On September 2 of this year, we will celebrate Lviv City Day, marking the city’s 770th anniversary. One of Ukraine’s oldest cities was founded in 1256 by Prince Danylo Halytskyi in honor of his son Lev. At that time, the capital of the prince’s lands was the city of Halych, from which, according to one version, the name Halychyna — Galicia — originates.
At that time, the Principality of Galicia included, in the north, part of the lands of present-day Poland, including the city of Przemyśl, the northeastern slopes of the Carpathians, the upper reaches of the Dniester, Prut, and Seret rivers, and in the south it reached the Black Sea and the Danube. From 1199 until the 1340s, it was united into the Galicia-Volhynia Principality. It was during this period that the city of Lev — Lviv — thanks to its location at the crossroads of trade routes, grew and developed rapidly, becoming the capital of the principality as early as the second half of the 13th century.
From that time on, Galicia, and with it Lviv as the center of the region, remained for more than six centuries under the rule of various occupying states in different historical formations: Poland — for 405 years; Hungary, Austria, and Austria-Hungary — for 152 years; Nazi Germany — for 4 years; and the Soviet Union — for 48 years.
And only for eight months — from November 1, 1918, the day the West Ukrainian People’s Republic was proclaimed, to June 25, 1919, when the Entente recognized Poland’s right to occupy Galicia — did Ukrainians truly live in an independent republic. Although formally, the final decision to annex Galicia to Poland was adopted by the Council of Ambassadors of the Entente only on March 14, 1923, on the condition that autonomy be granted to the Ukrainian population — a condition that was never fulfilled.
Throughout all those occupations, Ukrainians were subjected to constant pressure — if not to completely, then at least partially deprive them of their identity, national consciousness, culture, language, customs and traditions, and historical memory. But the occupiers never succeeded in doing so. The Ukrainian nation survived and endured. Galicians and Lviv residents held on especially firmly.
It is no coincidence that Lviv is called the Piedmont of Ukrainian nationhood. We often use this definition without delving too deeply into its essence. For reference: Piedmont is a historical region in northern Italy where the processes of uniting Italian lands into one state began. The example of the Italians became an impetus for the liberation movements of “stateless” peoples in Europe, who began searching for their own “Piedmont.” Ukrainians were no exception.
It was Lviv that became such a “Piedmont” for Ukraine. It was here that waves of free thought, defiance, dissidence, and the struggle for Ukraine’s independence and unity surged. It was here that future state and political figures were formed — Viacheslav Chornovil, Stepan Khmara, Ihor Yukhnovskyi, the Horyn brothers, Myroslav Marynovych, and others. Every great resistance movement began in Lviv and spread throughout Ukraine. Without Lviv, there would have been neither the Orange Revolution nor the Maidan.
Lviv residents stood in the front ranks of the defenders of the Motherland both during the seizure of Luhansk and Donetsk by the Muscovites and during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. They continue to fight heroically today, giving their strength, health, and often their lives on the altar of Ukraine’s freedom and independence.
During the years of war, thousands of death notices came — and continue to come — to the homes of Lviv residents and Galicians. Alleys of Glory have appeared in cities and villages throughout Galicia. Eternal memory and glory to the fallen warriors!
Lviv is a multinational and multiconfessional city. According to the last population census of 2001, 88.1% of Lviv’s residents were Ukrainians, while the rest were Russians, Poles, Belarusians, Jews, Armenians, Germans, and representatives of other nationalities. In terms of religion, the city is home mainly to Greek Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholics, Muslims, and Jews. All of them have their own houses of worship.
As of January 1, 2016, Lviv’s population was 728,350. After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, as of 2024, more than 150,000 internally displaced persons were staying in Lviv. Today, the city’s population, together with displaced persons, is about one million residents.
Lviv occupies an important place in Ukraine’s economy. Before the war, the city had 218 large industrial enterprises, more than 40 banks, 4 stock exchanges, 13 investment companies, 80 insurance organizations, 24 leasing firms, 77 auditing companies, and nearly 9,000 small businesses. After the beginning of the war in Donbas, and especially after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many enterprises, primarily small and medium-sized ones, closed. Their exact number is now difficult to determine.
Russian investors often acted deliberately to destroy Ukrainian enterprises. The Lviv Bus Factory is one such example. LAZ had existed since 1945, and its buses were known throughout the former Soviet Union. However, by 2018, the owner of the company’s shares, Russian businessman Igor Churkin, had driven the factory into bankruptcy. The enterprise stopped operating, thousands of workers were dismissed, and the factory’s 50-hectare territory fell into decline.
Despite difficult times, most Lviv enterprises have survived and continue to operate. They work in sectors such as mechanical engineering and metalworking, IT, light industry, construction and food production, the chemical and petrochemical industries, energy, and logistics.
Today, major enterprises operating in Lviv include PJSC Concern Galnaftogaz, owner of the OKKO filling station network, one of the largest in Ukraine; CJSC LCF “Svitoch,” which produces chocolate and sweets; Galka Ltd., a coffee factory; OJSC Lviv Brewery; the Lviv Tobacco Factory; PJSC Lviv Liquor and Vodka Plant; PJSC Lviv Electric Lamp Plant “Iskra”; the State Jewelry Factory; Concern-Electron; the Lviv Locomotive Repair Plant; and others.
There are nine higher education institutions in Lviv. Among them are some of the best in Ukraine: Ivan Franko National University of Lviv and Lviv Polytechnic National University, as well as the world-renowned Ukrainian Catholic University.
Lviv is also a center of cultural and tourist life. It has many theaters, museums, galleries, exhibition spaces, and sightseeing routes. The city lives through cultural diversity. One can learn about all this in detail from numerous guidebooks and articles, so I do not want to tire the reader with it here.
I want to say only one thing: Lviv is the strength of Ukraine, the historical outpost of its independence, its pride and beauty.
For me personally, Lviv is the unforgettable and most beautiful place of my student youth. It was here that I found my best friends, met my wife for the first time, where my daughter was born, and where I took the first steps in my professional and civic development.
And now, whenever I come to Lviv, I bow my head before its historical wisdom and contemporary relevance, breathe in the air of freedom and courage, and remain intoxicated for a long time by its life-giving hum.
Long live unique, free, and unbreakable Lviv!
Author: Myroslav Grekh