View source for Lviv

{{Short description|City in Lviv Oblast, Ukraine}}
{{redirect-several|dab=off|Lviv (disambiguation)|Lwów (disambiguation)|Lemberg (disambiguation)|Lvov (surname)}}
{{pp-semi|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Lviv
| native_name = {{native name |uk|Львів}}
| official_name = 
| other_name = 
| settlement_type = [[City status in Ukraine|City]]
| motto = "Lviv is open to the world"
| image_skyline = {{multiple image
|perrow = 1/2/2/1
|border = infobox
|total_width = 288
|image1 = Латинський кафедральний собор (Львів) 16.jpg
|caption1 = [[Old Town (Lviv)|Historic center of Lviv]]
|image2 = Львівський національний академічний театр опери та балету імені Соломії Крушельницької 13.jpg
|caption2 = [[Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet|Lviv Theatre]]
|image3 = LvivOldTown1.jpg
|caption3 = [[Dormition Church, Lviv|Dormition Church]]
|image4 = Кропивницького пл., 1, церква св. Ольги і Єлизавети, 9109-HDR-Edit.jpg
|caption4 = [[Church of Sts. Olha and Elizabeth, Lviv|Sts. O. and E. Church]]
|image5 = Лвов Галиција.jpg
|caption5 = [[Market Square (Lviv)|Market Square]]
}}
| image_flag = Lviv flag.svg
| image_shield = Coat of arms of Lviv.svg
| shield_size = 80px
| image_blank_emblem = Логотип Львова англійською.png
| blank_emblem_type = [[Logo]]
| blank_emblem_size = 80px
| mapsize = 230px
| map_caption = Lviv shown within Lviv Oblast##Lviv shown within Ukraine##Lviv shown within Europe
| pushpin_map = Ukraine Lviv Oblast#Ukraine#Europe
| pushpin_relief = 1
| coordinates = {{coord|49|50|33|N|24|01|56|E|region:UA|display=title}}
| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{flagu|Ukraine}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[Oblasts of Ukraine|Oblast]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Lviv Oblast]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Raions of Ukraine|Raion]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Lviv Raion]]
| leader_title = [[List of mayors of Lviv|Mayor]]
| leader_name = [[Andriy Sadovyi]]
| established_title = Founded
| established_date = 1256
| established_title2 = [[Magdeburg rights|Town rights]]
| established_date2 = 1356
| area_total_km2 = 148.9
| area_metro_km2 = 4975
| population_as_of = 2025
| population_total = 723,403
| population_metro = 1,141,119
| population_metro_footnotes = <ref name="p328">{{cite web | last=Yuri | first=Sytnik | title=Area, population and population density of Lviv | website=
Інформаційне агентство “Король Данило”  | date=2025-05-17 | url=https://www.koroldanylo.com.ua/en/news/statistika_lvova_brexnia_velika_i_malenka_18658 | access-date=2025-09-13}}</ref>
| population_footnotes = <ref name="d743">{{cite web | title=L'viv (L'vivs'kyj rajon, Lviv, Ukraine) | website=Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information | date=2022-01-01 | url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/ukraine/lviv/lvivskyj_rajon/460602500100__lviv/ | access-date=2025-09-13}}</ref>
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_urban = 720,797
| population_urban_footnotes = <ref name="h927">{{cite web | title=Lviv, Ukraine Population (2025) | website=Population Stat | date=2022-09-01 | url=https://populationstat.com/ukraine/lviv | access-date=2025-09-13}}</ref>
| population_blank1_title = 
| population_blank1 = 
| population_demonym = [[List of people from Lviv|Leopolitan]]|
| utc_offset = +2
| timezone_DST = [[Eastern European Summer Time|EEST]]
| utc_offset_DST = +3
| elevation_m = 296
| postal_code_type = Postal codes
| postal_code = {{#property:p281}}
| area_code = +380 32(2)
| blank_name = [[Vehicle registration plate|Licence plate]]
| blank_info = BC, HC (before 2004: ТА, ТВ, ТН, ТС)
| website = {{URL|city-adm.lviv.ua}}
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
  | Official_name = L'viv – the Ensemble of the [[Old Town (Lviv)|Historic Centre]]
  | Location      = 
  | Type          = Cultural
  | Criteria      = ii, v
  | ID            = 865
  | Year          = 1998
  | child         = yes
  | area          = 2,441 ha
  | Danger      = 2023–present
}}
| population_rank = [[List of cities in Ukraine|5th]] in Ukraine
| timezone1 = [[Eastern European Time|EET]]
| subdivision_type3 = [[Hromada]]
| subdivision_name3 = [[Lviv urban hromada]]
}}
'''Lviv'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|l|ə|ˈ|v|iː|v}} {{respell|lə|VEEV}} or {{IPAc-en|l|ə|ˈ|v|iː|f}} {{respell|lə|VEEF}}; {{langx|uk|Львів}} {{IPA|uk|ˈlʲʋʲiu̯||LL-Q8798 (ukr)-Gzhegozh-Львів.wav}}; {{langx|pl|Lwów}} {{IPA|pl|ˈlvuf||Pl-Lwów.ogg}}; {{langx|de|Lemberg}}}} is the [[List of cities in Ukraine|fifth-largest]] city in [[Ukraine]], as well as the largest city in the [[western Ukraine|western part]] of the country, with a population of 723,403 (2025 estimate).<ref>[https://www.ukr.net/news/details/lviv/112531443.html ukr.net/news/details/lviv]</ref> It serves as the administrative centre of [[Lviv Oblast]] and [[Lviv Raion]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Те, чого ніколи не було в Україні: Уряд затвердив адмінтерустрій базового рівня, що забезпечить повсюдність місцевого самоврядування |url=https://decentralization.gov.ua/admin/articles/12533.html |url-status=live |access-date=15 December 2021 |website=decentralization.gov.ua |archive-date=14 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214180228/https://decentralization.gov.ua/admin/articles/12533.html}}</ref> and is one of the main [[Ukrainian culture|cultural centres of Ukraine]]. The city also hosts the administration of [[Lviv urban hromada]]. Lviv was named after [[Leo I of Galicia]], the eldest son of [[Daniel of Galicia|Daniel]], [[King of Ruthenia]]. During its history the city has had several names.

Lviv emerged as the centre of the historical regions of [[Red Ruthenia]] and [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]] in the [[14th century]], superseding [[Halych]], [[Chełm]], [[Belz]], and [[Przemyśl]]. It was the capital of the [[Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia]]<ref>Perfecky, George A. (1973). ''The Galician-Volynian Chronicle''. Munich: Wilhelm Fink Verlag. {{OCLC|902306}}</ref> from 1272 to 1340, when it went to King [[Casimir III the Great]] of [[Kingdom of Poland|Poland]] in a [[Galicia–Volhynia Wars|war of succession]]. In 1356, Casimir the Great granted it town rights. From 1434, it was the regional capital of the [[Ruthenian Voivodeship]] in the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Kingdom of Poland]]. In 1772, after the [[First Partition of Poland]], the city became the capital of the Habsburg semi-autonomous Polish-dominated [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria]]. Between 1918 and 1939, the city was the centre of the [[Lwów Voivodeship]] in the [[Second Polish Republic]]. During this period the city's culture and industry flourished, as did its [[academic institution]]s, such as the [[Lwów School of Mathematics]], the {{Ill|Lwów Historical School|pl|Lwowska szkoła historyczna}}, and the Lwów School of Economics. After the German-Soviet [[invasion of Poland]] in 1939, Lwów was annexed by the [[Soviet Union]]. It survived Soviet and German occupations during World War II largely unscathed. In February 1946, the city became a part of the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic]], having lost an estimated 80-90% of its prewar population. In 1991, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Lviv stayed part of Ukraine.

