Country Population 725,342 (2011) Area 182.01 km2 | Founded 1240–1247 Mayor | |
Points of interest Market Square, Chapel of the Boim family, Pharmacy Museum - Lviv, Armenian Cathedral of Lviv, Latin Cathedral - Lviv Colleges and Universities Lviv University, Lviv Polytechnic, Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, Ukrainian Catholic University, Lviv Academy of Commerce | ||
Lviv (Ukrainian: Lviv, Russian: Lvov, , Polish: , , German: , Latin: Leopolis, the city of the lion) is a city in western Ukraine that was the residence of princes and kings of the Kingdom of Ruthenia, capital of the Ruthenian Voivodeship of the Kingdom of Poland, the Habsburg Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, then known as Lemberg.
Contents
- Map of Lviv
- Top 10 cities lviv
- Things to do in lviv ukraine travel video blog 021
- Geography
- History
- Culture
- Economy
- Tourism
- Popular culture
- Museums and art galleries
- References
Map of Lviv
From the Polish recurrence after the First World War in 1918-21 until the German and Soviet conquest and dividing of Second Polish Republic, after the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, the city was known as Lwow and was the centre of the Polish Lwow Voivodeship.
Top 10 cities lviv
During the war this eastern Polish city was first occupied by the USSR, but soon after Operation Barbarossa, the German attack on the Soviet Union, the city was instead taken by the Germans. After Nazi Germanys defeat, at the Potsdam Conference, the Soviet Union argued that the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was legal and the city should become a part of the Soviet Union; Churchill objected but America agreed. Poland was compensated with former German territory, but this also involved ethnic cleansing was added to all other Polish hardships during the war. But the city has after 1945 got its current name. It was the centre of Lviv Oblast of Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic within the USSR, and is after 1991 Ukrainian.
Things to do in lviv ukraine travel video blog 021
As the centre of the historical region of Galicia, Lviv is now regarded as one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine. The historical heart of Lviv with its old buildings and cobblestone streets has survived Soviet and German occupation during the Second World War largely unscathed. The city has many industries and institutions of higher education such as Lviv University and Lviv Polytechnic. Lviv is also a home to many world-class cultural institutions, including a philharmonic orchestra and the famous Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet. The historic city centre is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Lviv celebrated its 750th anniversary with a son et lumiere in the city centre in September 2006.
The archaeological traces of settlement on the site of Lviv city date from as early as the 5th century AD. Archaeological excavations in 1955-56 showed old Slavic settlement between the 8th and 10th centuries. In 907 the settlement site with the rest of region was incorporated into the Kievan Rus. After the invasion of Batu Khan and destruction of previous capital Halych, city of Lviv was founded and named after Lev I of Galicia eldest son of King Daniel of Galicia. When Lev inherited power, city became the new capital of the kingdom.
The first record of Lviv in chronicles dates from 1256. In 1340 city was captured by king of Poland Casimir III the Great under whose authority city passed after 1349 together with all Galicia. In 1356, Lviv received Magdeburg Rights and belonged to the Kingdom of Poland till 1772. Under subsequent partitions, Lviv became part of the Austrian Empire. From 1918, the city of Lviv became the capital of the Lwow Voivodeship of the Second Polish Republic, until the Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939; it later fell into German hands. On 22 July 1944, following the successful Lwow Uprising, Lviv was liberated from Nazi occupation by Red Army cooperating with Polish troops.
Within the 14-15th centuries the city acted as a major German handicraft centre. Since the 16th century German-speaking population become polonised and Lviv turned to important Polish and also a Jewish cultural centre, with Poles and Jews comprising a demographic majority of the city until the outbreak of the Second World War, and the Holocaust, and the population transfers of Poles that followed. The other ethnic groups living within the city – Germans, Ruthenians (Ukrainians) and Armenians – also contributed greatly to Lvivs culture. With the joint German–Soviet Invasion of Poland at the outbreak of the Second World War, the city of Lwow and its province were annexed by the Soviet Union and became part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1939 to 1941. Between 30 June 1941 and 27 July 1944 Lwow was under German occupation, and was located in the General Government. On 27 July 1944 it was captured by the Soviet Red Army. According to the agreements of the Yalta Conference, Lwow was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR, most of the Poles living in Lwow were deported into lands newly acquired from Germany under terms of the Potsdam Agreement (officially termed Recovered Territories in Poland), and the city became the main centre of the western part of Soviet Ukraine, inhabited predominantly by Ukrainians with a significant Russian minority.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the city of Lviv become a part of the independent Ukraine, for which it currently serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast, and is designated as its own raion (district) within that oblast.
On 12 June 2009 the Ukrainian magazine Focus judged Lviv the best Ukrainian city to live in. Its more Western European flavor has earned it the nickname the "Little Paris of Ukraine". The city expected a sharp increase in the number of foreign visitors as a venue for UEFA Euro 2012, and as a result a major new airport terminal has been built.
Geography
Lviv is located on the edge of the Roztochia Upland, approximately 70 km (43 mi) from the Polish border and 160 kilometres (99 miles) from the eastern Carpathian Mountains. The average altitude of Lviv is 296 metres (971.13 feet) above sea level. Its highest point is the Vysokyi Zamok (High Castle), 409 m (1,341.86 ft) above sea level. This castle has a commanding view of the historic city centre with its distinctive green-domed churches and intricate architecture.
