Celebrating Technology in the Center of Lviv

In September 1892, Lviv became the first city in Austria-Hungary to host a building trade exhibition. Organized by the Polytechnic Society, it presented raw materials, construction materials and products, architectural projects. This event was an opportunity for Galician technicians' milieu to demonstrate their achievements since the 1870s to the general public, to initiate a discussion, in particular on architecture, and to take a critical look at the regional industry and economy.

According to the organizers of the first provincial exhibition in Galicia in 1877, the main purpose of exhibitions was education (Rolnik, 1877, no. 3, p. 1).

The World's Fair held in London in 1851 was a powerful impetus for the development of British industry. The fact, in particular, became manifest in a significant contribution to technical education over the following decades. The development of technical education and the implementation of inventions began to be perceived as an effective means of strengthening the position of the state in the international market (Ashby, 1959, 782). The experience of the British Empire became an example for other European countries, including the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which held the World's Fair in Vienna in 1873.

In comparison with the world exhibitions and their comprehensive character, the 1877 Galician provincial exhibition in Lviv focused on agriculture. It was organized by the Galician Agricultural Society (pol. Towarzystwo gospodarskie), which united primarily large landowners. They were interested in improving agriculture to increase their profits. The urgency of this interest was intensified by the abolition of serfdom in the Austrian Empire in 1848, which weakened their financial position.

The 1877 provincial exhibition became at the same time the first public event, whose preparation was joined by the recently founded  Polytechnic society . Its members formed the technical commission of the exhibition organizing committee (Jägermann, Dźwignia, 1877, no. 2, p. 12). Technicians used this event as an opportunity to make contacts. However, they perceived this as a rather insignificant step in their history. We can see the same attitude towards their participation in the next Provincial Exhibition in Krakow in 1887 (Pamiętnik jubileuszowy, 1902, 47).

Lviv technicians considered the building trade exhibition to be their first full-fledged self-presentation. They announced the idea to hold it in December 1891 — it followed the first meetings devoted to the organization of the General Provincial Exhibition (which eventually took place in 1894) began.

The chief participants were to be 1) local entrepreneurs engaged in mining or processing of materials that were used in one way or another in construction (stone, clay, wood, metal, etc.); 2) artisans and enterprises who used the materials to make finished products; 3) architects and builders who designed and implemented projects; 4) educational institutions such as the Polytechnic and industrial (secondary) schools where these trades and professions were taught.

Initially, the exhibition was not planned to be large-scale, as evidenced by the previous budget of 5,000 rhenish guldens. Nevertheless, it can be assumed that it grew not least because of the fact that Emperor Francis Joseph was to pay a visit to Galicia in September 1892.

The first meeting dedicated to the forthcoming exhibition took place in Lviv’s City Hall in December 1891. About 60 people gathered there. They elected an initial committee of 25 people: mostly architects, as well as several politicians, financiers, and entrepreneurs. Many of them later became organizers of the General Provincial Exhibition.

The narrow committee included: Gustaw Bisanz, Leon Bratkowski, Józef Braunseis, Waleryan Dzieślewski, Jan Franke, Juliusz Hochberger, Józef Janowski, Alfred Kamienobrodzki, Jan Kudelski, Wincenty Kuźniewicz, Ivan Levynskyi (Jan Lewiński), Józef Łubieński, Michał Michalski, Wacław [Tadeusz] Münnich, Zygmunt Piotrowicz, Ludwik Radwański, Wincenty Rawski, Tadeusz Romanowicz, August Soltyński, Jan Schulz, Adam Czyżewicz, Józef Wczelak, Julian Zachariewicz, Franciszek Zima.

The wide organizing committee of the exhibition consisted of 150 members, primarily those from the Polytechnic Society. It was headed by Julian Zachariewicz, a well-known architect and two-time rector of the Polytechnic, who, in addition, was vice-president of the First Austrian Congress of Engineers and Architects held in Vienna in 1880. Juliusz Hochberger, the head of the construction department of the Lviv magistrate, was elected his deputy. The exhibition director was Ludwik Radwański, a railway engineer, who also for several years edited the Dźwignia, a press organ of Lviv technicians in 1877-1883.

