L'viv – the Ensemble of the Historic Centre

At the invitation of the State Party, a joint ICOMOS-German World Heritage Foundation reactive monitoring mission was undertaken from 23 to 30 January 2004. According to the mission report the poor condition of buildings is caused by creating additional floors onto the original medieval structures in response to increased population. Continuous interventions on the interior by different owners further weakened the internal structure.

The mission observed that a significant rise in estate prices in L'viv in recent years has given incentives for property owners not to invest in restoration of buildings - this is because once an existing property collapses, a new building can be erected free from the requirements of the heritage legislation.

Leakages from the sewage system are causing additional problems particularly in the historic core area where the public sewage may be situated under the buildings. The city administration has started to implement a strategy for the next 10 years in order to manage the problem.

Concerning the management structure for the property, the City Heritage Preservation Office, established in 2002, is responsible for the day-to-day management of the World Heritage property. The mission noted that while its line of activities is being further defined, the master plan for the urban development is being revised in view of its adoption by the end of 2004. Moreover, lack of valid detailed planning documents is a major reason for causing the conflict for the construction of new properties and the restoration of existing buildings. The mission also made specific recommendations for certain construction projects such as the Soz-Bank Mickiewicz square 4, Sevcenko/Drahonova Street, Valova Street 15, Korolenko Street, Shevs'ka Street 6 and 12 as well as Halytskaj Street 10.