Vision of the Saltworks

This is the Administrative Building (hosting offices of the management): a one-storeyed brick building with a wooden porch and external stairs made of concrete and stone. The Administrative Building dates back to 1897.

This is the Administrative Building (hosting offices of the management): a one-storeyed brick building with a wooden porch and external stairs made of concrete and stone. The Administrative Building dates back to 1897.

The landmark Warehouse Buildings (built in 1889-1875). Two elongated blocked brick buildings with ceramic tiles, built in the vicinity of the year 1889. Historically stables, now used as warehouses. The building with the dormer windows is a former stable. Both buildings are in a very sorry condition. Today, the Warehouse Buildings and the Administrative Building serve as a sort of a representative area of Drohobych Saltworks.

The landmark Warehouse Buildings (built in 1889-1875). Two elongated blocked brick buildings with ceramic tiles, built in the vicinity of the year 1889. Historically stables, now used as warehouses. The building with the dormer windows is a former stable. Both buildings are in a very sorry condition. Today, the Warehouse Buildings and the Administrative Building serve as a sort of a representative area of Drohobych Saltworks.

The Church of St George in Drohobych is a landmark of Galician wooden architecture of the late 15th and early 16th centuries is one of the best preserved monuments of ancient Ukrainian sacral architecture. Originally built back in the 15th century, it was then reconstructed multiple times and gained its final architectural shape by Hryhorii Teslia, a highly gifted Ukrainian architect from Drohobych.

Today, the church is part of the wooden architecture department of the “Drohobych Region” museum.

On June 21, 2013, during the 37th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Cambodia, the Church of St. George was added to the list among sixteen wooden churches of the Carpathian region of Poland and Ukraine.

The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is a wooden church, an architectural monument of national significance. It is located in the suburb of Zvarychi on the street of the same name, Zvarytska Street No. 7, in the city of Drohobych. Since 1987, the church has been part of the museum complex of the wooden architecture department of the “Drohobych Region” museum.

The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is considered one of the finest examples of Galician wooden architecture.

The church was a parish church for salt workers. The history of this temple is closely tied to the priest Father Vasyl Hlibkevych, who painted miraculous icons and both lived and served here.

Although the church is now a museum, it is almost always closed, awaiting restoration. The only exception is the feast day on September 27, when a divine service is held in the church.

The Saltmaking Room No. 2 is a huge one-storeyed brick building comprised of several spaces. The main space is rectangular, covered with a gable roof on a chair-rafter system with wooden (some replaced with metallic) support piers. The front and rear façades feature pediments and are vertically divided by decorative pilasters and the arrangement and shapes of several rows of window openings between them (horizontally and vertically). The pediments are crowned with cornices. On the main façade (as proved by historical photographs), there used to be the year of construction inscribed on the pediment (did not survive into our time). In the interior, symmetrically to the central axis, there used to be two large brine boilers (approximate dimensions of each boiler: 6m x 12m x 0.6m) on top of concrete support columns placed above the ovens, with an automated system collecting and transporting the cooked salt onto and along the production line. These brine boilers and kilns have since almost dilapidated.

The Saltmaking Room No. 2 is a huge one-storeyed brick building comprised of several spaces. The main space is rectangular, covered with a gable roof on a chair-rafter system with wooden (some replaced with metallic) support piers. The front and rear façades feature pediments and are vertically divided by decorative pilasters and the arrangement and shapes of several rows of window openings between them (horizontally and vertically). The pediments are crowned with cornices. On the main façade (as proved by historical photographs), there used to be the year of construction inscribed on the pediment (did not survive into our time). In the interior, symmetrically to the central axis, there used to be two large brine boilers (approximate dimensions of each boiler: 6m x 12m x 0.6m) on top of concrete support columns placed above the ovens, with an automated system collecting and transporting the cooked salt onto and along the production line. These brine boilers and kilns have since almost dilapidated.

In the north-western corner of the site stands the building of the electrical workshop, which was previously a mechanical workshop and a blacksmith’s forge. Built in 1897, it is a single-story brick building consisting of two separate workshop rooms with a shared corridor and baths. It has a gabled roof covered with red tiles. The facade is decorated with a brick relief belt, typical of public buildings in Austria-Hungary at the end of the 19th century.

In the north-western corner of the site stands the building of the electrical workshop, which was previously a mechanical workshop and a blacksmith’s forge. Built in 1897, it is a single-story brick building consisting of two separate workshop rooms with a shared corridor and baths. It has a gabled roof covered with red tiles. The facade is decorated with a brick relief belt, typical of public buildings in Austria-Hungary at the end of the 19th century.