The organizing committee appealed for support to the highest authorities in the region. Thus, the then governor of Galicia, Count Kazimierz Badeni, became the official protector of the exhibition. Prince Eustachy Sanguszko, Provincial Marshal, Count Włodzimierz Dzieduszycki (a politician, president of the 1877 exhibition), Karol Skibiński, rector of the Polytechnic, Edmund Mochnacki, president of Lviv, and Feliks Szłachtowski, president of Krakow, became its honorary presidents.

Funding for the exhibition was provided by a provincial subvention (6,500 rhenish guldens), as well as by collecting donations from the organizers. In the end, the budget increased from 5,000 to 14,000 rhenish guldens, and technicians finally believed that a full return on investment was possible; initially, their predictions had not been very optimistic. Despite the intentions of Lviv technicians being quite unpretentious at first, the exhibition became a truly all-provincial event.

The exhibition was prepared in a short time. The idea appeared in December 1891 and at the same time the organizing committee was elected, applications were accepted until the end of June, and everything was planned to be assembled by August 20 in order to open on August 29, 1892. The exhibition opened on time, with all the usual set of rituals that accompanied such events (i. e. a solemn liturgy, in this case in the church of Mary Magdalene, speeches by politicians) and lasted until September 20. On September 2, the emperor was supposed to visit the event, but it did not happen in the end. His visit to Galicia was canceled, the official reason being the spread of the cholera epidemic.

The idea of ​​a building trade exhibition (ger. Baugewerbeausstellung) was patterned after German examples. The Lviv exhibition became the first event of this kind in Austria-Hungary.

At the planning stage of the exhibition, its format provoked some discussion. The organizers thought about how to make the exhibition useful for the region, i.e. the crown land of Galicia — an autonomous unit within the Habsburg Empire from 1871. Despite some doubts, they decided not to limit the geography and to accept both local and foreign participants.

They focused on communication and exchange of experience hoping for the participation of artisans and small producers from the region. The technicians hoped to give the participants the opportunity to meet more experienced and successful colleagues, to get information on their products and to learn. This decision was made not without fear that local products would not withstand competition, and guests from Vienna and industrialized regions would receive all the awards. The organizing committee considered it unacceptable to award prizes to local participants if their exhibits were weaker in level. However, press publications suggest that the organizers still tried not to actively promote the event outside Galicia. The exhibition had primarily an educational, not a commercial purpose; however, participants were allowed to sell their exhibits on the condition that those would remain on display until the last day.

Despite the desire to make the exhibition specialized, the organizers realized that it was not profitable financially. Therefore, it was provided with a significant recreational component. The exhibition was open daily until 10 p.m., a military orchestra played for the public every night, there were restaurants, cafes and pubs. The exhibition space was illuminated by electric lamps, whose bright light became a novelty and even an attraction for the people of Lviv. At that time, only a few streets in the city were lit with gas lamps, whose light was not so bright. Festivals were held at the exhibition at weekends.

The cost of an entrance ticket to the exhibition — 20 cents — was specially low to ensure attendance. The exhibition catalogue cost the same. On festival days, the cost was increased to 30 cents, on the first and final day — to a gulden, and on the day of the emperor's visit — to two guldens. Students and workers had discounts, and the latter had to apply to the relevant craft societies to receive theirs.

340 participants applied to participate in the exhibition, 298 of them sent their works, a total of 325 exhibits were exhibited. 109 participants came from Lviv, 72 from Galicia (including Krakow), 35 from Lower Austria, 27 from Bukovina, 17 from Bohemia, 12 from Germany, 8 from Hungary, 6 from Moravia and several from Silesia, Warsaw, Tyrol, Poznan, Upper Austria, Styria, Istria and Paris. Among them were 94 entrepreneurs, 38 architects, 19 carpenters, 16 engineers, 15 locksmiths, 14 landowners; there were also coopers, agents, merchants, painters, builders, tinsmiths, schools, societies, communities and some others (Kurjer Lwowski, 1893, No. 4, 1-2).