The historical heart of the city has [[cobblestone]] streets and an assortment of [[Renaissance]], [[Baroque]], [[Neoclassical architecture|Neo-classicism]] and [[Art Nouveau]] architecture. The [[Old Town (Lviv)|historic city centre]] is on the [[List of World Heritage Sites in Europe#Ukraine|UNESCO World Heritage List]]. It is listed as an endangered site due to the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]]. 

Lviv has a number of industries and institutions of [[higher education]], such as [[Lviv University]] and [[Lviv Polytechnic]]. The city is also the home of multiple cultural institutions, including the [[Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Lviv Philharmonic]] and the [[Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Archives |url=http://www.meest-tour.com/index.php?i9 I hid=17 |url-status=live |access-date=24 March 2021 |archive-date=25 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100225032259/http://www.meest-tour.com/index.php?id=17}}</ref>

==Names and symbols==
The city of Lviv has been known by multiple names. These include, [[Names of European cities in different languages: I–L#Lviv|amongst others]]: {{langx|uk|Львів}} ({{transliteration|uk|Lʹviv}}) {{IPA|uk|ˈlʲwiu̯||LL-Q8798 (ukr)-Gzhegozh-Львів.wav}}; {{langx|pl|Lwów}} {{IPA|pl|ˈlvuf||Pl-Lwów.ogg}}; {{langx|de|Lwiw}} {{IPA|de|ˈl(ə)viːf||audio=De-Lwiw.ogg}} and {{lang|de|Lemberg}} {{IPA|de|ˈlɛmbɛʁk||De-Lemberg.ogg}}; {{langx|yi|לעמבעריק}} ({{transliteration|yi|Lemberik}}) {{IPA|yi|ˈlɛmbɛrɪk|}}; {{langx|ru|Львов}} ({{transliteration|ru|Lʹvov}}) {{IPA|ru|ˈlʲvof|}}; {{langx|be|Львоў}} ({{transliteration|be|Lʹvow}}) {{IPA|be|ˈlʲvou̯|}}; {{langx|hy|Լվով}} ({{transliteration|hy|Lvov}}) {{IPA|hy|ˈlvɔv|}} and {{lang|hy|Իլով}} ({{transliteration|hy|Ilov}}) {{IPA|hy|iˈlov|}}; {{langx|hu|Ilyvó}} {{IPA|hu|ˈijvoː|}}, and {{langx|la|Leopolis}}.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fellerer |first=Jan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2vjHDwAAQBAJ |title=Urban Multilingualism in East-Central Europe: The Polish Dialect of Late-Habsburg Lviv |date=2020 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-4985-8015-1 |access-date=|archive-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406065450/https://books.google.com/books?id=2vjHDwAAQBAJ |url-status=|page=1}}</ref>

[[File:POL Lwów COA.svg|thumb|left|upright=.75|The coat-of-arms of Lwów (1918{{ndash}}1939) ]]
The [[coat of arms]], and the logo and banner of the [[Lviv City Council]] are the officially approved symbols of Lviv. The names or images of architectural and historical monuments are also considered symbols of the city.<ref>{{cite web |title=Statute of Lviv |url=http://lvivrada.gov.ua/files/statut/Preambula_R1.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=24 March 2021 |archive-date=27 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121127062809/http://lvivrada.gov.ua/files/statut/Preambula_R1.pdf}}</ref> The city's modern coat of arms is based on that of a mid-14th-century [[Seal (emblem)|seal]]. The modern seal depicts a stone gate with three towers, and in the opening of the gate walks a golden lion. Lviv's large coat of arms is a shield, with the coat of arms of the city, crowned with a silver crown with three edges, held by a lion and an ancient warrior. 

Lviv's flag is a blue square banner with an image of the city emblem and with yellow and blue triangles at the edges. Lviv's logo is an image of five colourful towers in Lviv and the slogan "Lviv – open to the world" under them.<ref>{{cite web |title=Heraldry |url=http://www.lviv.ua/uk/about/heraldry/ |url-status=dead |access-date=24 March 2021 |archive-date=22 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100122224547/http://www.lviv.ua/uk/about/heraldry/}}</ref> The Latin phrase ''[[Semper fidelis]]'' ('Always faithful') was used as a motto on the former coat of arms of 1936–1939 but was no longer used after the [[Second World War]].

==History==
{{Main|History of Lviv}}
{{For timeline}}

{{Quote box
| width = 25em
| align = right
|bgcolor=GhostWhite
| title = Historical affiliations
| fontsize = 85%
| quote ={{flagicon image|Alex_K_Halych-Volhynia-flag.svg|border=}} [[Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia]] c. 1250–1340<br/>
{{flagicon image|Alex_K_Kingdom_of_Poland-flag.svg|border=}} [[Kingdom of Poland]] 1340–1569<br/>
{{flagicon image|Chorągiew_królewska_króla_Zygmunta_III_Wazy.svg}} [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Poland (First Republic)]] 1569–1772<br/>
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_Habsburg_Monarchy.svg}} [[Austrian Empire|Austria]]/[[Austro-Hungarian Empire|A.H. Empire]] 1772–1918<br/>
{{Flagdeco|Second Polish Republic}} [[Second Polish Republic|Poland (Second Republic)]] 1918–1939 <br/>
{{flag|Soviet Union|1936}} ({{flag country|Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|1937}}) 1939–1941 (''[[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|occupation]]'')<br/>
{{flag|Nazi Germany}} ([[General Government]]) 1941–1944 (''[[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|occupation]]'')<br/>
{{flag|Soviet Union}} ({{flag country|Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic}}) 1944–1991 <br/>
{{flag|Ukraine}} 1991–present
}}

[[Archaeologists]] have demonstrated that the Lviv area was settled by the fifth century,<ref name="Isa">{{cite book |last1=Isaevich |first1=Ya. |last2=Lytvyn |first2=M. |last3=Steblii |first3=F. |title=Iсторія Львова |date=2006 |publisher=Center of Europe |location=Lviv, Ukraine |isbn=978-966-7022-59-4 |page=7 |edition=|volume=1 |language=uk |trans-title=History of Lviv}}</ref> with the [[Gord (archaeology)|gord]] at [[:uk:Вулиця Чернеча Гора|Chernecha Hora]]-Voznesensk Street in [[Lychakivskyi District]] attributed to [[White Croats]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hrytsak |first=Yaroslav |author-link=Yaroslav Hrytsak |date=2000 |title=Lviv: A Multicultural History through the Centuries |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/41036810 |journal=Harvard Ukrainian Studies |volume=24 |pages=48 |jstor=41036810 |access-date=18 June 2022 |archive-date=28 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028100216/https://www.jstor.org/stable/41036810 |url-status=live }}</ref> The city of Lviv was founded in 1250 by King [[Daniel of Galicia]] in honour of his son [[Lev I of Galicia|Lev]]<ref>[[Orest Subtelny]]. (1988) ''Ukraine: A History''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p62</ref> as Lvihorod<ref>Gloger, Zygmunt. ''[http://literat.ug.edu.pl/glogre/0037.htm Voivodeship of Ruthenia. Historic geography of old Polish lands (Województwo Ruskie. Geografia historyczna ziem dawnej Polski)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180515232827/http://literat.ug.edu.pl/glogre/0037.htm |date=15 May 2018}}''. Library of Polish Literature POWRÓT.</ref> which is consistent with names of other Ukrainian cities, such as [[Myrhorod]], [[Sharhorod]], [[Novhorod-Siverskyi|Novhorod]], [[Bilhorod]], [[Horodyshche]], and [[Horodok, Lviv Oblast|Horodok]].

