely chosen for the decoration of the temple due to its durability and value.
As the head priest of the church, Ivan Halimurka, said, the shrine was damaged not only during World War II. In January of this year, as a result of a Russian drone attack, the explosion wave damaged the church: 44 window panes and one stained-glass window were broken. The main restoration work has already been completed.
The restoration of the sculpture is funded by benefactors and the church community. The restoration is planned to be completed by September 11.