The exhibition was divided into 5 main groups: the first contained "materials and construction works" in 12 subgroups, the second included house devices in 2 subgroups, the third was an exhibition of architectural projects in 5 subgroups, the fourth focused on schooling and literature while the fifth — on works by students of turning industry schools (Gazeta Lwowska, 1892, No. 200, 3). In total, the exhibits included 51 projects, 24 joinery products, 23 brick and roofing products, 18 products made of building stone, 14 iron products. Turning, carpentry, basket weaving, asbestos, roping, lithography, gas devices, church objects, scales, bells, telegraph and telephone, straw mats, etc. were presented by one object each (Kurjer Lwowski, 1893, No. 4, 1-2).

The invited participants of the exhibition could choose where and how to display their exhibits: in the corridor or in an auditorium of the Polytechnic, to hang them on the wall or to place them in the yard or to build their own pavilion; each option had a different cost of participation. The process was coordinated by an "installation commission" consisting of architecture professor Gustaw Bisanz, architect Jan Schultz and Józef Wczelak, a carpentry factory owner.

Electric lighting of the area around the Polytechnic building was provided by the Eggert&Co. from Vienna. A number of pavilions were erected here, mostly made of wood and covered with decorative carvings. Obviously, only rather successful companies could afford it. Many of them approached the display of their products creatively.

Thus, the roofing tiles factory from Niepołomice near Krakow set up a pavilion designed by the already famous architect Teodor Talowski. The Rzędowski Cement Factory erected an installation with an obelisk around which they arranged their products, designed by Alfred Kamienobrodzki from Lviv. The Lviv Stillerówka brickyard built a pavilion in the "Romanesque style" by Michał Kowalczuk.

Berl Neuwohner brickyard's place was built by Wincenty Kuźniewicz. The Piotrowicz i Schumann, a "young but already well-known" firm owned by Lviv engineers, assembled a two-story pavilion using its metal products — stairs and fences. Ivan Levynskyi's firm made a pavilion that was an exhibit in itself: a small worker's house in the form of a half-timbered building, made of plaster constructions of their own design, which housed an exposition of ceramic products. Levynskyi's work delighted the reviewers.

Archduke Albrecht's firm erected a kind of military barracks made of corrugated iron covered with earth. The Bohemian firm Christof & Unmach erected a portable hospital "relevant in times of epidemics" (the exhibition in Lviv opened despite the cholera epidemic), made of metal. Inside, the structure contained two wards, a kitchen, a bathroom and a room for medical staff.

In addition, the exhibition included a music pavilion (designed by Adolf Kamienobrodzki, constructed by Hroboni i Krykiewicz) and a restaurant of Karol Kisielka. Between these pavilions, in the open air, building materials were placed here and there, designed as "demonstration structures", such as walls of brick or stone, sculptures and more. Thus, the space around the Polytechnic looked really diverse at that time.

The entrance gate to the exhibition grounds was considered to be its most original structure. The design was proposed by Tadeusz Münnich, an architect and professor at the Industrial School in Lviv, one of the exhibition co-organizers; its implementation was made possible by a subvention from the City Council in the amount of 2,000 rhenish guldens. Apparently, it was singled out due to the planned visit of Emperor Francis Joseph — an event that could not take place without the arrangement of ceremonial decorations.

The gate consisted of a "picturesque juxtaposition" of tools and instruments used by masons, carpenters, scabblers, carpenters in their work; on its sides, platforms for artisans, who had to perform their crafts live, were arranged. The whole structure was additionally decorated with emblems, flags, scallops. The carpentry works were done by Hroboni i Krykiewicz company. The gate itself was named Bauhütte, by analogy with the name of groups of artisans, who in the Middle Ages carried out large-scale construction projects, such as Gothic cathedrals. Reviews in the press were unanimously positive.

Inside the Polytechnic building, the vestibule, corridors and 23 auditoriums on the ground and first floors were used for the exhibition. On the eve of the exhibition opening, famous paintings dedicated to the triumph of technical progress made by Jan Matejko were placed on the assembly hall walls; their idea arose during the previous visit of Emperor Francis Joseph to Lviv in 1880. The lobby and the main staircase were decorated with carpets and exotic greenery, and a bust of the emperor was installed in the centre, decorated with flowers, greenery and imitations of rocks (Gazeta Lwowska, 1892, No. 197, 3-4). 

