Galicia (Central Europe)

:This article deals with the province Galicia in Central Europe. For the region of same name in Spain, see Galicia (Spain).

History

Prior to partitions of Poland

:Main articles: Red Ruthenia and Halych-Volhynia

Related Topics:
Red Ruthenia - Halych-Volhynia

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The region of what later became known as Galicia appears to have been incorporated, in large part, into the Empire of Great Moravia. It is first attested in the Primary Chronicle under 981, when Volodymyr the Great of Kievan Rus took over the Red Ruthenian cities in his military campaign on the border with Poland.

Related Topics:
Great Moravia - Primary Chronicle - 981 - Volodymyr the Great - Kievan Rus - Red Ruthenia - Poland

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In the following century, the area shifted briefly to Poland (1018 to 1031) and then back to Kievan Rus. As one of many successors to Kievan Rus', the Principality of Halych existed from 1087 to 1200, when Roman the Great finally managed to unite it with Volhynia in the state of Halych-Volynia.

Related Topics:
Poland - Kievan Rus - Halych - 1087 - 1200 - Roman the Great - Volhynia - Halych-Volynia

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Despite anti-Mongol campaigns of Daniel of Halych, who was crowned the first king of Galicia, his state occasionally paid tribute to the Golden Horde. Daniel's son Lev moved his capital from Halych to L'viv. Daniel's dynasty also attempted to gain papal and broader support in Europe for an alliance against the Mongols, but proved unable of competing with the rising powers of centralised Great Duchy of Lithuania and Poland. In the 1340s, the Rurikid dynasty died out, and the area passed to King Casimir III of Poland. The sister state of Volynia, together with Kyiv, however, fell under Lithuanian control.

Related Topics:
Daniel of Halych - Golden Horde - L'viv - Great Duchy of Lithuania - Poland - Rurikid - Casimir III of Poland - Kyiv

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Thereafter, the region comprised a Polish possession divided into a number of voivodships. This began an era of heavy Polish settlement among the Ruthenian population. Armenian and Jewish emigration to the region also occurred in large numbers. Numerous castles were built during this time and some new cities were founded: Stanis?awów (now Ivano-Frankivsk) and Krystynopol (now Chervonohrad).

Related Topics:
Voivodship - Polish - Ruthenian - Armenian - Jew - Stanis?awów - Chervonohrad

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From partitions of Poland to the Congress of Vienna

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 large portion 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 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.

Related Topics:
Austria - Partition - Poland - Ukraine - Lodomeria - Hungarian - Little Poland - Lemberg - Ruthenian - Ukrainian

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From 1815 to 1860

In 1846, the former Polish capital city of Cracow became part of the province following the Austrian suppression of that independent republic.

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Galician autonomy

Following the Battle of Sadova and the Austrian defeat in the Austro-Prussian War, the Austrian empire began to tremble. Politically and militarily defeated, the empire was also experiencing internal problems. In an effort to shore up support for the monarchy, Emperor Franz Joseph began negotiations for a compromise with the Magyar nobility to ensure their support. Some members of the government, such as Austrian prime minister Count Belcredi, advised the Emperor to make a more comprehensive constitutional deal with all of the nationalities that would have created a federal structure. Belcredi worried that an accommodation with the Magyar interests would alienate the other nationalities. However, Franz Joseph was unable to ignore the power of the Magyar nobility, and they would not accept anything less than dualism between themselves and the traditional Austrian élites.

Related Topics:
Battle of Sadova - Austro-Prussian War - Franz Joseph - Magyar - Count Belcredi

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Finally, after the so-called Ausgleich of February of 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into a dualist Austria-Hungary. Although the Polish and Czech plans for their parts of the monarchy to be included in the federal structure failed, a slow yet steady process of liberalisation of Austrian rule in Galicia started. This was aided by a large part of the Poles inhabitating the area, who were dissatisfied with extreme poverty and the failure of the romantic January Uprising. The prominent Polish politicians and members of the intelligentsia adressed the Emperor asking for greater authonomy of Galicia. Their plea was accepted and in 1867 the region was granted its own parliament located in Lwów. Until 1871 a completely new political structure of the area was formed.