The core and the oldest unit in the entire saltworks facility is the Royal Rig No. 1 which has been in operation since forever—although written records state that operation commenced in the middle of the 13th century (the year 1250). Other sources quote 1473 as the year of founding. It was next to this brine spring that the Saltworks were founded and began to grow. The Salt Brine Rig No. 1 is a small carcass-type one-storeyed brick and wooden building. The building is comprised of two spaces with differing shapes and dimensions. The first one, larger and L-shaped, is made of an oak frame and covered with boards. It is covered with a four-pitched roof on wooden beams, illegally covered with a ceramic roof in 2020 (authentic elements of the rafter system were thus destroyed and lost). It has a tetrahedral tower, covered with boards on the outside and hosting an electric brine pump. This is the oldest part of the building situated directly on top of the salt mine. Originally built in 1875, it was slightly expanded in the 1970s to accommodate the new brine pumpThe second space is an extension for the steam engine from the 1930s and the 1940s, made of an oak frame filled with fired bricks. The roof is a gable roof on wooden beams covered with metal sheets.

The core and the oldest unit in the entire saltworks facility is the Royal Rig No. 1 which has been in operation since forever—although written records state that operation commenced in the middle of the 13th century (the year 1250). Other sources quote 1473 as the year of founding. It was next to this brine spring that the Saltworks were founded and began to grow. The Salt Brine Rig No. 1 is a small carcass-type one-storeyed brick and wooden building. The building is comprised of two spaces with differing shapes and dimensions. The first one, larger and L-shaped, is made of an oak frame and covered with boards. It is covered with a four-pitched roof on wooden beams, illegally covered with a ceramic roof in 2020 (authentic elements of the rafter system were thus destroyed and lost). It has a tetrahedral tower, covered with boards on the outside and hosting an electric brine pump. This is the oldest part of the building situated directly on top of the salt mine. Originally built in 1875, it was slightly expanded in the 1970s to accommodate the new brine pumpThe second space is an extension for the steam engine from the 1930s and the 1940s, made of an oak frame filled with fired bricks. The roof is a gable roof on wooden beams covered with metal sheets.

The Paper Warehouse is a wooden one-storeyed building, historically smaller (7m x 18m), with a plain façade featuring a triangular pediment. Initially, the entrance to the building was located on the longitudinal (eastern) side and did not feature window openings. The pediment is decorated with a three-leaf window and various overlapping boards.In the early 1940s, another rectangular pavilion was added to the building, with an entrance on the north side of the main façade. Two rectangular windows were added on the eastern side of the annexe and an additional gate on the southern side.браму з півдня.

The Paper Warehouse is a wooden one-storeyed building, historically smaller (7m x 18m), with a plain façade featuring a triangular pediment. Initially, the entrance to the building was located on the longitudinal (eastern) side and did not feature window openings. The pediment is decorated with a three-leaf window and various overlapping boards.In the early 1940s, another rectangular pavilion was added to the building, with an entrance on the north side of the main façade. Two rectangular windows were added on the eastern side of the annexe and an additional gate on the southern side.

Saltmaking Room (1875) A huge single-storeyed building with a wooden carcass. Now with brick walls inside, it used to be all-wooden (wooden elements dismantled in the 1990s) with tower-styled dilapidated chimneys above two brine boilers operating with gas burners up until 2012. In 2013, a small wooden annexe was erected next to this Production Room which now hosts two small brine boilers with wood-fired ovens. Here, Drohobych Salt is still produced, despite the fact that the building itself is crumbling.

Saltmaking Room (1875) A huge single-storeyed building with a wooden carcass. Now with brick walls inside, it used to be all-wooden (wooden elements dismantled in the 1990s) with tower-styled dilapidated chimneys above two brine boilers operating with gas burners up until 2012. In 2013, a small wooden annexe was erected next to this Production Room which now hosts two small brine boilers with wood-fired ovens. Here, Drohobych Salt is still produced, despite the fact that the building itself is crumbling.

Brine Sedimentation Tanks (built in 1873 and 1878 respectively) situated to the west of the Saltmaking Room No. 2. These are one-storeyed wooden buildings made from coniferous woodwork on top of oak piles containing pools (reservoirs containing salt brine).

Brine Sedimentation Tanks (built in 1873 and 1878 respectively) situated to the west of the Saltmaking Room No. 2. These are one-storeyed wooden buildings made from coniferous woodwork on top of oak piles containing pools (reservoirs containing salt brine).

Brine Sedimentation Tank No. 1 was built in the 1940s to the south of the Saltmaking Room No. 2. This is a one-storeyed wooden building made from coniferous woodwork on top of oak piles containing pools (reservoirs containing salt brine).

Brine Sedimentation Tank No. 1 was built in the 1940s to the south of the Saltmaking Room No. 2. This is a one-storeyed wooden building made from coniferous woodwork on top of oak piles containing pools (reservoirs containing salt brine).

Packing workshop

Packing workshop

To the left of the Saltmaking Room is the Brine Shaft No. 2, built in the second half of the19th century (currently not in operation; the rig was concreted in the times of Soviet occupation (1980s) due to land subsidence. The building was then converted into a material warehouse). The architecture is similar to that of Rig No. 1, but the tower did not survive.

To the left of the Saltmaking Room is the Brine Shaft No. 2, built in the second half of the19th century (currently not in operation; the rig was concreted in the times of Soviet occupation (1980s) due to land subsidence. The building was then converted into a material warehouse). The architecture is similar to that of Rig No. 1, but the tower did not survive.