The rooms were lit by gas lamps (gas from the Lviv plant was used), and the lobby by Auerlicht lamps, a recent but already widespread invention from Vienna, which at the time was the brightest type of lamp used for the premises.

In general, the Polytechnic played a central role in the exhibition: both as a building and a space and as an institution due to which a milieu of scientists and engineers who could organize such events appeared at all.

The press paid a lot of attention to the exhibition. Professional publications, primarily the Czasopismo techniczne from Lviv, discussed various aspects of its preparation, the condition of the industry and certain types of exhibits, its strengths and weaknesses, and the role of technicians in the economic life of the region (i.e. Galicia). At first, the daily press carefully recorded the process of preparing the exhibition and, especially, its installation, which could be observed through cracks in the temporary wooden fence. Later, the focus shifted to the opening ceremony and commenting on the attendance. Technical periodicals from Krakow (Czasopismo techniczne) and Warsaw (Przegląd techniczny) published articles by Tadeusz Münnich from Lviv, which were quite general and affirmative. The Viennese magazine Der Bautechniker prepared its own report, offering a view that was different from the organizer's one.

The exhibition organizers claimed that the event was a slice of the situation in Galicia. Some of them used the metaphor of the exam, pondering on whether Galician industrialists, technicians and architects had passed it or not. At the same time, they doubted whether this was the best way to see the real situation, because a student could be lucky enough to get a question card he knew, while industrialists and artisans who worked well day in and day out might simply not apply for the exhibition (Kurjer Lwowski, 1892, No. 59, 1-2; Świat, 1892, No. 18, 427).

Development and innovations in the construction industry in general were more important for the Viennese press. Julius von Bük's review focused primarily on materials and products. A rather long introduction familiarized readers with Lviv and Julian Zachariewicz, the president of the exhibition's organizing committee and the most famous person Viennese readers have probably heard of, with the Polytechnic building (recently opened), which the reviewer praised, and with the intentions of the Lviv technicians.

Bük considered architectural projects to be the most interesting part of the exhibition. He noted however that Lviv had failed to organize a successful exhibition of architecture that would interest the public. He did immediately soften the remark by saying that no one in Austria-Hungary had succeeded in doing that. After all, almost the only time when so many projects were gathered in one place was the World's Fair in Vienna in 1873, which was not perceived as a success. Nevertheless, he praised many of the presented projects and their authors, not only Lviv residents (paying special attention to Julian Zachariewicz), but also architects from Krakow, Chernivtsi/Czernowitz, Vienna and other cities of the empire.

According to Bük, the part of the exhibition dedicated to literature and education was feeble. The fact that the entire exhibition and its catalogue were available only in Polish created difficulties for the reviewer (his native language was German) and he noted that he had been faced with the need to rely on the help of Lviv residents (especially Julian Zachariewicz).

The author dedicated the second part of his review to building materials and products, listing only those individual exhibits or participants that, in his opinion, were the most interesting and noteworthy, regardless of geography. However, he noted that certain industries in Galicia had indeed developed literally over the past few years. For example, brick production, which had had a "secondary", "agricultural" character, acquired a truly industrial scale due to the introduction of steam engines and other modernization.

Franciszek Skowron's review, published in the Gazeta Lwowska, was critical in tone. Skowron was a Polish architect in Vienna, as well as a former assistant of Julian Zachariewicz. He worked at the time at the Ministry of the Interior in Vienna and stayed in Galicia to oversee government projects (such as the Provincial Court in Lviv). Thus, he combined the features of an outside commentator and a participant in the organization of the exhibition, who knew the local situation and the people involved perfectly well.

In this review, Skowron focused on the first group of the exhibition, i. e. materials: natural stone, ceramics of various kinds, cements, plasters, lime and mixtures, structural and decorative wood, iron and tin structures, as well as locksmith and blacksmith products, heating ovens etc. At the center of his text is Galicia, which he presents as a resource-rich region. He mentions a variety of natural stones, such as alabaster, gypsum, sandstone (especially that of Terebovlya/Trembowla), which has long been used in local construction. He wrote about clay, which is used to make not only bricks, but also roofing tiles, terracotta tiles and other kinds of high quality tiles: this material is cheap, strong and fire-resistant, as well as decorative.