Earlier there was a settlement in the form of a borough with a characteristic layout element—an elongated market square. Daniel's foundation of the stronghold was its next reconstruction after the [[Batu Khan]] invasion of 1240.<ref>Vołodymyr Vujcyk, ''Derżavnyj Istoryczno-Architekturnyj Zapovidnyk u L’vovi'', Lviv 1991, p. 9, [w:] Łukasz Walczy, ''Początki Lwowa w świetle najnowszych badań'', [w:] ''Lwów wśród nas'', pt. 2, 2006, pp. 20–21.</ref><ref>Jan Buraczyński, ''Roztocze – dzieje osadnictwa'', Lublin 2008, p. 73.</ref>

Lviv was [[Mongol invasion of Europe|invaded]] by the [[Mongols]] in 1261.<ref name="Meyers Konversations-Lexikon">''Meyers Konversations-Lexikon''. 6th edition, vol. 12, Leipzig and Vienna 1908, p. 397-398.</ref> Various sources relate the events, which range from the destruction of the castle to a complete razing of the town. All sources agree that it was on the orders of the Mongol general [[Boroldai|Burundai]]. The [[Shevchenko Scientific Society]] says that Burundai issued the order to raze the city. The [[Galician-Volhynian Chronicle|Galician-Volhynian chronicle]] states that in 1261 "Said Buronda to Vasylko: 'Since you are at peace with me then raze all your castles'".<ref name=SSS1>{{cite book |title=Naukove tovarystvo im. Shevchenka – Lviv: a symposium on its 700th anniversary |year=1962 |publisher=Shevchenko Scientific Society (U.S.) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iT1pAAAAMAAJ&q=lviv+Burundai |editor=Vasylʹ Mudryĭ |access-date=29 January 2011 |quote=on the occasion of the demand of the baskak of the Tatars, Burundai, that the prince Vasylko and Lev raze their cities said Buronda to Vasylko: 'Since you are at peace with me then raze all your castles' |page=58 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002120639/https://books.google.com/books?id=iT1pAAAAMAAJ&q=lviv+Burundai |url-status=live }}</ref> Basil Dmytryshyn states that the order was implied to be the fortifications as a whole: "If you wish to have peace with me, then destroy [all fortifications of] your towns".<ref name=Dmy1>{{cite book |title=Medieval Russia: a source book, 850-170 |year=1991 |publisher=Holt, Rinehart and Winston |isbn=978-0-03-033422-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WrtoAAAAMAAJ&q=lvov+Burundai |author=Basil Dmytryshyn |access-date=29 January 2011 |page=173 |archive-date=15 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315054833/https://books.google.com/books?id=WrtoAAAAMAAJ&q=lvov+Burundai |url-status=live }}</ref>

After Daniel's death, King Lev rebuilt the town around 1270, choosing Lviv as his residence,<ref name="Meyers Konversations-Lexikon"/> and made it the capital of Galicia-Volhynia.<ref>B.V. Melnyk, Vulytsiamy starovynnoho Lvova, Vyd-vo "Svit" (Old Lviv Streets), 2001, {{ISBN|966-603-048-9}}</ref> Around 1280 [[Armenians]] lived in [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]] and were mainly based in Lviv where they had their own [[archbishop]].<ref>''Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Wissenschaft und Künste'', edited by Johann Samuel Ersch and Johann Gottfried Gruber. Vol. 5, Leipzig 1820, [https://books.google.com/books?id=UbEqAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA358 p. 358, footnote 18 (in German).] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102033537/https://books.google.com/books?id=UbEqAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA358 |date=2 January 2016 }}</ref>

In the 13th and early 14th centuries, Lviv was largely a wooden city, except for its several [[Galician school (architecture)|Galician-style]] stone churches. Some of them, like the Church of Saint Nicholas, have survived, although in a thoroughly rebuilt form.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zhuk |first1=Ihor |title=The Architecture of Lviv from the Thirteenth to the Twentieth Centuries |journal=[[Harvard Ukrainian Studies]] |date=2000 |volume=24 |page=98 |publisher=Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute}}</ref> The town was inherited by the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] in 1340 and ruled by [[voivode]] [[Dmytro Dedko]], the favourite of the Lithuanian prince [[Liubartas]], until 1349.<ref name=EOMADobson1>{{cite book |editor=André Vauchez |editor2=Michael Lapidge |editor3=Richard Barrie Dobson |translator=Adrian Walford |title=Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages |year=2000 |publisher=Routledge |location=Chicago |isbn=1-57958-282-6 |page=879}}</ref>

In the 13th and 14th centuries the city and region was a destination of 50,000 Armenians fleeing from the [[Seljuk Empire|Saljuq]] and Mongol invasions of Armenia.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.armenica.org/cgi-bin/armenica.cgi?=1=1=172=31==1=3=A |title=Epilogue – History of Armenia |access-date=31 July 2020 |archive-date=31 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191231171629/http://www.armenica.org/cgi-bin/armenica.cgi?=1=1=172=31==1=3=A |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Galicia–Volhynia Wars===
During the [[Galicia–Volhynia Wars|wars over the succession of Galicia-Volhynia Principality]] in 1339 King [[Casimir III the Great|Casimir III of Poland]] undertook an expedition and captured the city in 1340, burning down the [[Lviv High Castle|old princely castle]].<ref name="Meyers Konversations-Lexikon" /> Poland ultimately gained control over Lviv and the adjacent region in 1349. From then on the population was subjected to attempts to both [[Polonisation|Polonize]] and [[Catholicisation|Catholicize]] the population.<ref>Jacob Caro: ''Geschichte Polens''. Vol. 2, Gotha 1863, p. 286 (in German, [https://books.google.com/books?id=j2kPAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA286 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102033537/https://books.google.com/books?id=j2kPAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA286 |date=2 January 2016 }})</ref> The [[Lithuanians]] ravaged Lviv land in 1351 during the [[Galicia-Volhynia Wars|Halych-Volhyn Wars]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=Peter |title=The Mongols and the West: 1221–1410 |date=2005 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-582-36896-5 |page=210}}</ref> with Lviv being plundered and destroyed by duke [[Liubartas]] in 1353.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wyrozumski |first1=Jerzy |author-link=Jerzy Wyrozumski|title=Wielka Historia Polski. Vol. II. Dzieje Polski Piastowskiej: VIII w. - 1370 |date=1999 |publisher=FOGRA |isbn=83-85719-38-5 |page=327 |language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Barański |first1=Marek Kazimierz |title=Dynastia Piastów w Polsce |date=2006 |publisher=[[Polish Scientific Publishers|PWN]] |isbn=83-01-14578-1 |page=502 |language=pl}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Meyers Konversations-Lexikon" /><ref name="Piechotka" /><ref name="Ashmore">{{cite book |editor1-last=Ashmore |editor1-first=Harry S. |title=Encyclopædia Britannica |date=1961 |page=509 |chapter=Lviv}}</ref> The old (Ruthenian) settlement, after it had been rebuilt, became known as the Krakovian Suburb in reference to the city of [[Kraków]].<ref name="Piechotka">{{cite book |last1=Piechotka |first1=Maria |last2=Piechotka |first2=Kazimierz |editor1-last=Paluch |editor1-first=Andrzej K. |editor2-last=Kapralski |editor2-first=Sławomir |title=The Jews of Poland, Vol. 2 |date=1999 |publisher=Judaica Foundation, Center Jewish Culture |isbn=978-8390771519 |page=252 |chapter=The Synagogues of Lwow}}</ref>

===Kingdom of Poland===
[[File:Lviv High Castle (Engraving).jpg|thumb|[[Lviv High Castle|High Castle]] built in 1362 by [[Casimir III of Poland]] (engraving by A. Gogenberg, 17th century)]]
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 [[Lviv High Castle|High Castle]] was built with stone. In 1358, the city became a seat of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv|Roman Catholic Archdiocese]], which initiated the spread of [[Latin Church]] onto the Ruthenian lands.

