Lviv

During the wars over the succession of Galicia-Volhynia Principality in 1339 King Casimir III of Poland undertook an expedition and captured the city in 1340, burning down the old princely castle.^[17] Poland ultimately gained control over Lviv and the adjacent region in 1349. From then on the population was subjected to attempts to both Polonize and Catholicize the population.^[25] The Lithuanians ravaged Lviv land in 1351 during the Halych-Volhyn Wars^[26] with Lviv being plundered and destroyed by duke Liubartas in 1353.^[27][28]

Casimir built a new city center (or founded a new town) in a basin, surrounded it by walls, and replaced the wooden palace by masonry castle – one of the two built by him.^[17][29][30] The old (Ruthenian) settlement, after it had been rebuilt, became known as the Krakovian Suburb in reference to the city of Kraków.^[29]

In 1349, the Kingdom of Ruthenia with its capital Lviv was annexed by the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. The kingdom was transformed into the Ruthenian domain of the Crown with Lwów as the capital. On 17 June 1356 King Casimir III the Great moved the city to a new location and granted it Magdeburg rights, which implied that all city matters were to be resolved by a council elected by the wealthy citizens. In 1362, the High Castle was built with stone. In 1358, the city became a seat of Roman Catholic Archdiocese, which initiated the spread of Latin Church onto the Ruthenian lands.

Tras la muerte de Casimiro en 1370, le sucedió como rey de Polonia su sobrino, el rey Luis I de Hungría , quien en 1372 puso Lwów, junto con la región del Reino de Galitzia-Volinia, bajo la administración de su pariente Vladislao II de Opole , duque de Opole. ^{[ 17 ]} Cuando en 1387 Vladislao se retiró del cargo de gobernador, Galitzia-Volinia fue ocupada por Hungría , pero pronto Eduviges , la hija menor de Luis, gobernante de Polonia y esposa del rey de Polonia Vladislao II Jagellón , la unificó directamente con la Corona del Reino de Polonia . ^{[ 17 ]}

La prosperidad de la ciudad durante los siglos siguientes se debe a los privilegios comerciales que le concedieron Casimiro, la reina Eduviges y los posteriores monarcas polacos. ^{[ 17 ]} Los alemanes, polacos y checos formaron los grupos más numerosos de recién llegados. La mayoría de los colonos se polonizaron a finales del siglo XV, y la ciudad se convirtió en una isla polaca rodeada por la población ortodoxa rutena. ^{[ 31 ]} En 1356, se fundó la diócesis armenia, con centro en la Catedral Armenia . Lwów fue uno de los dos principales centros culturales y religiosos de los armenios en Polonia, junto con Kamieniec Podolski . ^{[ 32 ]} A principios de la Edad Moderna , también se convirtió en una de las mayores concentraciones de escoceses e italianos en Polonia. ^{[ 33 ] [ 34 ]}

En 1412, la archidiócesis local se convirtió en la metrópolis católica romana , que desde 1375 como diócesis había estado en Halych . ^{[ 17 ]} La nueva metrópolis incluía las diócesis regionales de Lwów, Przemyśl , Chełm , Włodzimierz , Łuck , Kamieniec , así como Siret y Kijów (véase la antigua catedral de Santa Sofía, Kiev ). El primer arzobispo católico que residió en Lwów fue Jan Rzeszowski.

En 1434, el dominio de Rutenia de la Corona se transformó en el Voivodato de Rutenia . En 1444, a la ciudad se le concedió el derecho de mercado , lo que resultó en su creciente prosperidad y riqueza, al convertirse en uno de los principales centros comerciales en las rutas mercantiles entre Europa Central y la región del Mar Negro . También se transformó en una de las principales fortalezas del reino. Como una de las ciudades reales más grandes e influyentes de Polonia, gozaba de derecho a voto en las elecciones reales de Polonia , junto con otras ciudades importantes como Cracovia , Poznań , Varsovia o Gdańsk . ^{[ 35 ]} Durante el siglo XVII, fue la segunda ciudad más grande de la Mancomunidad Polaco-Lituana , con una población de aproximadamente 30.000 habitantes.

En 1572, Ivan Fedorov , uno de los primeros editores de libros en lo que hoy es Ucrania y graduado de la Universidad de Cracovia , se estableció aquí por un breve período. La ciudad se convirtió en un importante centro para la ortodoxia oriental con el establecimiento de una hermandad ortodoxa , una escuela greco-eslava y una imprenta que publicó las primeras versiones completas de la Biblia en eslavo eclesiástico en 1580. Se fundó un colegio jesuita en 1608, y el 20 de enero de 1661, el rey Juan II Casimiro de Polonia emitió un decreto otorgándole "el honor de la academia y el título de universidad". ^{[ 36 ]}

El siglo XVII trajo ejércitos invasores de suecos , húngaros , ^{[ 37 ] [ 38 ]} turcos , ^{[ 39 ] [ 40 ]} rusos y cosacos ^{[ 38 ]} a sus puertas. En 1648, un ejército de cosacos y tártaros de Crimea sitió la ciudad. Capturaron el Castillo Alto , asesinando a sus defensores. La ciudad en sí no fue saqueada debido a que el líder de la revolución Bohdan Khmelnytsky aceptó un rescate de 250.000 ducados , y los cosacos marcharon hacia el noroeste en dirección a Zamość . Fue una de las dos ciudades principales de Polonia que no fue capturada durante el llamado Diluvio : la otra fue Gdańsk .

At that time, Lwów witnessed a historic scene, as here King John II Casimir made his famous Lwów Oath. On 1 April 1656, during a holy mass in Lwów's Cathedral conducted by the papal legatePietro Vidoni, John Casimir in a grandiose and elaborate ceremony entrusted the Commonwealth under the Blessed Virgin Mary's protection, whom he announced as The Queen of the Polish Crown and other of his countries.

In 1672, it was surrounded by the Ottomans who also failed to conquer it. Three years later, the Battle of Lwów (1675) took place near the city. Lwów was captured for the first time since the Middle Ages by a foreign army in 1704, when Swedish troops under King Charles XII entered the city after a short siege.^[41] The plague of the early 18th century caused the death of about 10,000 inhabitants (40% of the city's population).^[42]

In 1772, following the First Partition of Poland, the region was annexed by the Habsburg monarchy to the Austrian Partition. Known in German as Lemberg, the city became the capital of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria.^[43] Lemberg grew dramatically during the 19th century, increasing in population from approximately 30,000 at the time of the Austrian annexation in 1772,^[44] to 196,000 by 1910^[45] and to 212,000 three years later;^[46] rapid population growth brought about an increase in urban squalor and poverty in Austrian Galicia.^[47] In the late 18th and early 19th centuries a large influx of Austrians and German-speaking Czech bureaucrats gave the city a character that by the 1840s was quite Austrian, in its orderliness and in the appearance and popularity of Austrian coffeehouses.^[48]

During Habsburg rule, Lviv became one of the most important Polish, Ukrainian and Jewish cultural centres. In Lviv, according to the Austrian census of 1910, which listed religion and language, 51% of the city's population was Roman Catholics, 28% Jews, and 19% belonged to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Linguistically, 86% of the city's population used the Polish language and 11% preferred Ruthenian.^[47]

In 1773, the first newspaper in Lemberg, Gazette de Leopoli, began to be published. In 1784, a Latin language university was opened with lectures in German, Polish and even Ruthenian; after closing in 1805, it was reopened in 1817. By 1825, German became the sole language of instruction.^[48]Lemberg University was opened by Maria Theresa in 1784. By 1787, her successor Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor opened "Studium Ruthenum" for students who did not know enough Latin to take regular courses.^[49]

During the 19th century, the Austrian administration attempted to Germanise the city's educational and governmental institutions. A number of cultural organisations which did not have a pro-German orientation were closed. After the revolutions of 1848, the language of instruction at the university shifted from German to include Ukrainian and Polish. Around that time, a certain sociolect developed in the city known as the Lwów dialect. Considered to be a type of Polish dialect, it draws its roots from a number of other languages besides Polish. In 1853, kerosene lamps as street lighting were introduced by Ignacy Łukasiewicz and Jan Zeh. Then in 1858, these were updated to gas lamps, and in 1900 to electric ones.