According to him, the deposits of lime in Galicia were such that there could be no idea of buying it abroad. The same applied to good cement and lime, which are important for the foundations of houses, bridges, canals, manifolds, water pipes, floors, cast decor for façades, etc., and for the production of artificial stone; similar situation being there with hydraulic lime. The author recalled that there was so much gypsum that it was terribly cheap; this led to its overuse (this is how Skowron explained why the houses in Lviv of the time were so generously decorated, in his opinion, to the point of redundancy).

Galicia is rich in wood. However, the architect called carpentry a weakness of regional producers, which was why constructors preferred expensive but reliable Silesian iron or overused wood (because they did not do engineering calculations but took it with a margin and "by eye"). This prompted Skowron to express concern that Galicia could soon run out of wood for factory fuel. At the same time, he praised the quality of Galician carving.

So, in his opinion, on the one hand, Galicia had all the foundations to be a successful and economically independent region. However, Skowron also stressed that Galician enterprises lacked professional managers and engineers. He found the reason for it in the fear of innovation and the conscious adherence to tradition. To solve this problem, he argued, Galicia needed as many educated technicians as possible, i. e. engineers who could professionally lead new resource extractions, improve materials processing practices, and Lviv, as an educational center, had to provide them. In addition to the expertise, there was a need for governmental support to establish and finance research laboratories at the Polytechnic, which would study materials from a physical and chemical point of view. After all, it was the ceramic laboratory founded in 1889 with the financial support of the Provincial Department and under the professional guidance of Edmund Krzen that gave impetus to the development of Galician ceramics. Thanks to it, this area was really up to the mark at the exhibition.

The 1892 exhibition became the first venue in Lviv, where a discussion of architecture was started more publicly. Prior to that, it rarely went beyond the academic environment of the Polytechnic and the close circle of professionals within the Polytechnic Society. Since the founding of the latter, architectural discussions had focused primarily on issues related to professional status or regulation of architectural activities at the city level (the building charter). Instead, in 1892, discussions began about the nature of architecture, its local style, quality, compliance with user needs, and so on.

In particular, Franciszek Skowron asked: "We build a lot; however, do we build well? Do all our buildings match today's level of science?" He considered Lviv architects "flawless" in terms of their projects' aesthetics, but mostly incompetent in the matter of a convenient layout, calculation of structures and appropriate use of materials.

On the other hand, he drew attention to the public and customers: "Has our society developed a sense of good taste, admiration for cleanliness and comfort, which were previously considered by many to be in agreement with excess, while in the West comfort has become an essential necessity at least for moderately wealthy sections of the population?" (Czasopismo techniczne, 1893, No. 1). This topic, raised in 1892, would become more prominent at the  Fifth Congress of Polish Technicians  and the Architectural Exhibition in 1910.

The exhibition suggested that architecture belonged not only to the wealthy. Not only villas or monumental public buildings were built at great expense, but also tenement houses, mostly inhabited by townspeople, and working-class housing were all parts of architecture. Therefore, it is important to design and build this housing so that even the poorest residents of the city can afford it and so that it is healthy (according to the then knowledge of hygiene) and aesthetic. 

The worker’s family house, designed for the exhibition by  Ivan Levynskyi , was called an excellent but "too beautiful" a development in this context. Despite the silver medal, the general recognition and interest of individual entrepreneurs (for example, the Wczelak factory), we do not known whether this development was implemented later; anyway, the discussion was initiated.

A separate topic in the discussions was style. This can be attributed to the era of historicism lasting at that time. According to the concept of the then leading theorist of architecture Gottfried Semper, the author of a book entitled Der Stil (The Style), style is born from the use of certain building materials. Thus, collecting local materials at an exhibition and inspecting the available resources, one can understand what is and what can become a specific Galician architecture. 

Bricks, roofing tiles, majolica — this is what the reviewers in 1892 saw the peculiarity of Lviv and Galicia in, especially Skowron (Gazeta Lwowska, 1892, No. 200; 211-212). However, it was only expected then that the "stylelessness" would be succeeded by their own style, although there was no understanding of what it should be like (Świat, 1892, No. 18, pp. 427-431).

