Сave monastery in Lviv region to be granted status of archaeological monument

Hillfort and rock-cut cave monastery near the village of Rozhirche. Photo: Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office

On January 9, 2026, a court granted the claim filed by the Stryi District Prosecutor’s Office and ordered that protective status be ensured for the hillfort and rock-cut cave monastery near the village of Rozhirche in Stryi District, Lviv Region. This was reported by the Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.

By the court’s decision, the municipal enterprise Stryi State Forestry and Hunting Enterprise “Halsillis” is required to conclude a protection agreement for an archaeological monument of local significance located on a land plot that is in its permanent use.

The case concerns the complex known as the “Hillfort and Rock-Cut Cave Monastery of St. Onuphrius,” which is considered a unique monument of archaeology and sacred history. The complex is believed to have taken shape approximately in the 8th–7th centuries BC. Over time, the ancient hillfort was reinterpreted as a spiritual monastic cell.

The monument’s architecture has a two-tier structure: on the lower level, cells and utility and storage spaces were hewn into the rock, while on the upper level there was the Monastery of St. Onuphrius. The site’s particular value lies in the combination of defensive elements from the Kyivan Rus’ period with a type of rock-cut construction rare for Galicia.

It is noted that previously no protection agreement had been concluded for the monument, as a result of which the site in practice remained without proper legal protection. The violations identified became grounds for the procuracy’s intervention. After the court’s decision enters into legal force, measures will be taken to ensure its immediate execution.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the prosecutor’s office is seeking to have the All Saints Church of the UOC in Pochaiv returned to the state.

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