Tras el llamado « Ausgleich » de febrero de 1867, el Imperio Austríaco se reformó en una Austria-Hungría dualista y comenzó un proceso lento pero constante de liberalización del dominio austríaco en Galitzia. A partir de 1873, Galitzia fue de facto una provincia autónoma de Austria-Hungría , con el polaco y el ruteno como lenguas oficiales. Se detuvo la germanización y se levantó la censura. Galitzia estaba sujeta a la parte austríaca de la Monarquía Dual, pero el Sejm gallego y la administración provincial, ambos establecidos en Leópolis, gozaban de amplios privilegios y prerrogativas, especialmente en educación, cultura y asuntos locales. En 1894, se celebró en Leópolis la Exposición Nacional General . ^{[ 50 ]} La ciudad comenzó a crecer rápidamente, convirtiéndose en la cuarta más grande de Austria-Hungría, según el censo de 1910. Se erigieron múltiples edificios públicos y casas de vecindad de la Belle Époque , con varios edificios del período austríaco, como el Teatro de Ópera y Ballet de Lviv , construidos en el estilo neorrenacentista vienés .

En aquella época, Lviv albergaba varias instituciones de renombre en lengua polaca, como el Ossolineum , con la segunda mayor colección de libros polacos del mundo, la Academia Polaca de las Artes , el Museo Nacional (desde 1908), el Museo Histórico de la Ciudad de Lwów (desde 1891), la Sociedad Polaca Copérnico de Naturalistas , la Sociedad Histórica Polaca , la Universidad de Lwów , con el polaco como idioma oficial desde 1882, la Sociedad Científica de Lwów , la Galería de Arte de Lwów , el Teatro Polaco y la Archidiócesis Polaca .

Además, Lviv fue el centro de varias organizaciones independentistas polacas. En junio de 1908, Józef Piłsudski , Władysław Sikorski y Kazimierz Sosnkowski fundaron en la ciudad la Unión de Lucha Activa . Dos años más tarde, activistas polacos también fundaron en la ciudad la organización paramilitar conocida como la Asociación de Fusileros .

At the same time, Lviv became the city where famous Ukrainian writers (such as Ivan Franko, Panteleimon Kulish and Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky) published their work. It was a centre of Ukrainian cultural revival. The city also housed the largest and most influential Ukrainian institutions in the world, including the Prosvita society dedicated to spreading literacy in the Ukrainian language, the Shevchenko Scientific Society, the Dniester Insurance Company and base of the Ukrainian cooperative movement, and it served as the seat of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. However, the Polish-dominated city council blocked Ukrainian attempts to create visible monuments for their own. The most important streets had names referring to Polish history and literature, and only minor roads referred to Ukrainians.^[51]

Lviv was also a major centre of Jewish culture, in particular as a centre of the Yiddish language, and was the home of the world's first Yiddish-language daily newspaper, the Lemberger Togblat, established in 1904.^[52]

World War I

In the Battle of Galicia at the early stages of the First World War, Lviv was captured by the Russian army in September 1914 following the Battle of Gnila Lipa. The Lemberg Fortress fell on 3 September. The historian Pál Kelemen provided a first-hand account of the chaotic evacuation of the city by the Austro-Hungarian Army and civilians alike.^[53]

The town was retaken by Austria-Hungary in June of the following year during the Gorlice–Tarnów offensive. Lviv and its population, therefore, suffered greatly during the First World War as many of the offensives were fought across its local geography causing significant collateral damage and disruption.^[54]

Tras el colapso de la monarquía de los Habsburgo al final de la Primera Guerra Mundial, Lviv se convirtió en un campo de batalla entre la población polaca local y los fusileros ucranianos de la Sich . Ambas naciones consideraban la ciudad como parte integral de sus nuevos estados, que en ese momento se estaban formando en los antiguos territorios austríacos. En la noche del 31 de octubre al 1 de noviembre de 1918 se proclamó la República Popular de Ucrania Occidental, con Lviv como su capital. 2300 soldados ucranianos de los fusileros ucranianos de la Sich (Sichovi Striltsi), que anteriormente habían sido un cuerpo del ejército austríaco, intentaron tomar Lviv. La mayoría polaca de la ciudad se opuso a la declaración ucraniana y comenzó a luchar contra las tropas ucranianas. ^{[ 55 ]} Durante este combate, un papel importante lo desempeñaron los jóvenes defensores polacos de la ciudad llamados aguiluchos de Lwów .

Las fuerzas ucranianas se retiraron de los límites de Lwów el 21 de noviembre de 1918, tras lo cual elementos de soldados polacos comenzaron a saquear e incendiar gran parte de los barrios judíos y ucranianos de la ciudad, matando a aproximadamente 340 civiles (véase: Pogromo de Lwów ). Los pogromistas fueron juzgados por las autoridades polacas y tres fueron ejecutados. ^{[ 56 ]} Las fuerzas ucranianas en retirada sitiaron la ciudad. Los fusileros de Sich se reorganizaron en el Ejército Ucraniano de Galitzia (UHA). Las fuerzas polacas, con ayuda de Polonia central, incluido el Ejército Azul del general Haller , equipado por los franceses, liberaron la ciudad sitiada en mayo de 1919, obligando al UHA a retirarse hacia el este.

A pesar de los intentos de mediación de la Entente para cesar las hostilidades y alcanzar un compromiso entre los beligerantes, la guerra polaco-ucraniana continuó hasta julio de 1919, cuando las últimas fuerzas de la UHA se retiraron al este del río Zbruch . La frontera en el río Zbruch se confirmó en el Tratado de Varsovia , cuando en abril de 1920 el mariscal de campo Piłsudski firmó un acuerdo con Symon Petlura en el que se acordó que, a cambio de apoyo militar contra los bolcheviques, la República Popular Ucraniana renunciaría a sus reivindicaciones sobre los territorios de Galitzia Oriental.

En agosto de 1920, Lviv fue atacada por el Ejército Rojo bajo el mando de Aleksandr Yegorov y Stalin durante la guerra polaco-soviética, pero la ciudad repelió el ataque . ^{[ 57 ]} Por el valor de sus habitantes, Lviv recibió la Cruz Virtuti Militari de manos de Józef Piłsudski el 22 de noviembre de 1920.

On 23 February 1921, the council of the League of Nations declared that Galicia (including the city) lay outside the territory of Poland and that Poland did not have the mandate to establish administrative control in that country, and that Poland was merely the occupying military power of Galicia (as a whole^[58]), whose sovereign remained the Allied Powers and fate would be determined by the Council of Ambassadors at the League of Nations.^[59] On 14 March 1923, the Council of Ambassadors decided that Galicia would be incorporated into Poland "whereas it is recognised by Poland that ethnographical conditions necessitate an autonomous regime in the Eastern part of Galicia."^[60] This provision was never honoured by the interwar Polish government. After 1923, the region was internationally recognized as part of the Polish state.^[58]

During the interwar period Lwów was the Second Polish Republic's third-most populous city (following Warsaw and Łódź), and it became the seat of the Lwów Voivodeship. Following Warsaw, Lwów was the second most important cultural and academic centre of interwar Poland. For example, in 1920 Professor Rudolf Weigl of Lwów University developed a vaccine against typhus fever. Furthermore, the geographic location of Lwów gave it an important role in stimulating international trade and fostering the city's and Poland's economic development. A major trade fair named Targi Wschodnie was established in 1921. In the academic year 1937–1938, there were 9,100 students attending five institutions of higher education, including Lwów University as well as the Polytechnic.^[61]

While about two-thirds of the city's inhabitants were Poles, some of whom spoke the characteristic Lwów dialect, the eastern part of the Lwów Voivodeship had a relative Ukrainian majority in most of its rural areas. Polish authorities were obliged through international agreements to provide Eastern Galicia with autonomy (including the creation of a separate Ukrainian university in Lwów), and even though a bill was enacted the Polish Sejm in September 1922,^[63] this was not fulfilled.