Despite a certain atmosphere of pessimism surrounding the process of preparing the exhibition, awareness of the shortcomings, the cholera epidemic that broke out in the summer of 1892, and the cancellation of the emperor's visit, the exhibition was considered successful. One of the arguments was its profitability: total expenditures amounted to 17,477.01 guldens, while profits came to 22,116.51 guldens (Kurjer Lwowski, 1893, No. 4, p. 2). The Polytechnic Society invested these funds in the construction of its own building.

The organizers sought to show Galicia as a land of opportunity, while the technical milieu was to be seen as capable innovators and useful citizens. They were demonstrating this image to politicians and the public, urging them to invest more in education and convincing them that the establishment of the Polytechnic and its research laboratories were bearing tangible fruit for the well-being of the province and its people.

The exhibition became the first venue in Galicia to launch a public discussion on architecture and trades, which had previously been conducted in an extremely close circle of professionals or individual societies. For many manufacturers, it became the first notable self-presentation; the story of Ivan Levynskyi’s success can be used as an illustration here, as well as the general development of ceramics, which "exploded" a few years before the exhibition.

In the discussions that accompanied the exhibition, the development of the idea of ​​autonomy of Galicia as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was noticeable. Autonomy was not only the administrative and political sphere sensu stricto, but also economy, education, culture. It was also about support of local producers, developing the economy; as a result, there was no need to buy at higher prices "from abroad" (i. e. from outside Galicia). Besides, this made fruits of scientific and technological progress more available (cheaper) to the general public.

The culmination of the building sphere lies in architecture, and since the 1890s saw the era of historicism with its leading concept of "style", it was believed that one's own style was the cornerstone issue to be addressed. This would potentially bring Galicia into line with world trends and at the same time distance it in yet another way from imperial Vienna. The idea of ​​style as a matter of "national" had not yet been formulated; it was then thought of as "provincial", without emphasizing ethnic differences. Nevertheless, some reviewers mentioned that it was primarily a Polish project.

Further discussions and reflections on the event gradually turned into the organization of the  General Provincial Exhibition held in 1894 .

