History of Lviv. Lviv: history of creation and the name of the city

One of the most beautiful and rich in architectural monuments of Ukraine is Lviv. The history of the city from its very appearance to the present days is full of many interesting facts. We will try to highlight the most noteworthy of them. The history of Lviv in all its grandeur will unfold before us.

Prehistory

Ancient Slavic settlements on the territory of the modern city originate from the 5th century AD. Some historians believe that it is from this moment that the history of Lviv begins. Already from the 7th century, the district of the craftsmen actively functioned in the settlement, which gave him the right to be called a city. But what was called then this settlement, remains a mystery for historians. The settlement was inhabited in those days by the tribes of white Croats.

In 981, the area around the future of Lviv, during the struggle against the young Polish kingdom, was annexed by Prince Vladimir to Kiev Rus. From this moment, this territory was included in the economic and political life of the ancient Russian state.

After the feudal fragmentation of a single Old Russian state began, the lands on which Lviv now stands were first included in the Galician principality, and from 1199 - into the Galich-Volyn principality of the Monomakhs. The founder of this state is Roman Mstislavovich, the father of the future founder of Lviv, Daniil Romanovich Galitsky.

The heyday of the principality of Galicia

It is to the period of the reign of Daniel that the political and economic flourishing of the Galician state belongs. And this despite the fact that all his life he had to conduct in the fight against local boyars and foreign aggressors - Poland and Hungary.

But the most severe blow to the West-Russian state was caused by the Mongol-Tatar invasion. During this bulk, many cities of Galicia were destroyed. Unlike the other princes, Daniel until the last days of his life completely did not accept the foreign yoke. He was constantly looking for ways to resist the invaders, trying to create an alliance against the Mongols, consisting of the rulers of Western countries. For the sake of this he was even ready to make an alliance with the Catholic Church, although in practice he never changed Orthodoxy. In recognition of his services to the faith in the struggle against the Mongols Daniel Galitsky, the Pope of Rome was given the title of King of Russia.

Such activities of the prince, of course, did not like the Horde khans, who sent one punitive detachment after another to force him to loyalty. As a result of these raids, many cities and settlements were destroyed in Galicia.

The foundation of Lviv

Tatar raids served as one of the reasons for the founding of the city with the beautiful name of Lviv. The history of its creation begins in 1256. It was then that the capital of the Galicia-Volyn principality, Hill, suffered greatly from the fire. In connection with this, Prince Daniel decided to build a new large city in a terrain hard to reach for Tatar raids.

At the same time, some historians refer the date of the foundation of Lviv to an earlier time - 1247 or 1240. Accordingly, in these hypotheses, this event is timed to the marriage of Daniel's son Leo and the capture of Kiev by the Mongols.

City name

Virtually all historians have the same opinion, why the city was given the name of Lviv. The history of the name is being raised to the son and heir of Daniel Halytsky - Lev Danilovich. It was in his honor that the great father called the city, which was destined to become the capital of the principality. According to one version, the name was given on the day of Leo's wedding with the daughter of the King of Hungary.

The capital of the Russian kingdom

The history of Lviv took a new turn since 1269, when Lev became the prince of Galicia-Volynsky and the Russian king. It was he who moved the capital to this city from the ghastly destruction of Galich and the burnt down Hill. From this moment, Lviv became not just the main city of the Galicia-Volyn principality, but also in fact the center of the Russian kingdom.

In accordance with its new status, mass construction began in the city. In 1270 the so-called High Castle - the citadel of Lviv was built. Although the prince himself lived in the Lower Castle. The entire social life of the city was flowing in the market, it was his heart. More and more residents from neighboring and distant settlements flocked to the capital. So the Lions grew. The history of the city became an inseparable part of the world chronology.

After the death of Leo I, the settlement did not lose its capital status. He remained the main city of the state and with the following princes, who simultaneously wore the title of kings of Russia. This continued until, in 1340, with the death of Yuri II Boleslaw, the ruling clan did not stop.

Lviv in the Commonwealth

After the ruling dynasty broke down in Galicia, its rights to the principality, and in particular to Lviv, were declared by the Polish king Kazimierz III. In 1340 his troops captured the city and established there royal authority there. True, the king granted the city self-government and Magdeburg law, but at the same time, Lviv began to rapidly colonize. Soon most of the townspeople were Poles. A significant part of the population were also Jews. The history of Lviv from this time until 1939 is inextricably linked with Poland.

In 1412 the Archbishop's Department was moved to Lviv from Galich.

In 1569, Poland and Lithuania formed a union state - Rzeczpospolita. As part of his Lviv was until 1772, when, as a result of the first partition of the Polish-Lithuanian state, he, like the rest of Galicia, was included in the Austrian Empire of the Habsburgs.

The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria

As part of the Habsburg monarchy, Lviv became the capital of the province, which is commonly called the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. Despite the fact that the city was part of another state and the governor was appointed from Vienna, the Polish nobility continued to play the leading role in the region.

At the same time, this period can be called the cultural revival of Lviv. The university was restored, the theater was opened, the imperial power supported the struggle against church obscurantism. At the same time, the Ruthenian cultural communities began to revive, as the Habsburgs tried to find in them a support in the confrontation with the Polish nobility.

An attempt to restore the Ukrainian statehood

After the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a result of the defeat in the First World War in 1918, Lviv's Ukrainian intelligentsia attempted to restore its own statehood. It was expressed in the proclamation of the Declaration of State Independence of the Western Ukrainian People's Republic (ZUNR) on October 19, 1918.

But the problem was that most of the population of Lviv at that time were Poles, who saw themselves only as part of the new Polish state. Therefore, the fate of ZUNR was predetermined. In November, the troops of Polish leader Pilsudski were already fully controlled by Lviv, and soon the ZUNR army was finally defeated.

Under the rule of Poland

Thus, the history of Lviv until 1939 was associated with the Polish state. Rights of Ukrainians in this period were completely infringed. Thus began one of the most tragic pages in the history of the region. It was during this period that the bloody struggle between the Ukrainian nationalists and the Polish authorities unfolded, the main victim of which was a peaceful population among representatives of one and the other nationality.

In 1939, Poland was in fact divided between Germany and the Soviet Union. Lviv and almost all of Galicia were annexed to the USSR.

Lviv in the USSR

I did not spend much time with the world of Lviv. History presented him with a series of tragic events. The Great Patriotic War began. The German fascist troops occupied the city on June 29, 1941. The time of the fascist occupation was marked by one of the largest extermination of the Jews. The Soviet troops managed to free the city only in 1944.

After this, the rapid restoration of the settlement began. As part of the Ukrainian SSR Lviv became the largest industrial and cultural center of the region. At this time, unlike the previous periods, the overwhelming majority of the townspeople began to be made up of ethnic Ukrainians.

Lviv after the proclamation of Ukraine's independence

Lions did not lose their significance after the proclamation of Ukraine's independence on August 24, 1991. True, since then the industrial potential of the city has significantly decreased, but, nevertheless, it remained the economic center of the region. It is difficult to overestimate the cultural significance of modern Lviv for the country. Many consider it to be the heart of Ukraine.

Conclusion

As we see, a lot of tragic and, conversely, happy pages had the history of Lviv. Briefly convey all of its vicissitudes will not work. To study the issue of the economic and political development of the city, it is necessary to spend months, and even years. Well, in order to understand the spiritual essence of Lviv, it must be visited personally.