Wilhelm Franz von Habsburg-Lothringen (1895-1948) is an Austrian archduke, Ukrainian political activist, a poet with the name of Vasyl I Vyshyvanyi. Despite his youth, he played an important historical role. As a member of the Habsburg imperial house he work closely with Ukrainian deputies to the parliament of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in an effort to gain more rights for the Ukrainian minority, serving as a liaison between the Ukrainian community leaders and Austria's Emperor Karl I. During the Weltkrieg, he commanded a detachment of Ukrainians from Halychyna, serving as a Lieutenant with the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen. During the German and Austrian occupation of Ukraine in 1918, he commanded a Ukrainian Sich Riflemen. In 1947 he was arrested by Counter-Intelligence Department (SMERSH) of the Central Group of Forces that was based in Austria, and was transfered to Kyiv. Interrogation continued until May 1948, subsequently, the defendant was transferred from the MGB internal jail to the Lukyanivska Prison in Kyiv. The Special Meeting in July 1948 decided, as the investigation requested, giving the accused 25 years of imprisonment. On 18 August 1948 Vasyl Vyshyvanyi died from tuberculosis. The documents do not inform where he was buried. There is an assumption that the nameless grave is located in the courtyard of the prison or the Lukyanivka Cemetery. During the times of perestroika in 1989, the Soviet Office of Military Prosecutor fully rehabilitated to him.
The monument to Vasyl Vyshyvanyi was erected in Lukyanivka, in the park in front of school No. 61, not far from the Lukyanivka Prison. On February 10, 2021, a place for the monument was consecrated there on the occasion of the 126th anniversary of his birth. On Vyshyvanka Day, May 20, 2021, the monument was unveiled, which is a bronze bust mounted on a granite pedestal.
Authors: sculptors Mykhailo Horlovyi and Oleksandr Furman.
Address: 39 Yuriy Ilyenko Street.