After Casimir had died in 1370, he was succeeded as king of Poland by his nephew, King [[Louis I of Hungary]], who in 1372 put Lwów together with the region of [[Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia]] under the administration of his relative [[Vladislaus II of Opole]], Duke of Opole.<ref name="Meyers Konversations-Lexikon" /> When in 1387 Władysław retreated from the post of its governor, Galicia-Volhynia became occupied by [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]], but soon [[Jadwiga of Poland|Jadwiga]], the youngest daughter of Louis, and also the ruler of Poland and wife of King of Poland [[Władysław II Jagiełło]], unified it directly with the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland]].<ref name="Meyers Konversations-Lexikon" />

The city's prosperity during the following centuries is owed to the trade privileges granted to it by Casimir, Queen [[Jadwiga of Poland|Jadwiga]], and the subsequent Polish monarchs.<ref name="Meyers Konversations-Lexikon" /> Germans, Poles and Czechs formed the largest groups of newcomers. Most of the settlers were [[Polonisation|polonised]] by the end of the 15th century, and the city became a Polish island surrounded by the Ruthenian [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] population.<ref>Jerzy Lukowski, Hubert Zawadzki. ''A Concise History of Poland''. [[Cambridge University Press]]. 2006. p. 32.</ref> In 1356, the Armenian diocese was founded centered at the [[Armenian Cathedral of Lviv|Armenian Cathedral]]. Lwów was one of two main cultural and religious centers of [[Armenians in Poland]] alongside [[Kamieniec Podolski]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Stopka|first=Krzysztof|year=2000|title=Ormianie w Polsce dawnej i dzisiejszej|language=pl|location=Kraków|publisher=Księgarnia Akademicka|pages=19, 37|isbn=83-7188-325-0}}</ref> In the [[early modern period]], it also became one of the largest concentrations of [[Scots in Poland|Scots]] and [[Italians]] in Poland.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Feduszka|first=Jacek|year=2009|title=Szkoci i Anglicy w Zamościu w XVI-XVIII wieku|magazine=Czasy Nowożytne|language=pl|publisher=Zarząd Główny Polskiego Towarzystwa Historycznego|volume=22|page=53|issn=1428-8982}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Tygielski|first=Wojciech|editor-last1=Kopczyński|editor-first1=Michał|editor-last2=Tygielski|editor-first2=Wojciech|year=2010|title=Pod wspólnym niebem. Narody dawnej Rzeczypospolitej|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=Muzeum Historii Polski, Bellona|chapter=Włosi|page=190|isbn=978-83-11-11724-2}}</ref>

In 1412, the local [[Diocese#Archidiocese|archdiocese]] has developed into the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv|Roman Catholic Metropolis]], which since 1375 as [[diocese]] had been in [[Halych]].<ref name="Meyers Konversations-Lexikon" /> The new metropolis included regional diocese in Lwów, [[Przemyśl]], [[Chełm]], [[Volodymyr-Volynskyi|Włodzimierz]], [[Lutsk|Łuck]], [[Kamianets-Podilskyi|Kamieniec]], as well as [[Siret]] and [[Kyiv|Kijów]] (see [[Old Cathedral of St. Sophia, Kyiv]]). The first Catholic Archbishop who resided in Lwów was Jan Rzeszowski.{{citation needed|date=July 2025}}

[[File:Львов 1618 АГогенберг.jpg|thumb|Lwów in a lithograph from 1618]]
In 1434, the Ruthenian domain of the Crown was transformed into the [[Ruthenian Voivodeship]]. In 1444, the city was granted the [[staple right]], which resulted in its growing prosperity and wealth, as it became one of the major trading centres on the merchant routes between [[Central Europe]] and [[Black Sea]] region. It was also transformed into one of the main fortresses of the kingdom. As one of the largest and most influential [[royal city|royal cities]] of Poland, it enjoyed voting rights in the [[Royal elections in Poland]], alongside other major cities such as [[Kraków]], [[Poznań]], [[Warsaw]] or [[Gdańsk]].<ref>''Polska Encyklopedia Szlachecka'', t. I, Warsaw 1935, p. 42</ref> During the 17th century, it was the second largest city of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]], with a population of about 30,000.

In 1572, one of the first publishers of books in what is now Ukraine, [[Ivan Fyodorov (printer)|Ivan Fedorov]], a graduate of the [[Jagiellonian University|University of Kraków]], settled here for a brief period. The city became a significant centre for [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] with the establishment of [[Lviv Dormition Brotherhood|an Orthodox brotherhood]], a Greek-Slavonic school, and a printer which published the first full versions of the Bible in [[Church Slavonic]] in 1580. A [[List of Jesuit sites|Jesuit Collegium]] was founded in 1608, and on 20 January 1661 King [[John II Casimir]] of Poland issued a decree granting it "the honour of the academy and the title of the university".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.manresa-sj.org/stamps/2_Ukraine.htm |title=Jesuits in Ukraine |website=www.manresa-sj.org |access-date=7 March 2022 |archive-date=7 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307223326/https://www.manresa-sj.org/stamps/2_Ukraine.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The 17th century brought invading armies of [[Swedish Empire|Swedes]], [[Hungary|Hungarians]],<ref>Cathal J. Nolan. ''Wars of the Age of Louis XIV, 1650–1715: An Encyclopaedia of Global Warfare and Civilization''. ABC-CLIO. 2008. pp. 332, 368.</ref><ref name="Jaques">Tony Jaques. ''Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity through the Twenty-First Century'', Vol. 3. Greenwood Publishing Group. 2007. pp. 608, 895, 951</ref> [[Ottoman Empire|Turks]],<ref>Francis Ludwig Carsten. ''The New Cambridge Modern History: The Ascendancy of France, 1648–88''. Cambridge University Press. 1961. p. 512.</ref><ref>Jerzy Lukowski, Hubert Zawadzki. ''A Concise History of Poland''. Cambridge University Press. 2001. p. 81. Cambridge University Press. 2001. p. 81.</ref> [[Tsardom of Russia|Russians]] and [[Zaporozhian Cossacks|Cossacks]]<ref name="Jaques" /> to its gates. In 1648 an army of [[Zaporozhian Cossacks|Cossacks]] and [[Crimean Tatars]] besieged the town. They captured the [[Lviv High Castle|High Castle]], murdering its defenders. The city itself was not sacked due to the fact that the leader of the revolution [[Bohdan Khmelnytsky]] accepted a ransom of 250,000 [[ducats]], and the Cossacks marched north-west towards [[Zamość]]. It was one of two major cities in Poland which was not captured during the so-called [[Deluge (history)|''Deluge'']]: the other one was [[Gdańsk]].{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