The Polish government discontinued multiple Ukrainian schools which functioned during the Austrian rule,^[64] and closed down Ukrainian departments at the University of Lwów with the exception of one.^[65] Prewar Lwów also had a large and thriving Jewish community, which constituted about a quarter of the population, but were accused of having collaborated with the Ukrainians.^[66]

Unlike in Austrian times, when the size and number of public parades or other cultural expressions corresponded to each cultural group's relative population, the Polish government emphasised the Polish nature of the city and limited public displays of Jewish and Ukrainian culture. Military parades and commemorations of battles at particular streets within the city, all celebrating the Polish forces who fought against the Ukrainians in 1918, became frequent,^[66] and in the 1930s a vast memorial monument and burial ground of Polish soldiers from that conflict was built in the city's Lychakiv Cemetery. On the other hand, Ukrainians strove to create their own memorial culture in the town. An underground military organization attacked Polish institutions, as well as Polish politicians.^[67]

En febrero de 1946, Lviv pasó a formar parte de la Unión Soviética. Se estima que entre 100.000 y 140.000 polacos fueron reubicados desde la ciudad a los llamados Territorios Recuperados como parte de las transferencias de población de la posguerra , muchos de ellos a la zona de la recién adquirida Wrocław , antigua ciudad alemana de Breslau. Los polacos que se quedaron en Lviv formaron posteriormente la Asociación de Cultura Polaca de la Región de Lviv . En marzo de 1946, Lviv fue sede de un sínodo eclesiástico organizado bajo la presión de la KGB , que disolvió formalmente la Iglesia greco-católica ucraniana al anexar sus parroquias a la Iglesia ortodoxa rusa .

Según diversas estimaciones, Lviv perdió entre el 80 % y el 90 % de su población de antes de la guerra. ^{[ 84 ]} La expulsión de la población polaca y el Holocausto, junto con la migración desde las zonas circundantes de habla ucraniana (incluidos los reasentados forzosamente desde los territorios que, tras la guerra, pasaron a formar parte de la República Popular de Polonia), así como desde otras partes de la Unión Soviética, alteraron la composición étnica de la ciudad. Se fomentó la inmigración desde Rusia y las regiones de habla rusa del este de Ucrania, y durante la década de 1950 los rusos étnicos constituían casi un tercio de la población de Lviv. Durante el mismo período, 28 000 judíos residían en la ciudad, la mayoría de ellos inmigrantes de habla rusa procedentes de otras partes de la Unión Soviética. El 8 de septiembre de 1956, la población de Lviv alcanzó los 400 000 habitantes. ^{[ 85 ]}

En 1950 se inauguró la primera exposición agrícola regional en el Parque Stryi, y en 1951 se puso en marcha un ferrocarril infantil . En 1952 se inauguró la primera línea de trolebuses de la ciudad . Para 1960, la ciudad contaba con 262 autobuses, 380 taxis y más de 50 trolebuses. En 1955 comenzó a operar la nueva terminal del aeropuerto . Para 1955, Lviv tenía 415 restaurantes, cafeterías y comedores, pero aún no eran suficientes para cubrir las necesidades de la creciente población. Varios parques públicos, incluido Shevchenkivskyi Hai , se establecieron durante la década de 1950. ^{[ 85 ]}

Debido al desarrollo de empresas industriales en los barrios antiguos de la ciudad, las autoridades locales implementaron medidas contra la contaminación acústica . Al mismo tiempo, hasta 1958, Lviv continuó sirviendo como punto de tránsito para equipo militar pesado. En 1958, una casa en una de las calles de la ciudad se derrumbó debido al movimiento de artillería autopropulsada en una calle cercana. Como resultado, se prohibió el transporte de material militar a través de los barrios antiguos y la división estacionada en Lviv fue trasladada a Yavoriv . ^{[ 85 ]}

A principios de la década de 1950, el gobierno soviético adoptó una resolución para convertir a Lviv en un importante centro industrial. En 1954, se fabricó el primer tubo de kinescopio de la Unión Soviética en una fábrica local, y en 1958 comenzó la producción en serie de televisores . En 1956, la Fábrica de Autobuses de Lviv inició su producción. También se estableció una planta de reparación de tanques en la ciudad. Para dar cabida a la población trabajadora, las autoridades ordenaron la construcción de viviendas económicas. Al mismo tiempo, se erigieron edificios mucho más cómodos, de estilo estalinista , para la élite comunista . A pesar de las nuevas construcciones, muchas personas continuaron viviendo en pisos compartidos o incluso en sótanos. En muchos distritos no había calefacción central, agua corriente ni alcantarillado . A lo largo de la década de 1950, varios pueblos y aldeas cercanas se incorporaron administrativamente a Lviv, entre ellos Briukhovychi y Vynnyky . En diciembre de 1957, el centro de televisión de Lviv realizó su primera transmisión desde el Teatro de la Ópera de la ciudad. ^{[ 85 ]}

En las décadas de 1950 y 1960, la ciudad se expandió tanto en población como en tamaño, principalmente debido a su creciente base industrial. Debido a la lucha de SMERSH contra el Ejército Insurgente Ucraniano , Lviv obtuvo un apodo con connotación negativa: Banderstadt , que significa la ciudad de Stepan Bandera . Se añadió el sufijo alemán "stadt" en lugar del ruso " grad" para implicar alienación. Con el paso de los años, los residentes de la ciudad lo consideraron tan ridículo que incluso quienes no conocían a Bandera lo interpretaron como sarcasmo en referencia a la percepción soviética del oeste de Ucrania . Para cuando se disolvió la Unión Soviética, el nombre se convirtió en un símbolo de orgullo para los habitantes de Lviv, culminando en la creación de una banda de rock local llamada Khloptsi z Bandershtadtu (Chicos de Banderstadt). ^{[ 86 ]}

Durante la década de 1960, los habitantes de Lviv y la región circundante se beneficiaron de su acceso a la televisión y la radio polacas , así como a publicaciones de prensa de los demás países del Pacto de Varsovia . Muchos inmigrantes de pueblos ucranianos, que se establecieron en la ciudad durante ese período, tenían familiares en el extranjero y podían mantener correspondencia a través del Telón de Acero . Para combatir el « nacionalismo burgués », las autoridades soviéticas prohibieron la combinación de azul y amarillo en la producción impresa y los medios de comunicación. Para combatir la religión , el régimen clausuró la Catedral Dominicana de Lviv y organizó un museo del ateísmo en su edificio. A pesar de la presión gubernamental, los habitantes de Lviv continuaron siguiendo las tradiciones religiosas, y muchos distritos organizaban representaciones de vertep . Durante la década de 1960, Lviv también desarrolló sus propias subculturas juveniles , que se formaron bajo la influencia de la música occidental. ^{[ 87 ]}

Durante la década de 1970, las políticas del liderazgo soviético ucraniano bajo Volodymyr Shcherbytsky dieron lugar a una nueva ola de rusificación . Muchas inscripciones y anuncios en las calles y el transporte público de Lviv pasaron a estar escritos en ruso. Mientras tanto, la situación económica empeoró, y a mediados de la década, numerosos productos desaparecieron de las tiendas. A finales de los años 70, la inflación se convirtió en una gran preocupación. Al mismo tiempo, la red comercial de la ciudad continuó expandiéndose, con la construcción de más de 200 tiendas. Las nuevas tendencias culturales siguieron influyendo en la población de Lviv, y en 1979 surgieron dos lugares emblemáticos en la ciudad: el palacio juvenil "Romantyk", que se hizo popular gracias a su discoteca , y el café "Virmenka", que se convirtió en punto de encuentro de la bohemia local . La década de 1970 vio el auge del movimiento hippie en Lviv. Entre 1975 y 1977, el jardín del monasterio carmelita local se convirtió en un centro de reunión para jóvenes inconformistas de diversas partes de la Unión Soviética. ^{[ 88 ]} A pesar de las condiciones de la rusificación soviética , Lviv se convirtió en un importante centro del movimiento disidente . A partir de 1972 , muchos activistas disidentes de Lviv fueron arrestados y encarcelados en la tristemente célebre prisión de la calle Łącki . ^{[ 88 ]}

In the period of liberalisation from the Soviet system in the 1980s, the city became the centre of political movements advocating Ukrainian independence from the USSR. On 17 September 1989 Lviv saw the largest rally in support of Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union, gathering some 100,000 participants.^[89]

The citizens of Lviv strongly supported Viktor Yushchenko during the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election and played a key role in the Orange Revolution. Hundreds of thousands of people would gather in freezing temperatures to demonstrate for the Orange camp. Acts of civil disobedience forced the head of the local police to resign and the local assembly issued a resolution refusing to accept the fraudulent first official results.^[90] Lviv remains today one of the main centres of Ukrainian culture and the origin of much of the nation's political class.

In support of the Euromaidan movement, Lviv's executive committee declared itself independent of the rule of President Viktor Yanukovych on 19 February 2014.^[91]

In 2019, the citizens of Lviv strongly supported Petro Poroshenko over Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election. The percentage of votes counted for Poroshenko was more than 90%. Despite this level of support in Lviv, he lost the national vote.

