130 Years Since the Regional Exhibition of 1894: The Beginning of Lviv's Electrification

On June 20, the Center for Urban History will host a conference organized by the Lviv Regional Electrification History Museum of PrJSC "Lvivoblenergo," which is dedicated to the 1894 Regional Exhibition, an event that was not only a vivid manifestation of its era but also a propellant of global change.

The main novelty of the exhibition in Lviv was the electric light and the electric tram. It created an incredible impression on Lviv residents, especially guests from the province, many of whom saw electric lighting for the first time, although they had heard about it before. And those who had seen it could enjoy its charms at the exhibition. The regional exhibition has become a timestamp from which one can track the transition in the city from small local power plants to citywide ones. The logical continuation of the first two power plants built in Lviv in 1894 was the construction of a new large-scale power plant in Persenkivka (now Lviv Сogeneration Plant-1) in 1909.

The conference aims to discuss the history of general exhibitions worldwide, as well as the implementation of such an idea in 1894 in Lviv, the space arrangement for it, and the festive atmosphere that followed Lviv residents and visitors during the four months of the exhibition.

We will talk about the electrical novelties of the exhibition and its main attraction, namely the electric-colored fountain, and the biographies of prominent electricians who contributed to the city's electrification. In addition, we will discuss the preparation of the city and its municipal infrastructure for the exhibition, which led to the introduction of an electric tram in Lviv, and examine retrospectively the history of the Lviv tram, focusing on the tram's development worldwide.

The conference will be conducted in Ukrainian and Polish.

Organizers:

Lviv Regional Electrification History Museum, PrJSC "Lvivoblenergo." Supported by the Center for Urban History.

Credits

Cover Image: Power plant and pavilion of František Křižík at the exhibition site // from the collection of Ihor Kotlobuvatov // Urban Media Archive of the Center for Urban History.