[[File:Sluby Jana Kazimierza 2.jpg|thumb|[[King Jan Kazimierz of Poland|John II Casimir]], [[King of Poland]], pledging an [[Lwów Oath|oath]] at Lwów's [[Latin Cathedral, Lviv|Latin Cathedral]], by painter [[Jan Matejko]]. Collection of the [[National Museum in Wrocław|Wrocław Museum]].]]
At that time, Lwów witnessed a historic scene, as here King [[John II Casimir Vasa|John II Casimir]] made his famous [[Lwów Oath]]. On 1 April 1656, during a holy [[Mass (liturgy)|mass]] in Lwów's Cathedral conducted by the [[papal legate]] [[Pietro 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''.{{citation needed|date=July 2025}}

In 1672, it was [[Siege of Lwów (1672)|surrounded]] by the [[Ottoman Empire|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 Army|Swedish troops]] under King [[Charles XII of Sweden|Charles XII]] entered the city after a short [[Storming of Lemberg|siege]].<ref>{{cite EB9 |wstitle = Lemberg |volume= XIV |last= |first= |author-link= | page=453 |short=1}}</ref> The [[Great Northern War plague outbreak|plague]] of the early 18th century caused the death of about 10,000 inhabitants (40% of the city's population).<ref>Karl-Erik Frandsen. ''The Last Plague in the Baltic Region, 1709–1713.'' Museum Tuseulanum Press. 2010. p. 20.</ref>

===Habsburg Empire===
[[File:Old map of Lviv (cropped).jpg|thumb|18th century map of Lemberg (Lviv, Lwów)]]
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]].<ref>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Lemberg |volume= 16 | pages = 409–410 |short= 1}}</ref> Lemberg grew dramatically during the 19th century, increasing in population from approximately 30,000 at the time of the Austrian annexation in 1772,<ref name="TC">Tertius Chandler. (1987) ''Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: A Historical Census''. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellon Press</ref> to 196,000 by 1910<ref>{{Cite book |title=Prorok we własnym kraju. Iwan Franko i jego Ukraina (1856–1886) |last=Hrytsak |first=Yaroslav |year=2010 |location=Warsaw |pages=151}}</ref> and to 212,000 three years later;<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hrytsak |first=Yaroslav |title=Lviv: A Multicultural History through the Centuries |journal=Harvard Ukrainian Studies |volume=24 |pages=54}}</ref> rapid population growth brought about an increase in urban squalor and [[poverty in Austrian Galicia]].<ref name="New International">[https://books.google.com/books?id=qxooAAAAYAAJ&q=lemberg New International Encyclopedia, Volume 13.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102033537/https://books.google.com/books?id=qxooAAAAYAAJ&dq=105%2C469+Roman+Catholics+population+1910&q=lemberg#v=snippet&q=lemberg&f=false |date=2 January 2016 }} Lemberg 1915, p. 760.</ref> 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.<ref name="multi">Chris Hann, Paul R. Magocsi.(2005). ''Galicia: Multicultured Land.'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pg. 193</ref>

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 language|Ruthenian]].<ref name="New International"/>

[[File:Lwow Panorama Raclawicka.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Racławice Panorama]] opened in 1894]]
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 language|German]], [[Polish language|Polish]] and even [[Ruthenian language|Ruthenian]]; after closing in 1805, it was reopened in 1817. By 1825, German became the sole language of instruction.<ref name="multi"/> [[University of Lviv|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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Snyder |first=Timothy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xSpEynLxJ1MC |title=The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569–1999 |date=2004-07-11 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-10586-5 |page=123 |language=en |access-date=11 August 2022 |archive-date=17 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117115802/https://books.google.com/books?id=xSpEynLxJ1MC |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the 19th century, the Austrian administration attempted to [[Germanisation|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 in the Austrian Empire|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 lamp]]s as [[street light]]ing were introduced by [[Ignacy Łukasiewicz]] and Jan Zeh. Then in 1858, these were updated to [[Gas lighting|gas lamps]], and in 1900 to [[Electric light|electric ones]].

[[File:Stanislav Skarbek Theatre in Lviv.jpg|thumb|[[:pl:Stanisław Skarbek (1780–1848)|Stanisław Skarbek]] Theatre in 1900]]

After the so-called "[[Ausgleich]]" of February 1867, the [[Austrian Empire]] was reformed into a dualist [[Austria-Hungary]] and a slow yet steady process of liberalisation of Austrian rule in Galicia started. From 1873, Galicia was ''de facto'' an autonomous province of [[Austria-Hungary]], with Polish and [[Ruthenian language|Ruthenian]] as official languages. [[Germanisation]] was halted and censorship lifted as well. [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]] was subject to the Austrian part of the Dual Monarchy, but the [[Diet of Galicia|Galician Sejm]] and provincial administration, both established in Lviv, had extensive privileges and prerogatives, especially in education, culture, and local affairs. In 1894, the [[General National Exhibition in Lviv|General National Exhibition]] was held in Lviv.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://lia.lvivcenter.org/en/storymaps/exhibition-after/ |title=The General Regional Exhibition of Galicia |access-date=22 December 2020 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126151938/https://lia.lvivcenter.org/en/storymaps/exhibition-after/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The city started to grow rapidly, becoming the fourth largest in Austria-Hungary, according to the census of 1910. Multiple [[Belle Époque]] public edifices and tenement houses were erected, with a number of the buildings from the Austrian period, such as the [[Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet]], built in the [[Vienna|Viennese]] neo-Renaissance style.

[[File:Sejm Galicyjski.jpg|thumb|[[Diet of Galicia|The Galician Sejm]] (until 1918), since 1920 the [[Jan Kazimierz University]]]]

At that time, Lviv was home to a number of renowned Polish-language institutions, such as the [[Ossolineum]], with the second-largest collection of Polish books in the world, the [[Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences|Polish Academy of Arts]], the [[National Museum of Poland|National Museum]] (since 1908), the Historical Museum of the City of Lwów (since 1891), the [[Polish Copernicus Society of Naturalists]], the [[Polish Historical Society]], [[Lviv University|Lwów University]], with Polish as the official language since 1882, the [[Lwów Scientific Society]], the [[Lviv National Art Gallery|Lwów Art Gallery]], the [[Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet|Polish Theatre]], and the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv|Polish Archdiocese]].

Furthermore, Lviv was the centre of a number of Polish independence organisations. In June 1908, [[Józef Piłsudski]], [[Władysław Sikorski]] and [[Kazimierz Sosnkowski]] founded the [[Union of Active Struggle]] in the city. Two years later, the paramilitary organisation, called the [[Riflemen's Association]], was also founded in the city by Polish activists.

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 Greek Catholic Church|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.<ref>{{cite book|author-last=Mick|author-first=Christoph|chapter=Lemberg/Lwów/L'viv - die multiethnische Stadt|editor=Matthias Weber, Burkhard Olschowsky, Ivan Petranský, Attila Pók, Andrzej Przewoźnik|title=Erinnerungsorte in Ostmitteleuropa: Erfahrungen der Vergangenheit und Perspektiven|publisher=Oldenbourg|year= 2011|language=de|pages=127}}</ref>

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.<ref>Paul Robert Magocsi. (2005) Galicia: a Multicultured Land. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp.12–15</ref>

====World War I====
[[File:Вступление русских войск во Львов.jpg|thumb|right|Russian army entering Lviv in 1914]]
[[File:Lemberg 1915 Mariyska.jpg|thumb|right|Lemberg (Lviv, Lwów) in 1915]]
In the [[Battle of Galicia]] at the early stages of the [[First World War]], Lviv was captured by the [[Imperial Russian Army|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.<ref>{{cite web |title=03 September 1914 – The Fall Of Lemberg |url=http://ww1blog.osborneink.com/?p=607 |website=The Great War Blog |date=3 September 2014 |access-date=9 July 2016 |archive-date=6 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806184945/http://ww1blog.osborneink.com/?p=607 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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.<ref name="PB2">{{cite book |last1=Buttar |first1=Prit |title=Germany Ascendant, The Eastern Front 1915 |date=2017 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=Oxford |isbn=9781472819376 |pages=260–263}}</ref>