Until 18 July 2020, Lviv was incorporated as a city of oblast significance and the center of Lviv Municipality. The municipality was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Lviv Oblast to seven. The area of Lviv Municipality was merged into the newly established Lviv Raion.^[92][93]

Russo-Ukrainian War

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

In February 2022, after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lviv became the nation's de facto western capital as some embassies, government agencies, and media organizations were relocated from Kyiv due to the direct military threat to the capital.^[94] Lviv also became a safe haven for the Ukrainians fleeing other parts of the country affected by the invasion, their number exceeding 200,000 by 18 March 2022. A number of them used the city as a stopping point on their way to Poland. Lviv and the larger region around it also served as crucial arms and humanitarian supply route.^[89] Bracing for Russian attacks, local government and citizens, helped by Polish and Croatian advisers, worked to protect the city's cultural heritage by erecting makeshift barriers around historical monuments, wrapping statues, and safeguarding art treasures.^[95]

During the course of the war, the area in and around Lviv has been struck by Russian missile attacks. Yavoriv military training base was struck on 13 March 2022, the Lviv State Aircraft Repair Plant near the Lviv Danylo Halytskyi International Airport on 18 March 2022,^[89] and a fuel depot and other facilities within the city limits on 26 March 2022.^[96]

On 18 April 2022, the city was hit by five missile strikes, killing seven civilians and wounding 11, according to mayor Andriy Sadovyi. Regional governor Maksym Kozystkiy said that the targets were military factories and a tyre shop. A hotel housing evacuees was also hit, damaging its windows. The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that all locations were struck by Russian missiles during the night of 18 April were military targets.^[97]

Lviv was targeted during the 10 October 2022 missile strikes on Ukraine, resulting in a city-wide blackout.^[98] On 11 October 2022, Sadovyi announced that the city was hit by a missile strike, resulting in a power outage and water supply shortage.^[99] On October 5, 2025, the Russian on Lviv was the largest of the war in the Lviv region, said governor Maksym Kozytskyi, adding it involved 140 drones and 23 missiles. 5 civilians were killed and dozens were injured.^[100]

La noche del 8 de enero de 2026, las fuerzas rusas lanzaron un misil Oreshnik desde el campo de pruebas de Kapustin Yar hacia Lviv. Fue la primera vez que Lviv fue alcanzada por un misil balístico de alcance intermedio (IRBM) en la guerra ruso-ucraniana . ^{[ 101 ]}

El clima de Lviv es continental húmedo ( clasificación climática de Köppen Dfb ) con inviernos fríos y veranos cálidos. ^{[ 102 ]} Las temperaturas promedio son de −3 °C (27 °F) en enero y 18 °C (64 °F) en julio. ^{[ 103 ]} El nivel de humedad promedio es seco, con una humedad en verano que varía de agradable a bochornosa. ^{[ 104 ]} La precipitación anual promedio es de 745 mm (29 in) con el máximo en verano. ^{[ 103 ]} La duración promedio de sol por año en Lviv es de aproximadamente 1804 horas. ^{[ 105 ]}      

• Year 1405: approx. 4,500 inhabitants in the Old Town, and additionally approx. 600 in the two suburbs.^[121]
• Year 1544: approx. 3,000 inhabitants in the Old Town (number had decreased by about 30% due to the fire of 1527), and additionally approx. 2,700 in the suburbs.^[121]
• Year 1840: approx. 67,000 inhabitants, including 20,000 Jews.^[122]
• Year 1850: nearly 80,000 inhabitants (together with the four suburbs), including more than 25,000 Jews.^[123]
• Year 1869: 87,109 inhabitants, among them 46,252 Roman Catholics, 26,694 Jews, 12,406 members of the Greek Uniate Churches.^[110]
• Year 1890: 127,943 inhabitants (64,102 male, 63,481 female), among them 67,280 Catholics, 36,130 Judaic, 21,876 members of the Greek Uniate Churches, 2,061 Protestants, 596 Orthodox and others.^[111]
• Year 1900: 159,877 inhabitants, including the military (10,326 men). Of these inhabitants, 82,597 were members of the Roman Catholic Church, 29,327 members of the Greek Uniate Churches, and 44,258 were Jews. As their language of communication, 120,634 used Polish, 20,409 German or Yiddish, and 15,159 Ukrainian.^[112]
• Year 1921: 219,388 inhabitants, including 136,519 Poles, 60,431 Jews and 19,866 Ukrainians.^[124]
• Year 1931: 312,231 inhabitants, including 198,212 Poles, 75,316 Jews and 35,137 Ukrainians.^[116]
• Year 1939: 340.000 inhabitants.^[125]
• Year 1940: 500,000.^[117]
• July 1944: 149,000.^[117]
• Year 1955: 380,000.^[117]
• Year 2001: 725,000 inhabitants, of whom 88% were Ukrainians, 9% Russians and 1% Poles.^[119] A further 200,000 people commuted daily from suburbs.
• Year 2007: 735,000 inhabitants. By gender: 51.5% women, and 48.5% men. By place of birth: 56% born in Lviv, 19% born in Lviv Oblast, 11% born in East Ukraine, 7% born in the former republics of the USSR (Russia 4%), 4% born in Poland, and 3% born in Western Ukraine, but not in the Lviv Oblast.^[120]
• Religious adherence: (2001)^[120]
  • 52% Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
  • 31% Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate
  • 05% Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
  • 03% Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
  • 03% Other faiths

The majority of Lvivians speak Ukrainian. The use of Ukrainian in the city has surged since the 1970s, while the use of Russian has declined since the 1980s. In 2000, it was estimated that 80% of Lvivians spoke Ukrainian.^[126]

Results of the 2001 census:^[127]

According to one survey conducted by the International Republican Institute in mid-2023, 96% of the city's inhabitants spoke Ukrainian at home, while 3% of them spoke Russian.^[128]

Ethnic Poles and the Polish Jews began to settle in Lwów in considerable numbers already in 1349 after the city was conquered by King Casimir of the Piast dynasty. Lwów served as Poland's major cultural and economic centre for several centuries, during the Polish Golden Age, and until the partitions of Poland perpetrated by Russia, Prussia, and Austria.^[131] In the Second Polish Republic, the Lwów Voivodeship (inhabited by 2,789,000 people in 1921) grew to 3,126,300 inhabitants in ten years.^[132]

As a result of World War II, Lviv was de-Polonised, mainly through Soviet-arranged population exchange in 1944–1946 but also by early deportations to Siberia.^[133] Those who remained on their own volition after the border shift became a small ethnic minority in Lviv. By 1959 Poles made up only 4% of the local population. A number of families were mixed.^[133] During the Soviet decades only two Polish schools continued to function: No. 10 (with 8 grades) and No. 24 (with 10 grades).^[133]

In the 1980s the process of uniting groups into ethnic associations was allowed. In 1988 a Polish-language newspaper was permitted (Gazeta Lwowska).^[134] The Polish population of the city continues to use the dialect of the Polish language known as Lwów dialect (Polish: gwara lwowska).^[134]

An association of Poles named White Eagle was founded in Lviv in 2011.^[135]

The first known Jews in Lviv date back to the tenth century.^[136] The oldest remaining Jewish tombstone dates back to 1348.^[136] Apart from the Rabbanite Jews there were many Karaites who had settled in the city after coming from the East and from Byzantium. After Casimir III conquered Lviv in 1349 the Jewish citizens received a number of privileges equal to that of other citizens of Poland. Lviv had two separate Jewish quarters, one within the city walls and one outside on the outskirts of the city. Each had its separate synagogue, although they shared a cemetery, which was also used by the Crimean Karaite community. Before 1939 there were 97 synagogues.

Before the Holocaust about one-third of the city's population was Jewish (more than 140,000 on the eve of World War II). This number swelled to about 240,000 by the end of 1940 as tens of thousands of Jews fled from the Nazi-occupied parts of Poland into the relative (and temporary) sanctuary of Soviet-occupied Poland (including Lviv) following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact that divided Poland into Nazi and Soviet zones in 1939. Most of the Jewish population was killed in the Holocaust. Meanwhile, the Nazis also destroyed the Jewish cemetery, which was subsequently "paved over by the Soviets".^[136]

Due to the Holocaust and migration, the original Jewish population of the city all but vanished. After the war, the remnant was replenished by a newer Jewish population, formed from among the hundreds of thousands of Russians and Ukrainians who migrated to the city. The post-war Jewish population peaked at 30,000 in the 1970s. Currently, the Jewish population has shrunk considerably as a result of emigration (mainly to Israel and the United States) and, to a lesser degree, assimilation, and is estimated to number a few thousand.^[137] A number of organisations continue to be active.