The old walled city was at the foothills of the High Castle on the banks of the River Poltva. In the 13th century, the river was used to transport goods. In the early 20th century, the Poltva was covered over in areas where it flows through the city; the river flows directly beneath the central street of Lviv, Freedom Avenue (Prospect Svobody) and the Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet.
History
Archaeologists have demonstrated that the Lviv area was settled by the 5th century. This fact places this settlement within the territory of once powerful state of White Chroatia. From the 9th century in the area of present-day Lviv, between Castle Hill and the river Poltva, there existed a Slavs Ruthenians settlement, as well as fortified settlement on Castle Hill from –10th century. In 1977 it was discovered that the Orthodox church of St. Nicholas had been built on a previously functioning cemetery.
Culture
Lviv is one of the most important cultural centres of Ukraine. The city is known as a centre of art, literature, music and theatre. Nowadays, the indisputable evidences of the city cultural richness is a big number of theatres, concert halls, creative unions, and also high number of many artistic activities (more than 100 festivals annually, 60 museums, 10 theatres).
Lvivs historic centre has been on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage list since 1998. UNESCO gave the following reasons for its selection:
Criterion II: In its urban fabric and its architecture, Lviv is an outstanding example of the fusion of the architectural and artistic traditions of central and eastern Europe with those of Italy and Germany.
Criterion V: The political and commercial role of Lviv attracted to it a number of ethnic groups with different cultural and religious traditions, who established separate yet interdependent communities within the city, evidence for which is still discernible in the modern towns landscape.
Economy
Lviv is one of the largest cities in Ukraine and is growing rapidly. According to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine the monthly average salary in the Lviv is a little less than the average for Ukraine which in February 2013 was 2765 UAH ($345).
Tourism
Due to the rich cultural programme, developed infrastructure (now Lviv has more than 8 000 hotel rooms, over 700 cafes and restaurants, free WI-Fi zones in the city centre, good connection with many countries of the world) Lviv is considered one of Ukraines major tourist destinations. The city had a 40% increase in tourists in the early 2010s; the highest rate in Europe.
Popular culture
The native residents of the city jokingly known as the Lvivian batiary (someone whos mischievous). Lvivians also well known for their way of speaking that was greatly influenced by the Lvivian gwara (talk). Wesola Lwowska Fala (Polish for Lwows Merry Wave) was a weekly radio program of the Polish Radio Lwow with Szczepko and Tonko, later starring in Bedzie lepiej and The Vagabonds. The Shoes of the Fisherman, both Morris L. Wests novel and its 1968 film adaptation had the titular pope as having been its former archbishop.
Lviv has established many city-feasts, such as Coffee and Chocolate feasts, Cheese & Wine Holiday, the feast of pampukh, The Day of Batyar, Annual Bread Day and others. Also over 50 festivals happening in Lviv such as "Alfa Jazz Fest" (is a jazz festival of international scale), "Leopolis Grand Prix" - an international festival of vintage cars, International festival of academic music "Virtuosi", Stare Misto Rock Fest, Medieval Festival "Lviv Legend", The International "Etnovyr" Folklore festival, initiated by UNESCOs, International Festival of Visual Art "Wiz- Art", International theatrical festival "Golden Lion", Lviv Lumines Fluorescent Art Festival, Festival of Contemporary Dramaturgy, International Contemporary Music Festival "Contrasts", Lviv International Literary Festival, "Krayina Mriy", Gastronomic Festival "Lviv on a plate", Organ Music Festival "Diapason", International Independent Film Festival "KinoLev", International festival "LvivKlezFest", International media festival "MediaDepo" and others.
Museums and art galleries
Museum Pharmacy «Pid Chornym Orlom» (Beneath the Black Eagle) This pharmacy was founded in 1735 ; it is the oldest pharmacy in the city of Lviv. A museum related to pharmaceutical history was opened on the premises of the old pharmacy in 1966. The idea of creating such a museum had already come up in the 19th century. The Galician Association of Pharmacists was created in 1868; members managed to assemble a small collection of exhibits, thus making the first step towards creating a new museum. Nowadays, the exhibition has expanded considerably, with 16 exhibit rooms and a general exhibition surface totalling 700 sq. m. There are more than 3,000 exhibits in the museum. This is the only operating Museum Pharmacy in Ukraine and Europe.
The most notable of the museums are Lviv National Museum which houses the National Gallery. The collections in the museum total more than 140,000 unique items. The museum takes special pride in presenting the largest and most complete collection of medieval sacral art of the 12th to 18th centuries: icons, manuscripts, rare ancient books, decoratively carved pieces of art, metal and plastic artworks, and fabrics embroidered with gold and silver.The museum also boasts a unique monument of Ukrainian Baroque style: the Bohorodchansky Iconostasis. Exhibits include: Ancient Ukrainian art from the 12th to 15th centuries; Ukrainian art from the 16th to 18th centuries; and Ukrainian art from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 20th centuries.