Galicia (Central Europe)

'Galicia' (Ukr.; Halychyna) is the name of a region of Central Europe. The region takes it's name from the earliest regional capital, the city of Halicz in Ukraine. (Polish spelling; Ukrainian Halych). Galicia (since around 1800) consists of the area just north of the Carpathians to the east of Little Poland and north and northwest of Transylvania/Moldavia Romania).

Some historians say that the name, "Galicia" recalls its ancient inhabitants, eastern Gauls, who also may have left their names imprinted on the landscape in Anatolian Galatia and in the Romanian county Galati. Another hypothesis is that the name refers to the local crows or rooks seen in the area around the the capital city. According to some historians, the local name then was extended to the Romanian/Moldavian city of Galati in the 13th of 14th century when the state of Halych/Volynia extended from the region from Halychyna proper, over Moldavia, up to the Black Sea.

The region of Galicia appears too have been incorporated in large part into the Empire of Great Moravia. It appears in an historical reference 981, when the ruler of Kievan Rus' took over the Red Ruthenia (Cherven Rus')cities in his military campaign on the border with Poland. In the following century, the area shifted briefly to Poland (1018-1031) and then back to Ruthenia. As the successor state to Kievan-Rus', Galicia comprised an autonomous principality from 1087 to 1253 (united to Volynia in the state of Halych-Volynia from around 1200), which became a vassal kingdom of the Mongol Golden Horde from 1253 to 1340. During this time the princes of Galicia moved the capital from Halych to L'viv. They also attempted to gain papal and broader support in Europe for an alliance against the Mongols. Their efforts were rewarded by papal acclamation of the prince of Galicia/Volyn as "King of Rus'", an era which came to an end around 1340-49, when King Casimir III of Poland conquered Galicia. Between 1372 and 1387 the area belonged to Hungary. The sister state of Volynia, together with Kiev, then fell under Lithuainian control and the mantle of Rus' was transferred from Halych-Volynia to Lithuania.

Thereafter, Galicia comprised a Polish possession called the Ruthenian Voivodship. This began an era of heavy Polish settlement among the Ruthenian population. Jewish emigration to the region, also occured in large numbers. Numerous castles were built during this time and some new cities were founded: Stanyslawow ("Ivano-Frankivsk" today) and Krystynople ("Chervonahrad" today).

In 1772 Galicia became the largest part of the area annexed by Austria in the First Partition. As such, the Austrian region of Poland and Ukraine was known as the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria to underline the Hungarian claims to the country. However, a big chunk of Little Poland was also added to the province, which changed the geographical reference of the term, Galicia. L'viv Lemberg served as the capital of Austrian Galicia, which was wholly dominated by the Polish aristocracy, despite the fact that the population of the eastern half of the province was in the majority Ruthenian or Ukrainian with large minorities of Jews and Poles. The Poles were also overwhelmingly more numerous in the newly-added western half of Galicia. In 1846, the important Polish city of Cracow became part of the province following the Austrian suppression of that independent republic. From 1868, Galicia was an autonomus province of Austria-Hungary with Polish as an official language.

In 1918, Western Galicia became a part of the restored Republic of Poland, while the local Ukrainian population briefly declared the independence of Eastern Galicia as the "Western Ukrainian Republic". Eventually, the whole of the province was recaptured by Poles. Poland's annexation of Eastern Galicia was internationally recognized in 1923. After the Nazi-Soviet pact, Stalin annexed Eastern Galicia to the Soviet Republic of Ukraine. The old province, as modified by Austria around 1800, remains divided today, with the western part Polish, and the original eastern part, Ukrainian.

Principal cities: Lviv (formerly Lvov, Lwow, Lemberg); Krakow, Przemysl Ivano-Frankivsk (formerly Stanislaviv).

Population of the Western Galicia in 1931

• Krakow Voivodship 17,600 km2 2,300,100 people

Population of the Eastern Galicia in 1931

• Lwow Voivodship 28,400 km2 3,126,300 (44.9% Poles)
• Tarnopol Voivodship 16,500 km2 1,600,400 (49,3% Poles)
• Stanislawow Voivodship 16,900 km2 1,480,300 (22.4% Poles)

Data for Lwow Voivodship in the table differ from the data above. Probably in the table are shown data for Eastern part of the voivodship.