• Kazimierz Badeni (1846-1909) — Governor of Galicia since 1888, protector of the exhibition
• Gustaw Bisanz (1848-1925) — a Lviv architect and professor of architecture at the Polytechnic, a co-organizer of the exhibition
• Leon Bratkowski — a co-organizer and participant of the exhibition as a manufacturer of iron products
• Józef Braunseis (1837-1915) — a Lviv architect, who worked in the technical department of the governor’s office, a co-organizer and participant of the exhibition
• Julius von Bük — a Viennese reviewer of the exhibition for Der Bautechniker
• Adam Czyżewicz (1841-1910) — a doctor, a professor of medicine, a deputy of the Provincial Sejm, a co-organizer of the exhibition
• Włodzimierz Dzieduszycki (1825-1899) — a conservative politician, president of the 1877 Provincial Exhibition
• Waleryan Dzieślewski (1850-1935) — a railway engineer and a co-organizer of the exhibition
• Francis Joseph I (1830-1916) — the Emperor of Austria-Hungary
• Jan Franke (1846-1918) — a mathematician and professor of theoretical mechanics and machine theory
• Juliusz Hochberger (1840-1905) — an architect from Poznan, who headed the 3rd Department of the Lviv magistrate, which regulated construction in the city, from 1870
• Józef Janowski (1832-1914) — an architect from Warsaw, private associate professor at the Polytechnic, a co-organizer of the exhibition
• Alfred Kamienobrodzki (1844-1922) — a Lviv architect, a co-organizer and participant of the exhibition
• Edmund Krzen — an engineer, head of the ceramics research laboratory at the Polytechnic
• Karol Kisielka (1830-1893) — a Lviv businessman, who owned a brewery and a hydropathic establishment as well as a restaurant at the exhibition
• Michał Kowalczuk (1855-1938) — a Lviv architect, private associate professor of history of architecture at the Polytechnic, a co-organizer, a participant and a reviewer of the exhibition
• Jan Kudelski (1861-1937) — a Lviv architect, a co-organizer and a participant of the exhibition
• Wincenty Kuźniewicz (1846-1902) — an architect, a co-organizer and a participant of the exhibition
• Ivan Levynskyi, a.k.a. Jan Lewiński (1851-1919) — a Lviv architect and entrepreneur, a co-organizer and a participant of the exhibition
• Józef Łubieński — an engineer, a co-organizer and a participant of the exhibition
• Zdzislaw Marchwicki (1841-1912) — Vice-President of Lviv in 1886-1894, a co-organizer of exhibitions in 1892 and 1894
• Jan Matejko (1838-1893) — a leading Polish academic artist
• Michał Michalski (1846-1907) — a member of the City Council, later president of Lviv, a co-organizer of the exhibition
• Edmund Mochnacki (1836-1902) — the current president of Lviv during the exhibition
• Tadeusz Münnich (1861-1900) — a Lviv architect, professor of architecture at the industrial school
• Zygmunt Piotrowicz — a Lviv engineer and co-owner of the Piotrowicz and Schumann company, a factory manufacturing metal products for construction
• Ludwik Radwański (1846-1901) — a Lviv engineer, a co-organizer of the exhibition
• Wincenty Rawski (1850-1927) — a Lviv architect, a co-organizer of the exhibition
• Tadeusz Romanowicz (1843-1904) — a politician, a deputy of the Provincial Sejm, a co-organizer of the exhibition
• Eustachy Sanguszko (1842-1903) — a prince, Provincial Marshal, who supported the organization of the exhibition
• Jan Schulz — a Lviv architect, a co-organizer and a participant of the exhibition
• Gottfried Semper (1803-1879) — an architect from Dresden, later a professor of architecture at the Zurich Federal Institute of Technology, one of the first theorists of architecture
• Karol Skibiński (1849-1922) — an engineer, professor of the Polytechnic, a co-organizer of the exhibition
• Franciszek Skowron (1856-1929) — a Viennese architect who studied in Lviv, a co-organizer, a participant and a reviewer of the exhibition
• August Sołtyński (1842-1915) — an engineer, a co-organizer of the exhibition
• Feliks Szłachtowski (1820-1896) — a lawyer, the current president of Krakow during the exhibition
• Maksymilian Thullie (1853-1939) — an engineer, professor of bridge construction at the Polytechnic
• Gustav Adolf Wayss (1851-1917) — a German engineer and entrepreneur who developed the theoretical basis for the application of the Monier system of concrete reinforcement
• Józef Wczelak (1849-?) — a Lviv businessman, a co-owner of a carpentry factory and a co-organizer of the exhibition
• Julian Zachariewicz (1837-1898) — a Lviv architect, professor of architecture at the Polytechnic, rector
• Franciszek Zagórski — a Lviv entrepreneur, who owned a factory producing cement and other building materials
• Franciszek Zima (1827-1899) — a banker, a participant in the January Uprising, director of the Galician Savings Bank, a co-organizer of the exhibition