The Sholem Aleichem Jewish Culture Society in Lviv initiated the construction of a monument to the victims of the ghetto in 1988. On 23 August 1992, the memorial complex to the victims of the Lwów ghetto (1941–1943) was officially opened.^[138] During 2011–2012, some antisemitic acts against the memorial took place. On 20 March 2011, it was reported that the slogan "death to the Jews" with a swastika was sprayed on the monument.^[139] On 21 March 2012, the memorial was vandalized by unknown individuals, in what seemed to be an antisemitic act.^[140]

Lviv is also one of the leaders of software export in Eastern Europe, with expected sector growth of 20% by 2020.^[158] Over 15% of all IT specialists in Ukraine work in Lviv, with over 4100 new IT graduates coming from local universities each year. About 2,500 tech enthusiasts attended Lviv IT Arena, the largest technology conference in Western Ukraine.^[159] Over 24,000 IT specialists work in Lviv as of 2019.^[160] Lviv is among top five most popular Ukrainian cities for opening R&D center in IT and IT outsourcing spheres together with Kyiv, Dnipro, Kharkiv and Odesa.^[161]

In 2009, KPMG, one of the well-known international auditing companies, included Lviv as one of the top 30 cities with the greatest potential of information technology development.^[162] As of December 2015, there were 192 IT companies operating in the city, of which 4 were large (with more than 400 employees), 16 were average (150–300 employees), 97 were small (10–110 employees) and 70 were micro companies (3–7 employees). From 2017 to 2018 the number of IT companies increased to 317.^[160]

The turnover of Lviv's IT industry in 2015 amounted to $300 million. About 50% of IT services are exported to the US, 37% to Europe, and the rest to other countries. As of 2015, about 15 thousand specialists were employed in this industry with an average salary of 28 thousand UAH. According to a study of the Economic Effect of the Lviv IT-Market, which was conducted by Lviv IT Cluster and sociological agency "The Farm", there were 257 IT companies operating in Lviv in 2017 which employed about 17 thousand specialists. The economic impact of the IT industry in Lviv is $734 million.^[163]

There are 15 top universities in Lviv, 5 of which prepare highly skilled specialists in computer and IT technologies and supply over 1,000 IT graduates to the market annually.^[164]

Lviv IT outsourcing companies gathered all kinds of Ukrainian developers in one place, resulting in multiple front-end interns, JavaScript developers, back-end and full-stack coders with proper qualifications, experience, and good English language skills. Some IT companies in Lviv offer outsourcing software services to international corporations rather than developing their software product.^[165]

Lviv's historic churches, buildings and relics date from the 13th century to the early 20th century (Polish and Austro-Hungarian rule). In recent centuries Lviv was spared some of the invasions and wars that destroyed other Ukrainian cities. Its architecture reflects various European styles and periods. After the fires of 1527 and 1556 Lviv lost most of its gothic-style buildings but it retains many buildings in renaissance, baroque and the classic styles. There are works by artists of the Vienna Secession, Art Nouveau and Art Deco.

The buildings have multiple stone sculptures and carvings, particularly on large doors, which are hundreds of years old. The remains of old churches dot the central cityscape. Some three- to five-storey buildings have hidden inner courtyards and grottoes in various states of repair. Some cemeteries are of interest: for example, the Lychakivskiy Cemetery where the Polish elite was buried for centuries. Leaving the central area the architectural style changes radically as Soviet-era high-rise blocks dominate. In the centre of the city, the Soviet era is reflected mainly in a few modern-style national monuments and sculptures.

• 
  Armenian Cathedral of Lviv
• 
  BaroqueSaints Peter and Paul Garrison Church
• 
  Bernardine church and monastery in the style of Italian mannerism
• 
  Early 20th century architecture in Lviv
• 
  Architecture of Shevchenko Avenue
• 
  Lviv Railways headquarters
• 
  Railwaymen's Palace of Culture, an example of functionalist architecture
• 
  Old terminal of Lviv Airport built in Stalinist style
• 
  The Nativity of the Holy Virgin Church was constructed in 1995–2001 in Sykhiv district
• 
  The mixture of modern and Soviet-era architecture in the northern part of the city
• 
  Andrey Sheptytsky Centre of the Ukrainian Catholic University

Many buildings in the old part of the city are examples of Polish architecture, which flourished in Lviv after the opening of the Technical School (later Polytechnic), the first higher-education technical academy in Polish lands. Polytechnic educated generations of architects who were influential in the entire country. Examples include the main buildings of Lviv Polytechnic, the University of Lviv, the Lviv Opera, the Lviv railway station, the former building of Galicyjska Kasa Oszczędności, and Potocki Palace.^[167]

Outdoor sculptures in the city commemorate a number of notable individuals and topics reflecting the rich and complex history of Lviv. There are monuments to Adam Mickiewicz, Ivan Franko, King Danylo, Taras Shevchenko, Ivan Fedorov, Solomiya Krushelnytska, Ivan Pidkova, Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, Pope John Paul II, Jan Kiliński, Ivan Trush, Saint George, Bartosz Głowacki, the monument to the Virgin Mary, to Nikifor, The Good Soldier Švejk, Stepan Bandera, Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, and others.

During the interwar period there were monuments commemorating important figures of Polish history. Some of them were moved to the Polish "Recovered Territories" after World War II, like the Monument to Aleksander Fredro, which now is in Wrocław, the Monument of King John III Sobieski, which after 1945 was moved to Gdańsk, and the monument of Kornel Ujejski, which is now in Szczecin. A book market takes place around the monument to Ivan Fеdorovych, a typographer in the 16th century who fled Moscow and found a new home in Lviv.

New ideas came to Lviv during Austro–Hungarian rule. In the 19th century, multiple publishing houses, newspapers and magazines were established. Among these was the Ossolineum which was one of the most important Polish scientific libraries. Most Polish-language books and publications of the Ossolineum library are still kept in a local Jesuit church. In 1997 the Polish government asked the Ukrainian government to return these documents to Poland. In 2003, Ukraine allowed access to these publications for the first time. In 2006, an office of the Ossolineum (now in Wrocław) opened in Lviv and began scanning all its documents. Works written in Lviv contributed to Austrian, Ukrainian, Yiddish, and Polish literature, with a multitude of translations.

The Stepan Bandera monument in Lviv, which stands in front of the Stele of Ukraine Monument, is a statue dedicated to nationalist leader, Stepan Bandera, a controversial twentieth century Ukrainian symbol of nationalism.

Lviv is a city of religious variety. Religion (2012): Catholic: 57% (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church 56% and Roman Catholic Church 1%), Orthodox: 32%, Protestantism: 2%, Judaism: 0.1%, Other religion: 3%, Indifferent to religious matters: 4%, Atheism: 1.9%.^[168]

The range of artistic Lviv is impressive. On the one hand, it is the city of classical art. Lviv Opera and Lviv Philharmonic are places that can satisfy the demands of true appraisers of the classical arts. This is the city of one of the most distinguished sculptors in Europe, Johann Georg Pinzel, whose works can be seen on the façade of the St. George's Cathedral in Lviv and in the Pinzel Museum. This is also the city of Solomiya Krushelnytska, who began her career as a singer in Lviv Opera and later became the prima donna of La Scala Opera in Milan.

The "Group Artes" was a young movement founded in 1929. A number of the artists studied in Paris and travelled throughout Europe. They worked and experimented in different areas of modern art: Futurism, Cubism, New Objectivity and Surrealism. Co–operation took place between avant-garde musicians and authors. Altogether thirteen exhibitions by "Artes" took place in Warsaw, Kraków, Łódz and Lviv. The German occupation put an end to this group. Otto Hahn was executed in 1942 in Lviv and Aleksander Riemer was murdered in Auschwitz in 1943.^[171]

Henryk Streng and Margit Reich-Sielska were able to escape the Holocaust (or Shoah). Most of the surviving members of Artes lived in Poland after 1945. Only Margit Reich-Sielska (1900–1980) and Roman Sielski (1903–1990) stayed in Soviet Lviv. For years the city was one of the most important cultural centres of Poland with such writers as Aleksander Fredro, Gabriela Zapolska, Leopold Staff, Maria Konopnicka and Jan Kasprowicz living in Lviv.

