The Lviv Fire of 1527: a Great Loss or a Great Renaissance?

The purpose of the work is to update the study of fi re stories using the example of one of the largest fi res in Lviv in 1527 and to show the political and cultural consequences of this natural disaster for the city. The research methodology includes, fi rst of all, the method of critical analysis of historical sources followed by a comparison of the text and its retellings. The analysis of the historical source also involves linguistic (translation of the Latin source), topographic (reproduction of historical objects on a modern map), onomastic (interpretation of city toponyms) analyses. The source is also studied in the direction of the history of the environment and the consequences of human activity, the restoration of the city after a natural disaster, the anthropological factor of the impact on the environment. The archaeological research method allows to reproduce the original appearance of the city before the fi re and to compare its spatial development and construction. The scientifi c novelty consists in the re-examination of the source references and later interpretations of the description of the fi re, which was placed in the counsil book of the city in 1527, with the aim of clarifying the causes and consequences of this natural disaster for Lviv. The prospect of further research consists in actualizing the study of such little-known topics as the history of disasters, in particular, fi res, in cities and urban agglomerations. Clarifying the causes of fi res, their scale and consequences shows what impact natural disasters had on the development of cities, their decline or rise. Conclusions. In the fi rst third of the 16th century, Lviv suff ered great losses due to the fi re of 1527. However, a consistent state policy aimed at providing large tax and other benefi ts both to the city as a whole and to its individual ethnic and social groups made it possible to restore the trade and production potential of the bourgeoisie by the middle of the 16th century. The ruined city center was gradually rebuilt due to migration to the city, both internal and external. A special impetus was given to the construction of new sacred buildings, rebuilt Renaissance buildings rose in the place of burned wooden shrines in the Gothic style, the town hall and the market districts took on new forms known to this day thanks to the new buildings.