«There’s nothing more pragmatic than a miracle!» — Ihor Lisky on Ukrainian palaces and symbolic capital
Ihor Lisky. Art design: Olena Burdeina (FA_Photo) via Photoshop
Ihor Lisky is the founder and chairman of the supervisory board of the investment company EFI Group. For over 15 years, he has been attracting Ukrainian and international investments into various sectors of the economy. However, one of his recent investments surprised many. At a state auction, he acquired the legendary but, unfortunately, half-ruined Zhevussky-Lantskoronsky Palace in the village of Rozdil in the Lviv region.
What motivated Lisky to invest in the restoration of a castle during wartime?
PALACES WE INHABIT SINCE CHILDHOOD
I believe that architectural sites like the Palace in Rozdil concentrate certain energy — from past eras, human destinies, and historical meanings. It’s no wonder people are so fascinated by ancient ruins, abandoned palaces, and old castles.
There is a mystery of time and eternity hidden within them, something we find hard to define rationally. Yet, we can somehow feel it. This is especially strongly experienced in childhood. Do you remember the famous phrase by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, «We all come from childhood»? He insightfully noted that all adults were once children, though few remember it.
When I consider a project for investment, my main question is about the idea. What does this business carry within it, and what change does it precede? The presence of this divine spark in the project is a decisive factor. That’s how the honey plant was born — I saw that depth in honey.
Many things matter to me: the viability of the project, its scalability, and the team’s engagement. However, the combination of all these factors must be rooted in an idea of progress and the preservation of traditions. A centuries-old tradition of beekeeping, Ukrainian innovations used around the world, and today’s technological capabilities gave rise to a project that is now shaping the image of our country.
Much of what I’ve done in life stems from childhood. For example, my grandfather was a beekeeper. And I founded the Beehive brand because, from an early age, I dreamed of producing honey. But let’s do a little experiment together just for fun — let’s recall our very first experience of architecture.
A child has no idea how the adult world works but is already drawing little houses and towers. Most of the fairy tale characters we learn about from the earliest age live somewhere. And most often, they dwell in mysterious palaces and magical castles.
Fairy tale architecture gives us our first notions of good and evil. The Princess and the Troubadour escape from a palace. Cinderella loses her slipper in one. Puss in Boots wins a palace from the Ogre. The Palace of Koschei the Deathless is one of the darkest, most terrifying places in the fairy tale world. The Snow Queen’s ice palace is no less mystical and strange. In a palace labyrinth live King Minos and his Minotaur. Even the ancient gods always reside somewhere — in celestial, underwater, or underground palaces.
THE CENTER OF THE UKRAINIAN UNIVERSE
Perhaps on a subconscious level, I have always felt the spark of creation that, since childhood, has been inseparably linked to the mystique of palaces. In 2017, I fulfilled a youthful dream — I enrolled at the University of Oxford, which, by the way, was founded around a palace built as far back as the 11th century.
Oxford is not just an outstanding academic institution — it is also a myth, a place of mystery where one can acquire secret, magical knowledge. Not only was the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Harry Potter inspired by Oxford, but the garden of the university — once an old Jewish cemetery — holds many elements described by Lewis Carroll in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Even now, you can be shown the tree where student Carroll saw the Cheshire Cat and the rabbit hole where the White Rabbit vanished. It’s important to understand that even if a person is not born into a royal or aristocratic family, they are still, in one way or another, surrounded by a world of palaces. Whether real or imaginary — it doesn’t matter! A palace always represents a kind of model of the universe, its symbolic center. In this way, through culture and architecture, a person learns to master — to «tame» — space and time.
There have been several attempts to count all the palaces and castles on the territory of Ukraine. Different researchers have arrived at different figures — from 3,000 to 6,000. In the Lviv region alone, there are around 80 major historical and cultural landmarks in critical condition.
This is an incredible wealth inherited from the past.
Such sites are not just a pile of beautifully stacked ancient bricks. Each Palace is an embodiment of Ukrainian sacredness and Ukrainian spirit — a point where space and time of the Ukrainian universe converge to their fullest.