Today Lviv is a city of fresh ideas and unusual characters. There are about 20 galleries (Lviv Municipal Art Center, The "Dzyga" Gallery, Art-Gallery "Primus", Gallery of the History of Ukrainian Military Uniforms, Gallery of Modern Art "Zelena Kanapa" and others). Lviv National Art Gallery is the largest museum of arts in Ukraine, with approximately 50,000 artworks, including paintings, sculptures and works of graphic art from Western and Eastern Europe, from the Middle Ages to the modern days.

In 1842 the Skarbek Theatre was opened making it the third-largest theatre in Central Europe. In 1903 the Lviv National Opera house, which at that time was called the City-Theatre, was opened emulating the Vienna State Opera house. The house initially offered a changing repertoire such as classical dramas in German and Polish language, opera, operetta, comedy and theatre. The opera house is named after the Ukrainian opera diva Salomea Krushelnytska who worked here.

In the Janowska concentration camp, the Nazis conducted torture and executions to music. To do so they brought almost the whole Lviv National Opera to the camp. Professor Shtriks, opera conductor Mund and other famous Jewish musicians were among the members. From 1941 to 1944 the Nazis massacred 200,000 people including all 40 musicians.^[172]

Nowadays Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet has a creative group of performers who strive to maintain traditions of Ukrainian opera and classical ballet. The Theatre is a well-organized creative body where over 500 people work towards a common goal. The repertoire includes 10 Ukrainian music compositions. No other similar theatre in Ukraine has such a large number of Ukrainian productions. There are also multiple operas written by foreign composers, and most of these operas are performed in the original language: Othello, Aida, La Traviata, Nabucco, and A Masked Ball by G. Verdi, Tosca, La Bohème and Madame Butterfly by G. Puccini, Cavalleria Rusticana by P. Mascagni, and Pagliacci by R. Leoncavallo (in Italian); Carmen by G. Bizet (in French), The Haunted Manor by S. Moniuszko (in Polish)

Museum Pharmacy "Pid Chornym Orlom" (Beneath the Black Eagle) was founded in 1735 – it is the oldest pharmacy in Lviv. A museum related to pharmaceutical history was opened on the premises of the old pharmacy in 1966. The idea of creating such a museum had already come up in the 19th century. The Galician Association of Pharmacists was created in 1868. Members managed to assemble a small collection of exhibits, thus making the first step towards creating a new museum. The exhibition space has expanded considerably, with 16 exhibit rooms and a general exhibition surface totalling 700 sq. m. There are more than 3,000 exhibits in the museum. This is the only operating Museum Pharmacy in Ukraine and Europe.

The most notable of the museums are Lviv National Museum which houses the National Gallery. Its collection includes more than 140,000 unique items. The museum takes special pride in presenting the largest and most complete collection of medieval sacral art of the 12th to 18th centuries: icons, manuscripts, rare ancient books, decoratively carved pieces of art, metal and plastic artworks, and fabrics embroidered with gold and silver. The museum also boasts a unique monument of Ukrainian Baroque style: the Bohorodchansky Iconostasis. Exhibits include Ancient Ukrainian art from the 12th to 15th centuries, Ukrainian art from the 16th to 18th centuries, and Ukrainian art from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century.

The Museum of Ethnography and Crafts includes the Judaica collection of Maksymilian Goldstein.

The Museum of Salo opened in 2011.

Many Polish pieces of art and sculpture can be found in Lviv galleries, among them works by Jan Piotr Norblin, Marcello Bacciarelli, Kazimierz Wojniakowski, Antoni Brodowski, Henryk Rodakowski, Artur Grottger, Jan Matejko, Aleksander Gierymski, Jan Stanisławski, Leon Wyczółkowski, Józef Chełmoński, Józef Mehoffer, Stanisław Wyspiański, Olga Boznańska, Władysław Słowiński, Jacek Malczewski.

Lviv has an active musical and cultural life. Apart from the Lviv Opera, it has symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras and the Trembita Chorus. Lviv has one of the most prominent music academies and music colleges in Ukraine, the Lviv Conservatory, and a factory for stringed musical instruments. Lviv has been the home of a number of composers, such as Mozart's son Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Stanislav Liudkevych, Wojciech Kilar and Mykola Kolessa.

Flute virtuoso and composer Albert Franz Doppler (1821–1883) was born and spent his formative years here, including flute lessons from his father. The classical pianist Mieczysław Horszowski (1892–1993) was born here. The opera diva Salomea Kruszelnicka called Lviv her home from the 1920s to 1930s. The classical violinist Adam Han Gorski was born here in 1940. "Polish Radio Lwów" was a Polish radio station that went on air on 15 January 1930. The programme proved popular in Poland. Classical music and entertainment was aired as well as lectures, readings, youth programmes, news and liturgical services on Sunday.

Popular throughout Poland was the Comic Lwów Wave a cabaret-revue with musical pieces. Jewish artists contributed a great part to this artistic activity. Composers such as Henryk Wars, songwriters Emanuel Szlechter and Wiktor Budzyński, the actor Mieczysław Monderer and Adolf Fleischer ("Aprikosenkranz und Untenbaum") worked in Lviv. The most notable stars of the shows were Henryk Vogelfänger and Kazimierz Wajda who appeared together as the comic duo "Szczepko and Tońko" and were similar to Laurel and Hardy.

The Lviv Philharmonic is a major cultural centre with a long history and traditions that complement Ukraine's entire culture. From the stage of Lviv Philharmonic began their way to the great art world-famous Ukrainian musicians Oleh Krysa, Oleksandr Slobodyanik, Yuriy Lysychenko, and Maria Chaikovska, as well as the younger musicians E. Chupryk, Y. Ermin, Oksana Rapita, and Olexandr Kozarenko. Lviv Philharmonic is one of Ukraine's leading concert institutions. Its activities include international festivals, cycles of concerts-monographs, and concerts with young musicians.

The Chamber Orchestra "Lviv virtuosos" was organised by the best Lviv musicians in 1994. The orchestra consists of 16–40 persons / it depends on programmes/ and in the repertoire are included the musical compositions from Bach, Corelli to modern Ukrainian and European composers. During the short time of its operation, the orchestra acquired the professional level of the best European standards. It is mentioned in more than 100 positive articles by Ukrainian and foreign musical critics.

Lviv is the hometown of the Vocal formation "Pikkardiyska Tertsiya" and Eurovision Song Contest 2004 winner Ruslana who has since become well known in Europe and the rest of the world. PikkardiyskaTertsia was created on 24 September 1992 in Lviv and has won multiple musical awards. It all began with a quartet performing ancient Ukrainian music from the 15th century, along with adaptations of traditional Ukrainian folk songs.

Lviv Organ Hall is a place where classical music (organ, symphonic, cameral) and art meet together. 50,000 visitors each year, dozens of musicians from all over the world. Lviv is also the hometown of one of the most successful and popular Ukrainian rock bands, Okean Elzy.

Lviv University is one of the oldest in Central Europe and was founded as a Society of Jesus (Jesuit) school in 1608. Its prestige greatly increased through the work of philosopher Kazimierz Twardowski (1866–1938) who was one of the founders of the Lwów-Warsaw School of Logic. This school of thought set benchmarks for academic research and education in Poland. The Polish politician of the interbellum period Stanisław Głąbiński had served as dean of the law department (1889–1890) and as the university rector (1908–1909). In 1901 the city was the seat of the Lwów Scientific Society among whose members were major scientific figures. The most well-known were the mathematicians Stefan Banach, Juliusz Schauder and Stanisław Ulam who were founders of the Lwów School of Mathematics turning Lviv in the 1930s into the "World Centre of Functional Analysis" and whose share in Lviv academia was substantial.

In 1852 in Dublany, (eight km (5.0 mi) from the outskirts of Lviv) the Agricultural Academy was opened and was one of the first Polish agricultural colleges. The academy was merged with the Lviv Polytechnic in 1919. Another important college of the interbellum period was the Academy of Foreign Trade in Lwów.

In 1873, Lviv has founded Shevchenko Scientific Society from the beginning it attracted the financial and intellectual support of writers and patrons of Ukrainian background.

In 1893 due to the change in its statute, the Shevchenko Scientific Society was transformed into a real scholarly multidisciplinary academy of sciences. Under the presidency of the historian, Mykhailo Hrushevsky, it greatly expanded its activities, contributing to both the humanities and the physical sciences, law and medicine, but most specifically once again it was concentrated on Ukrainian studies. The Soviet Union annexed the eastern half of the Second Polish Republic including the city of Lwów which capitulated to the Red Army on 22 September 1939. Upon their occupation of Lviv, the Soviets dissolved the Shevchenko society. Many of its members were arrested and either imprisoned or executed.