===Polish–Ukrainian War===
{{further|Polish–Ukrainian War}}
After the [[Dissolution of Austria-Hungary|collapse of the Habsburg Monarchy]] at the end of the First World War, Lviv became an arena of battle between the local Polish population and the [[Ukrainian Sich Riflemen]]. Both nations perceived the city as an integral part of their new statehoods which at that time were forming in the former Austrian territories. On the night of 31 October – 1 November 1918 the [[West Ukrainian People's Republic|Western Ukrainian People's Republic]] was proclaimed with Lviv as its capital. 2,300 Ukrainian soldiers from the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen (Sichovi Striltsi), which had previously been a corps in the Austrian Army, made an attempt to take over Lviv. The city's Polish majority opposed the Ukrainian declaration and began to fight against the Ukrainian troops.<ref>Timothy Snyder, ''The Reconstruction of Nations: Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, 1569–1999'', Yale University Press, 2003, p.158</ref> During this combat an important role was taken by young Polish city defenders called [[Lwów Eaglets]].

The Ukrainian forces withdrew outside Lwów's confines by 21 November 1918, after which elements of Polish soldiers began to loot and burn much of the Jewish and Ukrainian quarters of the city, killing approximately 340 civilians (see: [[Lwów pogrom (1918)|Lwów pogrom]]). The pogromists were tried by Polish authorities and three were executed.<ref name="ND">Norman Davies. [https://books.google.com/books?id=SOFkWX8EC4cC&dq=lwow+pogrom+1918+killed++jews&pg=PA1012 "Ethnic Diversity in Twentieth-Century Poland."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102033537/https://books.google.com/books?id=SOFkWX8EC4cC&pg=PA1012&dq=lwow+pogrom+1918+killed++jews&ei=30HASPveLIyYyATwlKiRDg&sig=ACfU3U30AZS2LbGlIGHT5aGD2ic7lFJ6eQ |date=2 January 2016}} In: Herbert Arthur Strauss. Hostages of Modernisation: Studies on Modern Antisemitism, 1870–1933/39. Walter de Gruyter, 1993.</ref> The retreating Ukrainian forces besieged the city. The Sich riflemen reformed into the [[Ukrainian Galician Army]] (UHA). The Polish forces aided from central Poland, including [[Józef Haller|General Haller]]'s [[Blue Army (Poland)|Blue Army]], equipped by the French, relieved the besieged city in May 1919 forcing the UHA to the east.

Despite [[Allies of World War I|Entente]] mediation attempts to cease hostilities and reach a compromise between belligerents the [[Polish–Ukrainian War]] continued until July 1919 when the last UHA forces withdrew east of the [[Zbruch River|River Zbruch]]. The border on the River Zbruch was confirmed at the [[Treaty of Warsaw (1920)|Treaty of Warsaw]], when in April 1920 Field [[Józef Piłsudski|Marshal Piłsudski]] signed an agreement with [[Symon Petliura|Symon Petlura]] where it was agreed that in exchange for military support against [[Bolsheviks|the Bolsheviks]] the [[Ukrainian People's Republic]] renounced its claims to the territories of Eastern Galicia.

In August 1920, Lviv was attacked by the [[Red Army]] under the command of [[Alexander Ilyich Yegorov|Aleksandr Yegorov]] and [[Joseph Stalin|Stalin]] during the [[Polish–Soviet War]] but [[Battle of Lwów (1920)|the city repelled the attack]].<ref>Norman Davies, White Eagle, [[Red star]]. Polish-Soviet War</ref> For the courage of its inhabitants Lviv was awarded the [[Virtuti Militari]] cross by Józef Piłsudski on 22 November 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<ref name="MagocsiB" />), whose sovereign remained the [[Allied and Associated Powers|Allied Powers]] and fate would be determined by the [[Council of Ambassadors]] at the League of Nations.<ref>''Ukraine: A Concise Encyclopedia'' (1963). Edited by [[Volodymyr Kubiyovych]]. p. 780.</ref> 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 Galicia|Eastern part of Galicia]]."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.forost.ungarisches-institut.de/pdf/19230315-1.pdf |title=DECISION TAKEN BY THE CONFERENCE OF AMBASSADORS REGARDING THE EASTERN FRONTIERS OF POLAND. PARIS, MARCH 15, 1923 |website=forost.ungarisches-institut.de |language=en |access-date=14 January 2018 |archive-date=19 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719101750/http://www.forost.ungarisches-institut.de/pdf/19230315-1.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> This provision was never honoured by the [[Second Polish Republic|interwar Polish government]]. After 1923, the region was internationally recognized as part of the Polish state.<ref name="MagocsiB">{{cite book |last=Magocsi |first=Paul R. |title=A History of Ukraine: The Land and Its Peoples |date=1996 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |pages=525–526}}</ref>

===Interwar period===
[[File:Lwów.Panorama miasta.jpg|thumb|A panorama of Lwów before 1924]]
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 [[Typhus vaccine|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 [[Lviv University|Lwów University]] as well as the [[Lviv Polytechnic|Polytechnic]].<ref>''Mały Rocznik Statystyczny 1939'' (Polish statistical yearbook of 1939), [[Central Statistical Office (Poland)]], Warsaw, 1939.</ref>
[[File:Targi Wschodnie (1930th).jpg|thumb|right|Eastern Trade Fair (''[[Targi Wschodnie]]''), main entrance.<ref name="cracovia-leopolis">{{cite web |url=http://cracovia-leopolis.pl/index.php?pokaz=art&id=2089 |title=Targi Wschodnie we Lwowie |publisher=Cracovia Leopolis |work=Kwartalniki |date=2006 |access-date=13 March 2013 |author=Aleksander Nikodemowicz |language=pl |archive-date=28 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928020306/http://cracovia-leopolis.pl/index.php?pokaz=art&id=2089 |url-status=live}}</ref>]]

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 [[Demographics of Ukraine|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 [[Sejm of the Republic of Poland|Polish Sejm]] in September 1922,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pl.wikisource.org/wiki/Ustawa_o_zasadach_powszechnego_samorz%C4%85du_wojew%C3%B3dzkiego |title=Text of the 1922 Bill (in Polish) |language=pl |publisher=Pl.wikisource.org |date=29 February 2012 |access-date=3 May 2012 |archive-date=2 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120502230934/http://pl.wikisource.org/wiki/Ustawa_o_zasadach_powszechnego_samorz%C4%85du_wojew%C3%B3dzkiego |url-status=live}}</ref> this was not fulfilled.