THE RIGHT TO EXIST
Now imagine how many architectural monuments that shape our history and culture are on the verge of extinction. Dozens, if not hundreds, of sites! One shouldn’t assume that their destruction has no impact on our country’s future or on the destinies and souls of Ukrainians.
Once, in response to Aristotle calling man a «social animal», the German neo-Kantian philosopher Ernst Cassirer described humans as «symbolic animals». And indeed — there are plenty of «social» animals in nature. But outside the «symbolic universe», a human is no different from an ant, a bee, a monkey, or a dog. This is precisely where the boundary lies between a city, a palace, and a temple — and, say, a hive, a nest, or a den.
By destroying — or passively watching the destruction of — yet another Ukrainian «symbolic center», we dehumanize ourselves and become less human. When we abandon symbolic capital, we are not merely impoverishing ourselves culturally and spiritually — we are opening the space of the Ukrainian spirit to chaos, destruction, and death. This is a subtle yet crucial point that, unfortunately, still remains unclear to many in Ukraine — even despite the brutal war we are fighting against Russia.
This brings to mind a well-known remark by Winston Churchill. During World War II, when Chancellor of the Exchequer Sir John Anderson cut cultural spending from the budget, Churchill reportedly asked: «Then what are we fighting for»?
War is not only a military, technological, or social event — it also has an existential dimension. Today, Ukraine is fighting not only for its people and territory but for the right to remain in history. And every piece of Ukrainian cultural heritage we manage to save from destruction is also part of this struggle — a fight for the right to live and the right to be in history.
WE LIVE IN A WORLD WE DIDN’T CREATE
In the case of the Zhevussky-Lantskoronsky Palace in Rozdil, once again in my life, magic was at work. It happened by chance, independently of any intention. I certainly wasn’t sitting around thinking, «Alright, now I’m going to drop everything and go find myself a palace!»
I was traveling through the Lviv region on a business trip, admiring the beauty around me, and visiting a castle wasn’t anywhere in my plans. Someone convinced me to stop in Rozdil to take a look since we were passing nearby. I vividly remember my first thought upon seeing it: «What bastards we are! Our country and our nation can have no future if we can’t even preserve beauty like this!»
The Rozdil Palace holds the memory of ten generations of owners. Its history intertwines the legacies of two great families — the Zhevusskys and the Lantskoronskys. It is a gem of landscape and park architecture — rare trees and flowers were once brought here from all over the world!
Take note: everything culturally or industrially significant that surrounds us — everything we hold so dear today — was not created by us!
alaces, museums, churches, factories, bridges, power plants — we are exploiting a world to which we have contributed almost no intellectual or creative effort. And yet, we consider this world our own. If so, then we must, at the very least, out of a sense of self-preservation — if not out of gratitude to those who came before us — take care of it.
WHAT IS A «UKRAINIAN ACT»?
We need to restore our connection with generations past, with the memory of Ukrainian land — only then can we rightfully call it our own.
We live in the country of Ukraine and consider ourselves Ukrainians. But how truly «Ukrainian» is a state that shows indifference to its cultural heritage? Doesn’t it seem paradoxical to you that not so long ago the Zhevussky-Lantskoronsky Palace was shining — and yet in the recent years of independence, it has been shamelessly looted?
And note — not a single alarm was raised by local authorities or the Ministry of Culture… Some may object that our state is poor and lacks funds. Fine, I’ll accept that. But let’s then recall the familiar phrase — «Ukrainian oligarchs.»
For many of them, an investment of tens of millions of dollars in the restoration of a palace or castle is hardly a large sum. But can we truly consider these businessmen «Ukrainian» if they invest exclusively in Italian and French palaces?
After all, the purchase and restoration of such a site is a symbolic act — a declaration of identity. It shows how deeply you identify yourself, your family, your business, and your future with the Ukrainian land. Projects like this should provide momentum for the nation. They can give us a renewed sense of self — that «we are a European civilization», and this is not a cursed land where everything perishes because it’s inhabited by barbarians.
Ukrainian identity must be present not only in our language and slogans but also in our actions.