The local administration regularly organizes readings and events in honor of Nazi collaborators in World War II, participants in the Holocaust, such as Roman Shukhevych and the Nachtigall Battalion:

Lviv was the home of the Scottish Café, where in the 1930s and the early 1940s, Polish mathematicians from the Lwów School of Mathematics met and spent their afternoons discussing mathematical problems. Stanisław Ulam who was later a participant in the Manhattan Project and the proposer of the Teller-Ulam design of thermonuclear weapons, Stefan Banach one of the founders of functional analysis, Hugo Steinhaus, Karol Borsuk, Kazimierz Kuratowski, Mark Kac and a number of other notable mathematicians would gather there.^[173] The café building now houses the Atlas Deluxe Hotel at 27 Taras Shevchenko Prospekt (prewar Polish street name: ulica Akademicka).^[174] Mathematician Zygmunt Janiszewski died in Lviv on 3 January 1920.

Ever since the early 1990s, Lviv has been the spiritual home of the post-independence Ukrainian-language publishing industry. Lviv Book Forum (International Publishers' Forum) is the biggest book fair in Ukraine. Lviv is the centre of promotion of the Ukrainian Latin alphabet (Latynka). The most popular newspapers in Lviv are "Vysoky Zamok", "Ekspres", "Lvivska hazeta", "Ratusha", Subotna poshta", "Hazeta po-lvivsky", "Postup" and others. Popular magazines include "Lviv Today", "Chetver", "RIA" and "Ї". "Lviv Today" is a Ukrainian English-speaking magazine, whose content includes information about the business, advertisement and entertainment spheres in Lviv, and the country in general.

The Lviv oblast television company transmits on channel 12. There are three private television channels operating from Lviv: "LUKS", "NTA" and "ZIK".

There are 17 regional and all-Ukrainian radio stations operating in the city.

A number of information agencies exist in the city such as "ZIK", "Zaxid.net", "Гал-info", "Львівський портал" and others.

Lviv is home to one of the oldest Polish-language newspapers Gazeta Lwowska which was first published in 1811 and still exists in a bi-weekly form. Among other publications were such titles as

• Kurier Lwowski: associated with people's movement which existed from 1883 to 1935. Among the writers who cooperated with it were such renowned names as Eliza Orzeszkowa, Jan Kasprowicz, Bolesław Limanowski, Władysław Orkan as well as Ivan Franko,
• Słowo Lwowskie (1895–1939): A right-wing daily which cooperated with Władysław Reymont, Henryk Sienkiewicz, Kazimierz Tetmajer, Leopold Staff, Jerzy Żuławski and Gabriela Zapolska. Among its editors-in-chief was Stanisław Grabski. In the early 20th century Słowo's circulation was 20,000 and it was the first Polish newspaper to publish a serialisation of Reymont's novel Chłopi.^[175] After World War II Słowo was moved to Wrocław with first postwar issue published on 1 November 1946.
• Czerwony Sztandar: A Soviet daily published between 1939 and 1941.

Starting in the 20th century a new movement started with authors from Central Europe. In Lviv a small neo-romantic group of authors formed around the lyricist Schmuel Jankev Imber. Small print offices produced collections of modern poems and short stories and through emigration a large networkwas established. A second smaller group in the 1930s tried to create a connection between avantgarde art and Yiddish culture. Members of this group were Debora Vogel, Rachel Auerbach and Rachel Korn. The Holocaust destroyed this movement with Debora Vogel amongst a number of other Yiddish authors murdered by the Germans in the 1940s.

• The book Tango of Death based on the true story of Jacob Mund, his orchestra, and dozens of thousands of other Jews who lived in Lviv at World War II. The book includes 60 documentary photos to show the violent truth of the Holocaust.
• The 2011 film In Darkness, Poland's entry in the 84th Academy Awards category for Best Foreign Film, is based on a true incident in Nazi-occupied Lviv.
• Some of the Austrian road-movie Blue Moon was shot in Lviv.
• Parts of the film and novel Everything Is Illuminated take place in Lviv.
• Brian R. Banks' Muse & Messiah: The Life, Imagination & Legacy of Bruno Schulz (1892–1942) has several pages which discuss the history and cultural-social life of the Lviv region. The book includes a CD-ROM with old and new photographs and the first English map of nearby Drohobych.
• The book The Girl in the Green Sweater: A Life in Holocaust's Shadow by Krystyna Chiger takes place in Lviv.
• Large parts of 1997 film The Truce depicting Primo Levi's war experiences were shot in Lviv.
• Large portions of the film d'Artagnan and Three Musketeers were shot in central Lviv.
• The book The Lemberg Mosaic (2011) by Jakob Weiss describes Jewish L'viv (Lemberg/Lwow/Lvov) during the period 1910–1943, focusing primarily on the Holocaust and related events.
• In the book and film The Shoes of the Fisherman the Metropolitan Archbishop of Lviv is released from a Soviet labor camp and later elected Pope.
• The 2015 film Varta 1, a movie which demonstrates the search for a new cinema features among young Ukrainian directors. The film uses the radio talks of the automobile patrols of activists of Lviv during EuroMaydan and it was made to create a better understanding of the nature of the revolution. The movie was shot and made in Lviv city.
• In the book East West Street: On the Origins of 'Genocide' and 'Crimes Against Humanity', Philippe Sands, a professor of law at University College London, recounts the life and work of Hersch Lauterpacht who introduced to international law the concept of the crime against humanity and Raphael Lemkin that of genocide. Both men lived and studied in Lviv.^[176]

Lviv's architectural face is complemented and enriched with a number of parks, and public gardens. There are over 20 basic recreation park zones, three botanical gardens and 16 natural monuments. They offer a splendid chance to escape from city life or simply sit for a while among the trees, at a nice fountain or a lake. Each park has its individual character which reflects through various monuments and their individual history.

• Ivan Franko Park, is the oldest park in the city. Traces of that time may be found in three-hundred-year-old oak and maple trees. Upon the abrogation of the Jesuit order in 1773 the territory became the town property. A well-known gardener Bager arranged the territory in the landscape style, and most of the trees were planted within 1885–1890.
• Bohdan Khmelnytsky Culture and Recreation Park, is one of the best organised and modern green zones containing a concert and dance hall, stadium, the town of attractions, central stage, multiple cafes and restaurants. In the park, there is a Ferris wheel.

• Stryiskyi Park, is on the hills of the Lviv Heights is considered one of the most picturesque parks in the city.^[177] Designed in the 1870s by architect Arnold Roering,^[178] the park hosted around 1.1 million visitors to the Regional Exhibition of 1894,^[179] which was held inside the park's almost 50 hectares (approximately 120 acres).^[177] The park numbers over 200 species of trees and plants. It is well known for a vast collection of rare and valuable trees and bushes. At the main entrance gate, you will find a pond with swans. Stryiskyi Park features a fountain statue of folk character, Ivasyk Telesyk, riding geese.^[180]
• Znesinnia Park is an ideal site for cycling, skiing sports, and hiking. Public organisations favour conducting summer camps here (ecological and educational, educational and cognitive).
• Shevchenkivskyi Hai, in the park there is an open-air museum of Ukrainian wooden architecture.
• High Castle Park, the park is situated on the highest city hill (413 m or 1,355 ft) and occupies the territory of 36 ha (89 acres) consisting of the lower terrace once called Knyazha Hora (Prince Mount), and the upper terrace with a television tower and artificial embankment.
• Zalizni Vody Park, the park originated from the former garden Zalizna Voda (Iron water) combining Snopkivska street with Novyi Lviv district. The park owes its name to the springs with high iron concentration. This park with ancient beech trees and a number of paths is a favourite place for locals.
• Lychakivskyi Park, founded in 1892 and named after the surrounding suburbs. A botanic garden is situated on the park territory, founded in 1911 and occupying the territory of 18.5 ha (45.7 acres).

The first known official goal in a Polish football match was scored at Pogoń Lwów on 14 July 1894 during the Lwów-Kraków game. The goal was scored by Włodzimierz Chomicki who represented the team of Lviv. In 1904 Kazimierz Hemerling from Lviv published the first translation of the rules of football into Polish and another native of Lviv, Stanisław Polakiewicz, became the first officially recognised Polish referee in 1911 the year in which the first Polish Football Federation was founded in Lviv.

