Historical information, finds, and locations concerning Galicia’s different nationalities, famous figures, movements, and institutions, as well as some of my personal experiences and discoveries as I continue to research my ancestors who lived in this region and the context of their lives.
By Mariana Baidak for Lokalna Istoriya (original in Ukrainian) “Out of my love for Ukraine, I took a rifle and went to the field to beat the enemy with physical force,” said Olena Stepaniv, the most famous Ukrainian military woman, more than 100 years ago. Since then, the issue of […]
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Below is a collection of photographs that depict daily life in the Galician countryside in the 1920s. The photographs were found on eBay by German collector Wolfgang Wiggers, who subsequently published them on his Flickr page. At the time the photographs were taken, Galicia was part of interwar Poland. All […]
A look at some of the different architectural styles used for passenger railway station buildings across Galicia, from the time of the first railway line (1856-1861) to World War I (1914). 1856-1861: The First Galician Railway | Gothic Revival Lviv’s very first railway station was constructed in 1861 for the […]
Today, both the Poles and Ukrainians have a beloved song about the Hutsul Carpathian highlanders, sung in their own languages to a similar melody. How did this come to be? The Polish Story Karpaccy Górale We must first look back at the first half of the nineteenth century. This is […]
Everyone has heard of Lviv’s Lychakiv Cemetery — not only is it well-known among locals, but it is also one of the city’s main tourist attractions. The beautiful sculptures, winding paths, and prominent figures buried here attract a constant flow of crowds. Though not nearly as popular, Yaniv Cemetery is […]
Name: BoyanType: Choral and musical societyGoal: To support the development of Ukrainian musical culture and choral singing; to offer music education and music printingFirst society founded: In Lviv by Ruska Besida, in particular by Anatol VakhnianynYears active: 1891 until WWII In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, several societies […]
A look at Lviv’s territorial expansion and annexation of former manorial farms Most people are familiar with how Lviv got its name — founder King Danylo of Halych named the city in honor of his son Lev (“lion”). But what about the names of Lviv’s neighborhoods? It turns out a lot of […]
By Evan Samborski Through dangerous gamesmanship of its nationalism policy by mixing concessions with brutally underhanded tactics to manage competing national projects, the Austrian-Hungarian Empire cultivated a great deal of conscription units from the territory of Galicia prior to, and through World War One. The course of dedication to state […]
By Kasia Komar-Macyńska for Nasze Słowo The history about the uniqueness of the architecture and secrets held by the Narodnyi Dim (National or People’s Home) in Peremyshl (Przemyśl). In 2021, this building will be 117 years old. Exploring its past is like collecting puzzle pieces that were scattered all over the house […]
By Daniel Carkner Frank Seiden is an enigmatic figure of the early Jewish entertainment world in the United States. Born in Galicia in 1860, he arrived in New York’s Lower East side in 1877 and eventually became known as a street performer, magician, and vaudeville actor. By 1900 he became […]
The first tollgates (Polish: rogatka; German: Schranke) in Lviv (Lemberg / Lwów) appeared at the end of the eighteenth century when Galicia passed into the possession of the Habsburgs. Until then, customs duties were collected at the city gates that were set within the city walls. In 1777, the dismantling […]