Locality	Total	Polish	%	Ukrainian	%	Yiddish	%	Other	%
Southeast Poland	5,053,186	2,007,215	39.7%	2,650,997	52.5%	353,928	7.0%	41,046	.8%
Lwow Voivodship
Bobrka	97,124	30,762	31.7%	60,444	62.2%	5,533	5.7%	385	.4%
Dobromil	93,970	35,945	38.3%	52,463	55.8%	4,997	5.3%	565	.6%
Drohobycz	194,456	91,935	47.3%	79,214	40.7%	20,484	10.5%	2,823	1.5%
Grodek Jagielonski	85,007	33,228	39.1%	47,812	56.2%	2,975	3.5%	992	1.2%
Jaworow	86,762	26,938	31.0%	55,868	64.4%	3,044	3.5%	912	1.1%
Lwow city	312,231	198,212	63.5%	35,137	11.3%	75,316	24.1%	3,566	1.1%
Lwow county	142,800	80,712	56.5%	58,395	40.9%	1,569	1.1%	2,124	1.5%
Mosciska	89,460	49,989	55.9%	37,196	41.6%	2,164	2.4%	111	.1%
Rudki	79,170	38,417	48.5%	36,254	45.8%	4,247	5.4%	252	.3%
Sambor	133,814	56,818	42.5%	68,222	51.0%	7,794	5.8%	980	.7%
Zolkiew	95,507	35,816	37.5%	56,060	58.7%	3,344	3.5%	287	.3%
Brzozow	10,109	4,484	44.4%	5,120	50.6%	338	3.3%	167	1.7%
Jaroslaw	47,668	29,482	61.8%	17,212	36.1%	706	1.5%	268	.6%
Lesko	60,120	17,837	29.7%	34,457	57.3%	6,960	11.6%	866	1.4%
Lubaczow	51,885	23,686	45.7%	24,470	47.2%	3,503	6.8%	226	.4%
Przemysl	104,361	55,108	52.8%	47,380	45.4%	1,638	1.6%	235	.2%
Rawa Ruska	107,594	23,063	21.4%	72,638	67.5%	10,325	9.6%	1,568	1.5%
Sanok	12,395	6,140	49.5%	5,891	47.5%	363	2.9%	1	.0%
Sokal	55,677	21,681	38.9%	30,867	55.4%	2,826	5.1%	303	.5%
Turka	112,385	25,673	22.8%	78,884	70.2%	7,492	6.7%	336	.3%
Totals	1,972,495	885,926	44.9%	903,984	45.8%	165,618	8.4%	16,967	.9%
Tarnopol Voivodship
Borszczow	103,277	46,153	44.7%	52,612	50.9%	4,302	4.2%	210	.2%
Brody	91,248	32,843	36.0%	50,490	55.3%	7,640	8.4%	275	.3%
Brzezany	103,824	48,168	46.4%	51,757	49.9%	3,716	3.6%	183	.2%
Buczacz	139,062	60,523	43.5%	70,336	50.6%	8,059	5.8%	144	.1%
Czortkow	84,008	36,486	43.4%	40,866	48.6%	6,474	7.7%	182	.2%
Kamionka Strumilowa	82,111	41,693	50.8%	35,178	42.8%	4,737	5.8%	503	.6%
Kopyczynce	88,614	38,158	43.1%	45,196	51.0%	5,164	5.8%	96	.1%
Podhajce	95,663	46,710	48.8%	45,031	47.1%	3,464	3.6%	458	.5%
Przemyslany	89,908	52,269	58.1%	32,777	36.5%	4,445	4.9%	417	.5%
Radziechow	69,313	25,427	36.7%	39,970	57.7%	3,277	4.7%	639	.9%
Skalat	89,215	60,091	67.4%	25,369	28.4%	3,654	4.1%	101	.1%
Tarnopol	142,220	93,874	66.0%	42,374	29.8%	5,836	4.1%	136	.1%
Trembowla	84,321	50,178	59.5%	30,868	36.6%	3,173	3.8%	102	.1%
Zaleszczyki	72,021	27,549	38.3%	41,147	57.1%	3,261	4.5%	64	.1%
Zbaraz	65,579	32,740	49.9%	29,609	45.2%	3,142	4.8%	88	.1%
Zborow	81,413	39,624	48.7%	39,174	48.1%	2,522	3.1%	93	.1%
Zloczow	118,609	56,628	47.7%	55,381	46.7%	6,066	5.1%	534	.5%
Totals	1,600,406	789,114	49.3%	728,135	45.5%	78,932	4.9%	4,225	.3%
Stanislawow Voivodship
Dolina	118,373	21,158	17.9%	83,880	70.9%	9,031	7.6%	4,304	3.6%
Horodenka	92,894	27,751	29.9%	59,957	64.5%	5,031	5.4%	155	.2%
Kalusz	102,252	18,637	18.2%	77,506	75.8%	5,109	5.0%	1,000	1.0%
Kolomyja	176,000	52,006	29.5%	110,533	62.8%	11,191	6.4%	2,270	1.3%
Kosow	93,952	6,718	7.2%	79,838	85.0%	6,730	7.2%	666	.7%
Nadworna	140,702	16,907	12.0%	112,128	79.7%	11,020	7.8%	647	.5%
Rohatyn	127,252	36,152	28.4%	84,875	66.7%	6,111	4.8%	114	.1%
Stanislawow	198,359	49,032	24.7%	120,214	60.6%	26,996	13.6%	2,117	1.1%
Stryj	152,631	25,186	16.5%	106,183	69.6%	15,413	10.1%	5,849	3.8%
Sniatyn	78,025	17,206	22.1%	56,007	71.8%	4,341	5.6%	471	.6%
Tlumacz	116,028	44,958	38.7%	66,659	57.5%	3,677	3.2%	734	.6%
Zydaczow	83,817	16,464	19.6%	61,098	72.9%	4,728	5.6%	1,527	1.8%
Totals	1,480,285	332,175	22.4%	1,018,878	68.8%	109,378	7.4%	19,854	1.3%

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• Volhynia

Referenced By