Galician school (architecture)

Galician school is a style of Kievan Rus' and Romanesque architecture that developed on the territory of Ciscarpathia during the reign of Rostislavichi of Galicia. It was the main style of monumental, especially sacral, architecture in the Principality of Galicia. The characteristic feature of the style is the use of Romanesque masonry technique of cut white stone blocks to create cross-domed churches of Byzantine type. It is believed that the builders of the Galician school built the first stone churches of the colonized Zalesye, which gave rise to the features of architecture of Rostov-Suzdal Land.

Definition and research
Due to the almost complete loss of the monuments of the Galician school, their research and description were based primarily on archaeological research. First artifacts were discovered in 1881–1885 by Lev Lavretskyi, the parish priest of Halych, who also involved Izydor Szaraniewicz. Architectural analysis and stylistic interpretation of the data were performed by Julian Zachariewicz. The main contribution to the description of the Galician school was done by Yosyp Pelenskyi, who drew attention to the following features: separation of apses in the plan into identical ground parts; the foundations being built from river stone on mortar, while the ground walls being built from cut blocks; and the wide usage of the lime-sand mixture. The plans and descriptions of the monuments of Princely Halych, presented by Pelenskyi in his monograph, have been the main source of analysis of architectural and archaeological monuments of the Principality of Galicia and retain their relevance. During the 20th century, knowledge about the Galician school was significantly expanded by new archaeological discoveries, in particular of the Assumption Cathedral, the main church of Princely Halych. Also the foundation of the Church of John the Baptist in Przemyśl, the first church of the Galician school, and remains of church foundations in Zvenyhorod were found. Further studies continue in independent Ukraine with the use of more advanced methods of archaeological research. In 1998, the Church of Pantaleon, the only surviving monument of the Galician school, was restored.

Origin
The emergence of the Galician school of architecture was the subject of many hypotheses and assumptions, which are presented in a significant number of scientific works. Proponents of the Hungarian hypothesis point to the geographic proximity and close political connetion of Galicia and the Kingdom of Hungary, and the rapid development of Romanesque architecture in the latter due to French influence. In particular, Mikhail Karger pointed out the similarities of the usage of stained glass windows, the holy water font, and features of decoration. The Lesser Poland hypothesis put forward by O. Iaonnisyan connects the Galician school with a number of objects in Kraków Land, even though the churches in Lesser Poland were built after the ones in Galicia. The Transcaucasian hypothesis proposed by Ivan Mohytych connects the white stone architecture of Galicia with the influences of Armenian traditions of sacral architecture. The organic conception hypothesis suggests considering the Galician school as a part of the pan-European process of the development of Romanesque architecture, when similar styles arose contemporarily throughout the continent.

List of notable examples
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