1. Eric Ashby, "Education for an Age of Technology", A History of Technology, Vol. V, ed. Charles Singer et al, (Oxford University Press, 1958), pp. 776-798
2. Jakub Lewicki, Między tradycją a nowoczesnością: Architektura Lwowa lat 1893-1918, (Warszawa: Neriton, 2005), 590;
3. Wojciech Puchta, Powszechna Wystawa Krajowa we Lwowie w 1894 roku, (Wrocław: Chronicon, 2016), 302;
4. Carl Stoeckl, Der Oesterreichische Ingenieur- und Architekten-Verein: MDCCCIIL bis MDCCCIIC, (Wien: Schroll&Co., 1899), 154;
5. Julius von Bük, "Baugewerbeausstellung in Lemberg", Der Bautechniker, 1892, №41, s. 771-772; Nr. 42, s. 790-792;
6. "Baunachrichten. Lemberg ", Der Civil-Techniker, 1892, №7, s. 5; №19, s. 163;
7. "Einladung zur Baugewerblichen Ausstellung in Lemberg 1892", Der Civil-Techniker, 1892, №8, s. 59-60;
8. Ludwik Radwański, "Sprawozdanie z czynnosci delegatów w Wiedniu w sprawie wystawy przemysłu budowlanego", Czasopismo techniczne, 1892, №4, s. 35-36;
9. Roman Załoziecki, "Materyały budowlane, kamienie, wapno, gips, cement i wyroby keramiczne na wystawie...", Czasopismo techniczne, 1892, №17, s. 135-137;
10. Tadeusz Münnich, "Wystawa przemyslu budowlanego we Lwowie", Czasopismo Towarzystwa Technicznego Krakowskiego, 1892, №19, s. 288-289; №20, s. 298-301; №21, s. 310-313; №22, s. 321-324; №23, s. 335-337
11. Tadeusz Münnich, "Szkoły przemysłowo-zawodowe na Wystawie przemysłu budowlanego we Lwowie", Czasopismo techniczne, 1892, №22, s. 175; №23, 183-185
12. "Wystawa przemysłu budowlanego we Lwowie. Budowle w kierunku uzdrowotnienia miast", Czasopismo techniczne, 1892, в т.ч. №23, 185-
13. "Echa z wystawy Lwowskiej", Czasopismo techniczne, 1893, №1, s. 1-4;
14. "Sprawy Towarzystwa. O stosunkach budowlanych m. Lwowa", Czasopismo techniczne, 1893, №2, s. 14-15;
15. Michał Kowalczuk, "O potrzebie utworzenia sekcyi przemysłowo-budowniczego w łonie Towarzystwa Politechnicznego", Czasopismo techniczne, 1893, №13, s. 97-98;
16. Julius von Bük, "Die Architektur- und Baugewerbe-Ausstellung in Krakau 1912", Deutsche Bauzeitung, 1912, №86, s. 759-760, №87, s. 767-768;
17. A.M-i, "Otwarcie wystawy przemysłu budowlanego", Dziennik Polski, 1892, №242, s. 2;
18. Franciszek Skowron, "Otwarcie wystawy przemysłu budowlanego", Gazeta Lwowska, 1892, №197, 3-4;
19. Franciszek Skowron, "Wystawa przemysłu budowlanego", Gazeta Lwowska, 1892, №200, 3; №211, 4; №212, 4-5;
20. "Otwarcie wystawy budowlanej", Gazeta Narodowa, 1892, №208, s. 2-3;
21. A.Z., "Przechadzki po wystawie budowlanej", Gazeta Narodowa, 1892, №209-213;
22. "Wystawa budownicza", Kurjer Lwowski, 1892, №15, s. 2-3;
23. "Wystawa przemysłu budowlanego we Lwowie", Kurjer Lwowski, 1892, №52, s. 4-5;
24. "Wystawa przemysłu budowlanego", Kurjer Lwowski, 1892, №59, s. 1-2;
25. "Wystawa budownicza we Lwowie", Kurjer Lwowski, 1892, №138, s. 3;
26. "Wystawa budowlanа we Lwowie", Kurjer Lwowski, 1892, №225, s. 1-2;
27. "Wystawa przemysłu budowlanego", Kurjer Lwowski, 1892, №235, s. 1-2; №236, s. 1; №237, s. 1-2; №238, s. 1; №239, s. 1-2; №240, s. 3;
28. "Kronika. Wystawa przemysłu budowlanego", Kurjer Lwowski, 1892, №258, s. 3;
29. "Wystawa przemysłu budowlanego", Dodatek do №263 Kurjera Lwowskiego, 1892, s. 1;
30. "Wystawa budowlanа", Kurjer Lwowski, 1893, №4, s. 1-2;
31. Towarzystwo Politechniczne we Lwowie 1877-1902. Pamiętnik jubileuszowy, red. Edmund Stanisław Grzębski (Lwów, 1902);
32. Tadeusz Münnich, "Wystawa przemysłu budowlanego we Lwowie", Przegląd techniczny, 1892, z. 9, s. 189-190; z. 10, s. 211-214; z. 11, s. 234-236; z. 12, z. 12, s. 260-262;
33. Ster., "Z wystawy przemysłowej we Lwowie", Świat, 1892, №18, s. 427-431;
34. N-n, "Listy ze Lwowa", Tygodnik Ilustrowany, 1892, T. 6, №146, s. 255;
35. Jan Lewiński, Hygiena budowli jako podstawa dla zmienić się mającej ustawy budowniczej miasta Lwowa, (Lwów: Związkowa drukarnia, 1907), 32