The Polish government discontinued multiple Ukrainian schools which functioned during the Austrian rule,<ref name=Magosci>{{cite book |author=Magosci, R. |title=A History of Ukraine |location=Toronto |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1996}}</ref> and closed down Ukrainian departments at the University of Lwów with the exception of one.<ref name=Subtelny>{{cite book |last=Subtelny |first=Orest |title=Ukraine: A History |location=Toronto |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=1988}}</ref> Prewar Lwów also had a large and thriving [[Jews|Jewish community]], which constituted about a quarter of the population, but were accused of having collaborated with the Ukrainians.<ref name="Oldenbourg">{{cite book|author-last=Mick|author-first=Christoph|chapter=Lemberg/Lwów/L'viv - die multiethnische Stadt|editor=Matthias Weber, Burkhard Olschowsky, Ivan Petranský, Attila Pók, Andrzej Przewoźnik|title=Erinnerungsorte in Ostmitteleuropa: Erfahrungen der Vergangenheit und Perspektiven|publisher=Oldenbourg|year= 2011|language=de|pages=130}}</ref>

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 culture|Jewish]] and [[Ukrainian culture]].{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} 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,<ref name="Oldenbourg"/> and in the 1930s a vast [[Cemetery of the Defenders of Lwów|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 [[Ukrainian Military Organization|underground military organization]] attacked Polish institutions, as well as Polish politicians.<ref>{{cite book|author-last=Mick|author-first=Christoph|chapter=Lemberg/Lwów/L'viv - die multiethnische Stadt|editor=Matthias Weber, Burkhard Olschowsky, Ivan Petranský, Attila Pók, Andrzej Przewoźnik|title=Erinnerungsorte in Ostmitteleuropa: Erfahrungen der Vergangenheit und Perspektiven|publisher=Oldenbourg|year= 2011|language=de|pages=131}}</ref>

===World War II===
====Soviet occupation and incorporation====
{{further|Battle of Lwów (1939)}}
[[File:Wojska Armii Czerwonej na ulicach Lwowa we wrzesniu 1939. Fot.AIPN.jpg|thumb|Red Army parade in Lviv following the city's occupation in 1939]]
[[Invasion of Poland|Germany invaded Poland]] on 1 September 1939 and by 14 September Lwów was completely encircled by [[German Army (1935–1945)|German Army]] units.<ref>Robert M. Kennedy, The German Campaign in Poland (1939), Major Infantry United States Army DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY DC 1956.</ref> Subsequently, the [[Soviet invasion of Poland|Soviets invaded Poland]] on 17 September. On 22 September 1939 Lwów capitulated to the [[Red Army]]. The [[Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union|USSR annexed the eastern half of the Second Polish Republic]] with Ukrainian and Belarusian populations. The city became the capital of the newly formed [[Lviv Oblast]]. The Soviets reopened uni-lingual Ukrainian schools, which had been discontinued by the Polish government.

The only change over imposed by the Soviets was the language of instruction, with the actual net loss of about 1,000 schools in short order.<ref name="p201">{{citation |url=https://archive.org/details/polandsholocaust00piot |url-access=registration |quote=Ukraini-anized. |title=Poland's Holocaust |publisher=McFarland |work=Ukrainian collaboration |year=1998 |first=Tadeusz |last=Piotrowski |author-link=Tadeusz Piotrowski (sociologist) |pages=[https://archive.org/details/polandsholocaust00piot/page/201 201]–202 |isbn=0-7864-0371-3}}</ref> Ukrainian was made compulsory in the [[University of Lviv]] with almost all its books in Polish{{Citation needed|date=April 2018}}. It became thoroughly [[Ukrainization|Ukrainized]] and was renamed after Ukrainian writer [[Ivan Franko]]. Polish academics were laid off.<ref name="magocsi">Paul Robert Magocsi. (1996). ''A History of Ukraine''. Toronto: University of Toronto Press</ref> Soviet rule turned out to be much more oppressive than Polish rule; the rich world of Ukrainian publications in Polish Lwów, for instance, was gone in Soviet Lviv, and multiple journalism jobs were lost with it.<ref name="Amar">{{cite book |title=The Paradox of Ukrainian Lviv: A Borderland City between Stalinists, Nazis, and Nationalists |author=Tarik Cyril Amar |publisher=Cornell University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-5017-0083-5 |chapter=The Ukrainian encounter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bvTvCgAAQBAJ&q=oppressive+world |pages=87–88 |access-date=20 September 2020 |archive-date=4 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304214138/https://books.google.com/books?id=bvTvCgAAQBAJ&q=oppressive+world |url-status=live }}</ref>

====German occupation====
{{Main|Battle of Lwów (1941)}}

On 22 June 1941, [[Nazi Germany]] and several of its [[Axis powers|allies]] invaded the USSR. In the initial stage of [[Operation Barbarossa]] (30 June 1941) Lviv was taken by the Germans. The evacuating Soviets [[NKVD prisoner massacres#Poland|killed most of the prison population]], with arriving [[Wehrmacht]] forces easily discovering evidence of the Soviet mass murders in the city<ref name="Lviv massacre">{{cite web |url=http://www.alfreddezayas.com/Chapbooks/Lembergmassacre.shtml |title=Lviv massacre |publisher=Alfreddezayas.com |access-date=3 May 2012 |archive-date=7 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707111610/http://www.alfreddezayas.com/Chapbooks/Lembergmassacre.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref> committed by the [[NKVD]] and [[People's Commissariat for State Security|NKGB]]. The German administration falsely blamed the massacres on Jews, contributing to the [[Lviv pogroms (1941)|start of pogroms]] against the city's Jewish community. On 30 June 1941 [[Yaroslav Stetsko]] [[Declaration of Ukrainian Independence, 1941|proclaimed in Lviv the Government of an independent Ukrainian state]] allied with Nazi Germany. This was done without preapproval from the Germans and after 15 September 1941, the organisers were arrested.<ref name="history.org.ua">Організація українських націоналістів і Українська повстанська армія. Інститут історії НАН України.2004р Організація українських націоналістів і Українська повстанська армія,</ref><ref name="autogenerated1940">І.К. Патриляк. Військова діяльність ОУН(Б) у 1940–1942 роках. – Університет імені Шевченко \Ін-т історії України НАН України Київ, 2004 (No ISBN)</ref><ref>ОУН в 1941 році: документи: В 2-х ч Ін-т історії України НАН України К. 2006 {{ISBN|966-02-2535-0}}</ref>
[[File:Львівське гетто.jpg|thumb|Memorial to Lviv ghetto victims of the [[Holocaust]], erected in 1992 on Chornovola Street. The inscription reads "remember and keep in your heart".]]
The [[Sikorski–Mayski Agreement]] signed in London on 30 July 1941 between the [[Polish government-in-exile]] and the Soviet government invalidated the [[German–Soviet Frontier Treaty|September 1939 Soviet-German partition of Poland]], as the Soviets declared it null and void.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/polsov.asp |title=Text of Polish-Soviet Treaty of 1941 |publisher=Avalon.law.yale.edu |date=30 July 1941 |access-date=3 May 2012 |archive-date=10 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810225919/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/polsov.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> Meanwhile, German-occupied Eastern Galicia at the beginning of August 1941 was incorporated into the [[General Government]] as ''[[District of Galicia|Distrikt Galizien]]'' with Lviv as the district's capital. German policy towards the Polish population in this area was as harsh as in the rest of the General Government.<ref name="auto">ОУН і УПА в 1943 році: Документи / НАН України. Інститут історії України. – К.: Інститут історії України, 2008. – 347 с. {{ISBN|978-966-02-4911-0}} p.166</ref>

During the occupation of the city, the Germans committed multiple atrocities, including the [[Massacre of Lwów professors|killing of Polish university professors]] in 1941. German Nazis viewed the Ukrainian Galicians, former inhabitants of Austrian Crown Land, as more [[aryan]]ised and civilised than the Ukrainian population living in the territories belonging to the [[Soviet Union|USSR]] before 1939. As a result, they escaped the full extent of German acts in comparison to Ukrainians who lived to the east, in the German-occupied [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic|Soviet Ukraine]] turned into the ''[[Reichskommissariat Ukraine]]''.<ref name="auto"/>

[[File:Janowska Nazi camp orchestra.jpg|thumb|The imprisoned [[Tango of Death|Tango of Death orchestra]]]]
According to the [[The Holocaust|Third Reich's racial policies]], local Jews then became the main target of German repressions in the region. Following the German occupation, the Jewish population was concentrated in the [[Lwów Ghetto]] established in the city's Zamarstynów (today ''[[Zamarstyniv]]'') district and the [[Janowska concentration camp]] was also set up. In the Janowska concentration camp, the Nazis conducted torture and executions to music. The [[Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet|Lviv National Opera]] members, who were prisoners, played one and the same tune, Tango of Death.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

On the eve of Lviv's liberation, German Nazis ordered 40 orchestra musicians to form a circle. The security ringed the musicians tightly and ordered them to play. First, the orchestra conductor, Mund, was executed.{{citation needed|date=July 2025}} Then the commandant ordered the musicians to come to the center of the circle one by one, put their instruments onto the ground and strip naked, after which they were killed by a headshot.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} A [[Tango of Death (orchestra)|photo of the orchestra players]] was one of the incriminating documents at the [[Nuremberg trials]].