Related Topics:
Ausgleich - Austria-Hungary - January Uprising - Intelligentsia - Lwów

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From 1868 Galicia was an autonomous province of Austria-Hungary with Polish as an official language. The Germanisation was halted and soon afterwards the censorship was halted as well. Galicia was subject to the Austrian part of the Dual Monarchy, but the Galician Sejm had increasingly more privileges and prerogatives. Until 1871 it was responsible for education, taxation, culture and construction efforts. It was also entitled to send its deputies to the Austrian parliament in Vienna, with full rights of members of the parliament.

Related Topics:
Austria-Hungary - Polish - Germanisation - Censorship - Austria - Sejm - Vienna

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The positive changes were supported by many Galician intellectuals. In 1869 a group of young conservative publicists, including Józef Szujski, Stanis?aw Tarnowski, Stanis?aw Ko?mian and Ludwik Wodzicki, published a series of satirical pamphlets entitled Teka Sta?czyka (Sta?czyk's Portfolio). Only five years after the tragic end of the January Uprising, the pamphlets ridiculed the idea of armed national uprisings and suggested a compromise with Poland's enemies, especially the Austrian Empire, and more concentration on economic growth. The basic conclusion was that Poles are generally unable to think of themselves as a state rather than a nation and that increasing the authonomy instead of senseless armed struggles would teach the nation how to govern itself.

Related Topics:
Józef Szujski - Stanis?aw Tarnowski - Stanis?aw Ko?mian - Ludwik Wodzicki - Sta?czyk's - January Uprising - National uprisings - Austrian Empire

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First World War and Polish-Ukrainian conflict

During the First World War Galicia saw heavy fighting between the forces of Russia and the Central Powers. The Russian forces overran most of the region in 1914 after defeating

Related Topics:
First World War - Central Powers

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the Austro-Hungarian army in a chaotic frontier battle in the opening months of the war. They were in turn pushed out in the spring and summer of 1915 by a combined German and Austro-Hungarian offensive.

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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". During the Polish-Soviet War a short-lived Galician SSR in East Galicia existed. Eventually, the whole of the province was recaptured by Poles. Poland's annexation of Eastern Galicia was internationally recognized in 1923.

Related Topics:
Republic of Poland - Western Ukrainian Republic - Polish-Soviet War - Galician SSR - Poland

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Ukrainians made up about 15% of the Second Polish Republic population, and were its largest minority. As Polish government policies were unfriendly towards minorities, tensions between the Polish government and the Ukrainian minority grew, eventually giving the rise to the violent Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists.

Related Topics:
Second Polish Republic - Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists

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Second World War and Distrikt Galizien

In the prelude to the Second World War, the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact divided Poland roughly along the Curzon line, thus all territory east of the San, Bug and Neman rivers were annexed into the USSR, this included the majority of Galicia. The territory was divided into four administrative districts (oblasts). Lvov, Stanislav, Drogobych and Tarnopol (the latter including parts of Volhynia) of the Soviet Republic of Ukraine. The period 1939 to 1941 is as controversial as the basis of USSR's legitimacy for its annexation. Whilst most of Ukranians did rejoice, at least initially, that they were part of a nation that at least respected their national identity, Soviet repression made the (majority Polish) intelligentsia feel otherwise. The period of Sovietisation was put to an end when Germany's Operation Barbarossa occupied it in 1941 and incorporated it into the General Government as Distrikt Galizien. As Germany viewed Galicia as already aryanized and civilised, the Galicians escaped the true nature of German intentions that most of other Ukranians put up with. Conflicts between Poles and Ukrainians also intensified during that time, with the rise of the violent Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the massacres of Poles in Volhynia.

Related Topics:
Molotov-Ribbentrop pact - Curzon line - Volhynia - Soviet Republic of Ukraine - Operation Barbarossa - General Government - Ukrainian Insurgent Army - Massacres of Poles in Volhynia

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Legacy

The border was later recognized by the Allies in 1945, and the region was ethnically cleansed by Soviets and a communist Polish government (Wisla Action). The old province, as modified by Austria around 1800, remains divided today, with the western part Polish, and the original eastern part, Ukrainian.

Related Topics:
Ethnically cleansed - Communist - Polish government - Wisla Action

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