Lwów

Lwów, known in Ukrainian as Lviv and in German as Lemberg, is a city in western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Lviv Oblast and one of the country’s largest cities, with a population around 700,000. Located in the western part of the country near the Polish border, it sits at the crossroads of Central and Eastern Europe and has long served as a cultural and commercial hub of Galicia.

The city was founded in 1256 by Daniel of Galicia and soon developed as a key center of trade, education, and culture within the Kingdom of Poland and later the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1772 it became part of the Habsburg Monarchy as the capital of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, remaining under Austrian rule until 1918. Between the world wars it belonged to the Second Polish Republic; in 1939 it was occupied by the Soviet Union, then by Nazi Germany, and after 1944 it returned to Soviet control before becoming part of independent Ukraine in 1991.

Lviv’s historic center was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998, recognized for its architectural diversity spanning medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque styles. The city features a dense urban fabric around Market Square (Rynok) with landmarks such as the Lviv Opera House, the Latin Cathedral, the Armenian Cathedral, and various churches and monasteries. It is also an educational center, home to the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, founded in 1661.

Today Lviv is a cultural and educational hub, with a growing IT sector and a thriving tourism scene that highlights its historic heritage and coffeehouse culture.