The Didushytsky family's mission in conservation and research of Galician historical and archaeological heritage

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to highlight the contribution of the Didushytsky family to the preservation of Galician historical and archaeological heritage on the basis of archival published materials and scientific papers; to do research on their role in the development of Lviv archeology until the middle of the 20th century. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, scientificity, objectivity, systematicity, the use of general scientific (analysis, synthesis, generalization) special and historical (prosopographic, historical and typological, historical and systemic) methods. The scientific novelty is caused by the introduction of archival documents and little-known works of the 19th and early 20th centuries into scientific circulation, which makes it possible to show the contribution of the Didushytsky family to the conduct of archaeological research in the territories of western Ukraine, their role in preservation and exhibition of archaeological finds, etc. The Conclusion. The formation of a powerful scientific centre around the Didushytsky Museum took place owing to the interest and financial support of individual representatives of the Didushytsky family. From the end of the 19th century far from the last place was occupied by archaeology in the Museum. Volodymyr Didushytsky laid the foundations of archaeological collection and provided it with scientific analysis by “finding” the only professional archaeologist for the Museum in Lviv at that time, Karol Hadaczek. The work of the founder was continued by the second resident, Tadeusz Didushytsky, who supported archaeological research in every possible way, owing to whom the collection increased, the results of fieldwork were published, and the Museum became known among archaeologists in Europe. The successors of Tadeusz Didushytsky, Pavlo and Volodymyr (junior), tried to make some progress in preserving the historical and cultural heritage, but the financial crisis that affected the family in the 1920s and 1930s affected this line of activity as well. At the beginning of World War II, the preservation of historical and architectural monuments receded into the background. Archeology started to belong to the newly established Lviv Historical Museum.