The first Polish professional football club, Czarni Lwów opened here in 1903 and the first stadium, which belonged to Pogoń, in 1913. Another club, Pogoń Lwów, was four times football champion of Poland (1922, 1923, 1925 and 1926). In the late 1920s, as many as four teams from the city played in the Polish Football League (Pogoń, Czarni, Hasmonea and Lechia). Hasmonea was the first Jewish football club in Poland. Several notable figures of Polish football came from the city including Kazimierz Górski, Ryszard Koncewicz, Michał Matyas and Wacław Kuchar.

In the period 1900–1911 opened the most famous football clubs in Lviv. Professor Ivan Bobersky has based in the Academic grammar school the first Ukrainian sports circle where schoolboys were engaged in track and field, football, boxing, hockey, skiing, tourism and sledge sports in 1906. He organised the "Ukrainian Sports circle" in 1908. Much its pupils in due course in 1911 formed a sports society with the loud name "Ukraine" – the first Ukrainian football club in Lviv.^[181]

Lviv now has several major professional football clubs and some smaller clubs. Two teams from the city, FC Rukh Lviv and FC Lviv, currently play in the Ukrainian Premier League, the top level of football in the country. FC Karpaty Lviv, founded in 1963, has historically been the largest club in the city.

• Ukraina Stadium, which was leased to FC Karpaty Lviv until 2018.
• Arena Lviv is a brand-new football stadium that was an official venue for Euro 2012 Championship games in Lviv. Construction work began on 20 November 2008 and was completed by October 2011. The opening ceremony took place on 29 October, with a vast theatrical production dedicated to the history of Lviv.^[182] Arena Lviv is the home ground of FC Lviv, and played host to Shakhtar Donetsk between 2014 and 2016 due to the ongoing war in Donbas.
• SKA Stadium, football and motorcycle speedway stadium, which holds 23,040 spectators.

Lviv's chess school enjoys a good reputation; such notable grandmasters as Vasyl Ivanchuk, Leonid Stein, Alexander Beliavsky, Andrei Volokitin used to live in Lviv.^[183] Grandmaster Anna Muzychuk lives in Lviv.

Lviv Speedway is a motorcycle speedway team based at the SKA Stadium.^[184]

Lviv made a bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics,^[185] which was withdrawn in June 2014.^[186]

Modern Lviv remains a hub on which nine railways converge providing local and international services. Lviv railway is one of the oldest in Ukraine. The first train arrived in Lviv on 4 November 1861. The main Lviv Railway Station, designed by Władysław Sadłowski, was built in 1904 and was considered one of the best in Europe from both the architectural and technical aspects.

In the inter-war period, Lviv (known then as Lwów) was one of the most important hubs of the Polish State Railways. The Lwów junction consisted of four stations in mid-1939 – main station Lwów Główny (now Ukrainian: Lviv Holovnyi), Lwów Kleparów (now Lviv Klepariv), Lwów Łyczaków (now Lviv Lychakiv), and Lwów Podzamcze (now Lviv Pidzamche). In August 1939 just before World War II, 73 trains departed daily from the Main Station including 56 local and 17 fast trains. Lwów was directly connected with all major centres of the Second Polish Republic as well as such cities as Berlin, Bucharest, and Budapest.^[193]

Currently, several trains cross the nearby Polish–Ukrainian border (mostly via Przemyśl in Poland). There are good connections to Slovakia (Košice) and Hungary (Budapest). A number of routes have overnight trains with sleeping compartments. Lviv railway is often called the main gateway from Ukraine to Europe although buses are often a cheaper and more convenient way of entering the "Schengen" countries.

Lviv used to have a Railbus, which has since been replaced with other means of public transport. It was a motor-rail car that ran from the largest district of Lviv to one of the largest industrial zones going through the central railway station. It made seven trips a day and was meant to provide a faster and more comfortable connection between the remote urban districts. The price in February 2010 of a one-way single ride in the railbus was 1.50 UAH. On 15 June 2010, the route was cancelled as unprofitable.

The beginnings of aviation in Lviv reach back to 1884 when the Aeronautic Society was opened there. The society issued its own magazine Astronauta but soon ceased to exist. In 1909 on the initiative of Edmund Libanski the Awiata Society was founded. Among its members there was a group of professors and students of the Lviv Polytechnic, including Stefan Drzewiecki and Zygmunt Sochacki. Awiata was the oldest Polish organization of this kind and it concentrated its activities mainly on exhibitions such as the First Aviation Exhibition which took place in 1910 and featured models of aircraft built by Lviv students.^[194]

In 1913–1914 brothers Tadeusz and Władysław Floriańscy built a two-seater aeroplane. When World War I broke out Austrian authorities confiscated it but did not manage to evacuate the plane in time and it was seized by the Russians who used the plane for intelligence purposes. The Floriański brothers' plane was the first Polish-made aircraft. On 5 November 1918, a crew consisting of Stefan Bastyr and Janusz de Beaurain carried out the first-ever flight under the Polish flag taking off from Lviv's Lewandówka (now Ukrainian: Levandivka) airport.^[194] In the interbellum period Lwów was a major centre of gliding with a notable Gliding School in Bezmiechowa which opened in 1932. In the same year the Institute of Gliding Technology was opened in Lwów and was the second such institute in the world. In 1938 the First Polish Aircraft Exhibition took place in the city.

The interwar Lwów was also a major centre of the Polish Air Force with the Sixth Air Regiment located there. The Regiment was based at the Lwów airport opened in 1924 in the suburb of Skniłów (today Ukrainian: Sknyliv). The airport is located 6 km (4 mi) from the city centre.^[195] In 2012, after renovation, Lviv Airport got a new official name Lviv Danylo Halytskyi International Airport (LWO).^[196] A new terminal and other improvements worth under a $200 million was done in preparation for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship.^[197] The connection from Airport to the city centre is maintained by bus No. 48 and No. 9.

Cycling is a new but growing mode of transport in Lviv. In 2011 the City of Lviv ratified an ambitious 9-year program for the set-up of cycling infrastructure^[198] – until the year 2019 an overall length of 270 km (168 mi) cycle lanes and tracks shall be realized. A working group formally organised within the Lviv City Council, bringing together representatives of the city administration, members of planning and design institutes, local NGOs and other stakeholders. Events like the All-Ukrainian Bikeday^[199] or the European Mobility Week^[200] show the popularity of cycling among Lviv's citizens.

By September 2011, 8 km (5 mi) of new cycling infrastructure had been built. It can be expected that until the end of 2011 50 km (31 mi) will be ready for use. The cycling advisor in Lviv – the first such position in Ukraine – is supervising and pushing forward the execution of the cycling plan and coordinates with various people in the city. The development of cycling in Ukraine is currently hampered by outdated planning norms and the fact, that most planners didn't yet plan and experience cycling infrastructure. The update of national legislation and training for planners is therefore necessary.

In 2015, the first stations have been set up for a new bike-sharing system Nextbike – the first of its kind in Ukraine. New bike lanes are also under construction, making Lviv the most bike-friendly city in the country. The Lviv City Council plans to build an entire cycling infrastructure by 2020, with cycle lanes (268 km or 167 mi) and street bike hire services.

• Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (ukr. Львівський національний університет імені Івана Франка)
• Lviv Polytechnic (ukr. Національний університет "Львівська політехніка")
• Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University (ukr. Львiвський національний медичний унiверситет iм. Данила Галицького)
• Lviv Stepan Gzhytsky national university of veterinary medicine and biotechnologies (ukr. Львівський національний університет ветеринарної медицини та біотехнологій імені Степана Гжицького)
• National Forestry Engineering University of Ukraine (ukr. Український національний лісотехнічний університет)
• Ukrainian Catholic University (ukr. Український католицький університет)
• The Lviv National Academy of Arts (ukr. Львівська національна академія мистецтв)
• Lviv National Music Academy (ukr. Львівська національна музична академія імені Миколи Лисенка)
• Lviv National Agrarian University (ukr. Львівський національний аграрний університет)
• Lviv State University of Physical Training (ukr. Львівський державний університет фізичної культури)
• Lviv Academy of Commerce (ukr. Львівська комерційна академія)
• Lviv State University of Life Safety (ukr. Львівський державний університет безпеки життєдіяльності)
• Lviv State University of Internal Affairs (ukr. Львівський державний університет внутрішніх справ)

Lviv is twinned with:

On September 7, 2023, the mayors of Lviv and Kobe signed a cooperation agreement. Frankfurt also signed a cooperation agreement with Lviv on May 13, 2024.