NOTHING IS MORE PRAGMATIC THAN A MIRACLE
I was born and raised in Luhansk — not in Lviv — and I have no connection, unfortunately, or fortunately, to the Zhevussky or Lantskoronsky families. Most of my business assets were based in the Luhansk region, and I lost them after the occupation. So, as you can imagine, I don’t have extra money lying around.
I don’t want to live in this castle as a private residence — and I couldn’t even if I wanted to. I can’t imagine what one is supposed to do 1.5 hours from Lviv in 3,500 square meters, not counting the outbuildings. So why, then, do I want to restore this castle? Why have I set myself up for such a daunting challenge, risking money, time, and reputation?
I admit, it’s an almost irrational motivation — one that lies beyond primitive business logic. I’ve always struggled with projects that didn’t involve a great, beautiful idea. Of course, I’ve led large, socially important initiatives. For example, we launched coal mines with the help of Canadian investors. But often, that was an internal compromise.
I did it because «it had to be done», not because I saw it as the purpose of my existence. That’s why a smaller but beautiful project, one filled with aesthetics and deep cultural meaning, is much closer to my heart. Like, for instance, honey production.
As a businessman, I am a very pragmatic person — but I believe in miracles because I truly believe there is nothing more pragmatic than a miracle. Not money and not technology — it is a strong and free person’s belief in a miracle that is the most powerful, truly universal resource in the world.
The Egyptian pyramids and the Roman roads that still amaze us today were built by free peasants and legionnaires. The former believed in eternal life, the latter — in eternal Rome.
SYMBOLIC CAPITAL AND THE MAGIC OF LIFE
I’ve seen many times how the spark of creation works — when a person is driven by a great and meaningful idea… From the moment I first heard about the opportunity to purchase the Palace to the auction itself, a year and a half passed. We ended up taking second place in the competition. And then a miracle happened — the winner withdrew. When we, as the runner-up, were granted the right to buy the Palace, I knew for certain: this was my project.
We paid nearly 17 million UAH — funds that went to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces via the State Property Fund. We immediately began working on the project, whose total budget is estimated at 10 million dollars. In truth, adult reality isn’t all that different from a childhood fairytale: when the hero does the right thing, their story is destined to have a happy ending! I believe in that — and I want Ukraine and Ukrainians to believe in it too: to believe in their strength, in the triumph of good, in a happy ending to our story.
Now more than ever, we need new myths — new tales with happy endings. I want to create a Ukrainian Palace in Rozdil — and yes, with a capital P! — a place that will become a cultural magnet for the region and a cultural bridge to Europe. Not only to Poland but also to Germany, Austria, Greece…
Those who believe that cultural capital has nothing to do with business are mistaken: all of European civilization — its science, its economy — is built upon it.
CULTIVATING BEAUTY!
Of course, in more practical terms, I, as a businessman, will consider the project a success when it becomes self-sustaining. The Palace has tremendous symbolic and meaningful potential — a unique fusion of world history, family legacy, and a love story.
Let’s not forget that its owner, Karol Lanckoroński, was a figure of European scale — an art historian and unrivaled expert on antiquity and the Italian Renaissance. He traveled extensively across Europe, Africa, Japan, and India.
In Rozdil, he managed to assemble a massive art collection — the third largest in the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire in terms of number of works. I’m inspired by people who are captivated by the beauty of the divine world and possess the creative gift to bring it to life. I believe we must cultivate beauty. Make it our ultimate purpose. Because it is beauty — and kindness — that will save the world.
Even the very word «palace» carries great responsibility… So, let’s dream together about what the Palace’s place in Ukraine’s future might be. Perhaps historical documents will be signed here — maybe even acts of capitulation in future wars. Or maybe it will host negotiations on cultural and trade initiatives with other countries. Who knows — perhaps one day, Netflix will want to film a series here.
ХХХ
The goal of my investment in Rozdil is to demonstrate Ukraine’s immense potential as a major cultural project at the heart of Europe — and I hope that other Ukrainian entrepreneurs will join me in this effort. Together with Anna Havryliv from Spadshchyna.ua, we have joined forces to revive the project in Rozdil. Believe me, there are enough palaces and castles in Ukraine for all of us.
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