Horodok, Lviv Oblast

Horodok (Ukrainian: Городо́к, Polish: Gródek) is a city in Lviv Oblast (region) of Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Horodok Raion. Population: 15,959 (2013 est.).

Contents

• Map of Horodok Lvivska Ukraine
• People from Horodok
• Twin towns sister cities
• References

Map of Horodok, Lvivska, Ukraine

First mentioned by Nestor the Chronicler in the Primary Chronicle. Also, the Galician–Volhynian Chronicle mentions that the King Daniel of Galicia came to Horodok with his forces to join Mstislav Mstislavich the Bold while they fought with Polish-Hungarians over the Galician land.

In the mid-14th century, together with whole Kingdom of Rus, the settlement was annexed by the Kingdom of Poland. Its name was changed into Grodek, and it remained in Poland for the next 400 years. In 1372, king Jogaila founded here a Roman Catholic parish, also during the reign of Jagiello, Grodek received Magdeburg rights. This was the place where King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila died on 1 June 1434.

Until the Partitions of Poland, Horodok was part of Ruthenian Voivodeship. A battle between Polish and Cossack forces took place here in 1655 (see Battle of Horodok), in which Bohdan Khmelnytsky defeated Polish forces and than laid siege to Lviv.

In 1772, Horodok was annexed by the Habsburg Empire, as part of Austrian Galicia, where it remained until late 1918. German-speaking settlers established their own colony, called Vorderberg (1788). Austrian authorities closed local Franciscan monastery, turning it into a military depot. In 1903, a monument of Wladyslaw Jagiello was unveiled here, and in 1906, the name of the town was changed from Grodek to Grodek Jagiellonski, in honour of the king.

In the Second Polish Republic, Horodok was the seat of a county in Lwow Voivodeship. The town had three Roman Catholic churches, one Greek-Catholic, and a synagogue. It also was a military garrison, where a subunit of Polish Army’s 5th Infantry Division was stationed. According to the 1921 census, Poles made 72% of the population, Ukrainians 26%, and Jews 2%.

During the Invasion of Poland, Horodok was on 13 September 1939 captured by the Wehrmacht, and later freed by the Red Army, 1945-1991 a part of the Soviet Union.