Historical exhibition

Opening hours of the historical exhibition

10:00-21:00

The entrance is free

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Jam Factory’s Historical Exhibition — a journey through time that unveils the history of a remarkable building and the enterprises it housed in Lviv’s former industrial suburb.

Our story begins in the early nineteenth century, in the village of Znesinnia (Zniesienie), situated on the long, straight road connecting Lviv and the neighboring town of Zhovkva (Żółkiew). Here, Jewish merchants were granted the exclusive right to establish inns where they could sell alcohol to passing travelers. 

One such inn evolved into a distillery and eventually into a full-fledged factory that bore the name of its founder, Josef Kronik. This enterprise wholeheartedly embraced the spirit of innovation and progress that characterized the late nineteenth century. At its peak in the 1910s, this factory was designed in a neo-Gothic style, giving it the appearance of a romantic castle rather than a typical industrial structure.

Despite the upheaval and destruction of World War II, the building endured and continued to serve as an enterprise processing food and beverages for the city’s residents. When production finally stopped in 2008, the space turned into a hub for various creative initiatives, which have now consolidated into their final institutional form as the Jam Factory Art Center.

Through texts, images, and video narratives, we invite you to explore the stories of the people who built the factory and who labored within its walls; the products that were produced here; the ideas that shaped its appearance; and the communities that grew around it over the past two centuries.

Participants and partners

Authors: Harald Binder, Iryna Sklokina, Olha Zarechnyuk

Design/Architecture: Serhiy Petliuk 

Technical support: Yevhen Chervonyi

Video production: Young & Hungry Productions

Research assistance: Yevheniy Poliakov, Mykola Haievoy, Roman Mohytych, Ihor Smolskyi, 

Translations and editing: Areta Kovalska, Uliana Kudla, Andriy Masliukh, Iryna Shutova, Iryna Voloshchak

Special thanks to: Nurith Cohen, Łukasz Czajka, Yaroslav Havryliv, Sofiia Korotkevych, Ivan Kostyk, Robert McCabe, Nazariy Parkhomyk, Bozhena Pelenska, Yaroslava Savytska, Petro Slobodian, Edvard Shmid, Mariia Shvets, Halyna Trots, Bohdan Yemets, Marek Ziołkowski

Historical sources coming from:  State Archive of Lviv Oblast; Vasyl Stefanyk National Scientific Library in Lviv; Central State Historic Archives of Ukraine in Lviv; Urban Media Archive at the Center for Urban History; Libraria. Online Archive of Ukrainian Periodicals; AGAD. Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych; Biblioteka Narodowa; Jagiellońska Biblioteka Cyfrowa; Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe; Österreichische Nationalbibliothek; Österreichische Staatsarchiv