Lviv

Lviv
Львів
City
Flag of Lviv
Nicknames: 
Ukrainian Piedmont[1]
Motto(s): 
"Lviv is open to the world"
"Semper fidelis" (historical)[2]
Lviv is located in Lviv Oblast
Lviv
Lviv
Lviv shown within Lviv Oblast
Lviv is located in Ukraine
Lviv
Lviv
Lviv shown within Ukraine
Lviv is located in Europe
Lviv
Lviv
Lviv shown within Europe
Coordinates: 49°50′33″N 24°01′56″E / 49.84250°N 24.03222°E / 49.84250; 24.03222
Country Ukraine
OblastLviv Oblast
RaionLviv Raion
HromadaLviv urban hromada
Founded1256
Magdeburg law1356
Government
 • MayorAndriy Sadovyi
Area
 • City148.9 km2 (57.5 sq mi)
 • Metro
4,975 km2 (1,921 sq mi)
Elevation
296 m (971 ft)
Population
 (2022)
 • City717,273
 • Rank6th in Ukraine
 • Density4,800/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
 • Metro
1,141,119[3][4]
 • Demonym
Leopolitan
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal codes
79000–79490
Area code+380 32(2)
Licence plateBC, HC (before 2004: ТА, ТВ, ТН, ТС)
Sister citiesPlovdiv, Freiburg, Cannes, Chengdu, Kraków, Lublin, Novi Sad, Przemyśl, Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Winnipeg, Vilnius, Banja Luka, Budapest, Rishon LeZion, Łódź, Rzeszów, Wrocław, Rochdale, Corning
Websitecity-adm.lviv.ua

Official nameL'viv – the Ensemble of the Historic Centre
CriteriaCultural: ii, v
Reference865
Inscription1998 (22nd Session)
Area2,441 ha

Lviv (/ləˈvv/, /ləˈvf/ lə-VEEV, lə-VEEF; Ukrainian: Львів [lʲwiu̯] ; see below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the sixth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of 717,273 (2022 estimate).[5] It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion,[6] and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine. Lviv also hosts the administration of Lviv urban hromada. It was named after Leo I of Galicia, the eldest son of Daniel, King of Ruthenia.

Lviv emerged as the centre of the historical regions of Red Ruthenia and Galicia in the 14th century, superseding Halych, Chełm, Belz, and Przemyśl. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia[7] from 1272 to 1349, when it was conquered by King Casimir III the Great of Poland. From 1434, it was the regional capital of the Ruthenian Voivodeship in the Kingdom of Poland. In 1772, after the First Partition of Poland, the city became the capital of the Habsburg Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. In 1918, for a short time, it was the capital of the West Ukrainian People's Republic. Between the wars, the city was the centre of the Lwów Voivodeship in the Second Polish Republic. After the German-Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, Lviv was annexed by the Soviet Union.

The once-large Jewish community of the city was sharply reduced in number by the Nazis during the Holocaust. For decades there was no working synagogue in Lviv after the final one was closed by the Soviets. The greater part of the once-predominant Polish population was sent to Poland during a population exchange between Poland and Soviet Ukraine in 1944–46.

The historical heart of the city, with its cobblestone streets and architectural assortment of Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-classicism and Art Nouveau, survived Soviet and German occupations during World War II largely unscathed. The historic city centre is on the UNESCO World Heritage List; however, it has been listed as an endangered site due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Due to the city's Mediterranean aura, many Soviet movies set in places like Venice or Rome were actually shot in Lviv.[8] In 1991, Lviv became part of the independent nation of Ukraine.

The city has many industries and institutions of higher education, such as Lviv University and Lviv Polytechnic. Lviv is also the home of many cultural institutions, including a philharmonic orchestra and the Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet.[9]

  1. ^ Zaxid.net (22 October 2007). "Галицькі міфи. Міф 3: Галичина – український П'ємонт". ZAXID.NET (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  2. ^ Poznaniak (9 June 2006), Coat of Arms of Lwów between 1918–1939, archived from the original on 31 August 2021, retrieved 2 February 2022
  3. ^ "Про утворення та ліквідацію районів. Постанова Верховної Ради України № 807-ІХ". Голос України (in Ukrainian). 18 July 2020. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Нові райони: карти + склад" (in Ukrainian). Міністерство розвитку громад та територій України. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  5. ^ Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Те, чого ніколи не було в Україні: Уряд затвердив адмінтерустрій базового рівня, що забезпечить повсюдність місцевого самоврядування". decentralization.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 14 February 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  7. ^ Perfecky, George A. (1973). The Galician-Volynian Chronicle. Munich: Wilhelm Fink Verlag. OCLC 902306
  8. ^ Hermann Simon, Irene Stratenwerth, Ronald Hinrichs (Hrsg.): Lemberg. Eine Reise nach Europa. S. 96 ff., p. 96, at Google Books
  9. ^ "Archives". Archived from the original on 25 February 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2021.