L'viv
L'viv Львів is a city in western Ukraine with 830,000 inhabitants. It is the capital city of the L'viv region and is a main cultural center of Ukraine.
There have been many spellings of the city's name over the years. The form used here is based on a transliteration of the Ukrainian spelling, Львів. The long accepted traditional English spelling "Lwow" is from the Polish form of the name (LwÃÂów), though "L'viv" (or, alternately, "Lviv") is more current, and has become standard in English as well. "L'vov," as used in many 20th century publications, is a transliteration from the Russian form of the name (Львов), and it is also used thus in Slovak. The German name for the city is Lemberg. "Lvov" represents the Bulgarian, Czech or Slovenian form. Leopoli is Italian, Lemburga, Latin, and Leopolis Greek. "Lemberik," "Lemburg," and "Lvuv" are transliterations from Yiddish. Still other forms also exist, such as "Levensburg."
| Table of contents |
|
2 Famous Lvovians |
Old Town Market
The city of L'viv was founded in the 13th century by Prince Danylo of the Ruthenian (Ukrainian) duchy of Halych-Volhynia, and named in honor of his son, Lev. The name might best be translated into English as "Leo's lands" or "Leo's City" (Leopolis). L'viv displaced Halych as the chief city of the area.
Ossolineum Institute
The first mention of L'viv in early chronicles is from 1256, although archeological excavation in 1993 revealed that the first settlements appeared in the 6th century. At the dawn of the history, the area became incorporated into the Empire of Great Moravia, then became an area of contention between two emerging states: Poland (during the reign of Mieszko I, ruler of the Polanes); and, the Rus' of Kyiv. Mieszko is thought to have controlled the area from 960 to 980. According to Nestor's chronicle, in 981 this area was conquered by Volodymyr the Great, ruler of Kievan Rus'.
Art Nouveau architecture
In 1323, the Romanovich line--the local branch of Rurikovich dynasty--died out. The city was then inheirited by the heir of the Romanovitch dynasty (on his mother's side) - Boleslaus of Masovia (also from the Piast dynasty on his father's side). He took the name, "Yuriy," and adopted the Greek religion of the Rus', but failed to gain the support of the local nobles who poisoned him.
After his death in 1340, the rights to L'viv were claimed by his cousin Casimir III of Poland, who successfully invaded the duchy and occupied L'viv by 1349. In 1356, the city was granted Magdeburg Rights and the right of self-government, which implied that all city issues were to be solved by a city council, elected by it's wealthy citizens. In 1386, this area was directly included into the Polish Crown by Jadwiga of Poland. The city later served as the coronation site of some of the Kings of Poland.
Museum of Industry (now National Gallery)
As an added part of Polish state (and later Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) L'viv became the capital of the Ruthenian Voivodship, which included five regions: L'viv, Chelm (Kholm), Sanok, Halych and Przemysl (Peremysl). In the following centuries, through Polish rule, Poles began settling in L'viv in large numbers, and L'viv became a multi-ethnic and muli-religious city and an important center of culture, science and trade. Three archbishoprics were once located in the city under Polish rule: Roman Catholic, Orthodox/Greek Catholic, and Armenian Catholic. L'viv was also settled by numerous populations from other foreign lands, including Armenians, Germans, Jews and others. Since the 16th century, the religious mosaic of the city also included Protestant communities.
Lwow University of Technology
By the first half of the 17th century, there where 25-30 thousand people in L'viv. About 30 craft organizations were active by that time, involving well over a hundred different specialities.
In 1649, the city was besieged by the Ukrainian Cossacks under Bohdan Chmielnicki, who seized the local castle. However, the Cossacks did not retain the city and withdrew after receiving a ransom. In 1657, L'viv was invaded by the foreign armies of the Transylvanian Duke George I RÃÂákÃÂóczy, and, in 1672, by the Turkish army of Mehmed IV.
In 1772, following the First Partition of Poland, L'viv (in German, Lemberg) became the capital of the Austrian province, the so-called Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. Austrian rule left a defining impression on the architecture of the city. In 1784, the first university was opened by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. Initially, lectures were held in Latin, German and Polish. From 1786, lectures were also held in the Ukrainian language. Early in the 19th century, the city became the new seat of the primate of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Major of Kyiv-Halych and Rus', the Metropolitan of L'viv.
Galician Parliament (now L'viv University)
In 1867, then Polish-dominated Galicia was granted vast autonomy, and the Polish element of the province of Galicia became favored; the university in L'viv was Polonized. As Galicia had been expanded to include ethnically Polish territory as well, the province of Galicia became the only part of the former Polish state with some cultural and political freedom, and L'viv then served as a major Polish political and cultural center. Lviv, however, also continued to be an important center of the Ukrainian patriotic movement. Many prominent cultural and political leaders lived in L'viv, which served as a meeting place of Ukrainian, Polish and Jewish cultures.
Total 312,231
History
City of L'viv
In the following months, other territories of Galicia (Halychyna) controlled by the government of the Western Ukrainian Republic were captured, and Polish rule resumed until the invasion, in the course of World War II, first by Soviet (1939) then by Nazi (1941) forces.
Lwow Theatre
The city, and the surrounding area, were then incorporated into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic after World War II. Most of the remaining Polish population was expelled or left the city in fear of Soviet repression. The city became a major center of Ukrainian national resistance to Russification. Large demonstrations then presaged the advent of Ukrainian independence in the 1990s.
Famous Lvovians
External Links