In 1931 there were 75,316 [[Yiddish]]-speaking inhabitants, but by 1941 approximately 100,000 Jews were present in Lviv.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/media_cm.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005171&MediaId=1581 |title=Lvov 1939–1944 Timeline |work=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506162225/http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/media_cm.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10005171&MediaId=1581 |archive-date=6 May 2009}}</ref> The majority of these Jews were either killed within the city or deported to [[Belzec extermination camp]]. In the summer of 1943, on the orders of [[Heinrich Himmler]], [[Standartenführer|SS-Standartenführer]] [[Paul Blobel]] was tasked with the destruction of any evidence of Nazi mass murders in the Lviv area. On 15 June Blobel, using forced labourers from Janowska, dug up a number of mass graves and incinerated the remains.<ref>Gilbert, M. (1989), ''Second World War'', Weidenfeld & Nicolson, p. 438</ref>

Later, on 19 November 1943, inmates at Janowska staged an uprising and attempted a mass escape. A few succeeded, but most were recaptured and killed. The [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] staff and their local auxiliaries then, at the time of the Janowska camp's liquidation, murdered at least 6,000 more inmates, as well as the [[Jews]] in other forced labour camps in Galicia. By the end of the war, the Jewish population of the city was virtually eliminated, with only around 200 to 800 survivors remaining.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chDkIitLUnY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/chDkIitLUnY |archive-date=2021-10-30 |title=A True Story of Holocaust Survivors. The documentary includes 60 historical pictures. 1932–1944, Lwow, Poland (now Lviv, Ukraine) |website=[[YouTube]]|date=6 March 2020 }}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>Filip Friedman, ''Zagłada Żydów lwowskich'' (Extermination of the Jews of Lwów) – [http://www.mankurty.com/fridpl.html online in Polish, Ukrainian and Russian] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417082332/http://www.mankurty.com/fridpl.html|date=17 April 2014 }}</ref>

====Soviet re-occupation====
{{Main|Lwów uprising}}

[[File:RKKA Lviv.jpg|thumb|Soviet soldiers in Lviv, July 1944]]
After the successful [[Lvov–Sandomierz offensive|Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive]] of July 1944, the Soviet [[3rd Guards Tank Army]] captured Lwów on 27 July 1944, with significant cooperation from the local Polish resistance. Soon thereafter, the local commanders of Polish ''[[Armia Krajowa]]'' were invited to a meeting with the commanders of the Red Army. During the meeting, they were arrested, as it turned out to be a trap set by the Soviet NKVD. Later, in the winter and spring of 1945, the local NKVD continued to arrest and harass Poles in Lwów (which according to Soviet sources on 1 October 1944 still had a clear Polish majority of 66.7%) in an attempt to encourage their emigration from the city.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite book |last=Reynolds |first=David |title=Summits : six meetings that shaped the twentieth century |date=2009 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=978-0-7867-4458-9 |location=New York |oclc=646810103 }}</ref>

Those arrested were released only after they had signed papers in which they agreed to emigrate to Poland, which postwar borders were [[Territorial changes of Poland immediately after World War II|to be shifted westwards]] in accordance with the [[Yalta Conference]] settlements. In Yalta, despite Polish objections, the Allied leaders, [[Joseph Stalin]], [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and [[Winston Churchill]] decided that Lwów should remain within the borders of the Soviet Union. Roosevelt wanted Poland to have Lwów and the surrounding [[Petroleum reservoir|oilfields]], but Stalin refused to allow it.<ref name="auto1"/>

On 16 August 1945, a border agreement<ref>[[:pl:wikisource:Umowa graniczna pomiędzy Polską a ZSRR z 16 sierpnia 1945 roku]] [http://pl.wikisource.org/wiki/Umowa_graniczna_pomi%C4%99dzy_Polsk%C4%85_a_ZSRR_z_16_sierpnia_1945_roku] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091118182630/http://pl.wikisource.org/wiki/Umowa_graniczna_pomi%C4%99dzy_Polsk%C4%85_a_ZSRR_z_16_sierpnia_1945_roku |date=18 November 2009 }} full text of the agreement {{in lang|pl}}</ref> was signed in Moscow between the [[government of the Soviet Union]] and the [[Provisional Government of National Unity]] installed by the Soviets in Poland. In the treaty, Polish authorities formally [[cession|ceded]] the prewar eastern part of the country to the Soviet Union, agreeing to the Polish-Soviet border to be drawn according to the [[Curzon Line]]. Consequently, the agreement was [[ratification|ratified]] on 5 February 1946.

=== Soviet era ===
In February 1946, Lviv became a part of the Soviet Union. It is estimated that from 100,000 to 140,000 Poles were resettled from the city into the so-called [[Recovered Territories]] as a part of [[Population transfer#Central Europe|postwar population transfers]], many of them to the area of newly acquired [[Wrocław]], formerly the German city of Breslau. Poles who stayed in Lviv later formed the [[Association of Polish Culture of the Lviv Land]]. In March 1946 Lviv became the site of a [[Synod of Lviv (1946)|Church synod]] organized under the pressure of [[KGB]], which formally dissolved the [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church]] by attaching its parishes to the [[Russian Orthodox Church]].

According to various estimates, Lviv lost between 80% and 90% of its prewar population.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Törnquist-Plewa |editor1-first=Barbara |title=Whose Memory? Which Future?: Remembering Ethnic Cleansing and Lost Cultural Diversity in Eastern, Central and Southeastern Europe |date=2016 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-1-78533-122-0 |page=74}}</ref> Expulsion of the Polish population and [[the Holocaust]] together with migration from [[Ukrainophone|Ukrainian-speaking]] surrounding areas (including forcibly resettled from the territories which, after the war, became part of the Polish People's Republic), as well as from other parts of the Soviet Union, altered the ethnic composition of the city. Immigration from Russia and Russian-speaking regions of eastern Ukraine was encouraged,{{citation needed|date=February 2014}} and during the 1950s ethnic [[Russians]] comprised almost a third of Lviv's population. During the same period, 28,000 Jews resided in the city, most of them being Russian-speaking immigrants from other parts of the Soviet Union. On 8 September 1956 the population of Lviv reached the number of 400,000 inhabitants.<ref name=loc/> 
[[File:Fortepan 115464.jpg|thumb|Market Square in 1957]]
In 1950 the first regional agricultural exhibition was opened in Stryi Park, and in 1951 a [[children's railway]] was launched. In 1952 the city's first [[Lviv trolleybus|trolleybus line]] was opened. By 1960, the city was served by 262 buses, 380 [[taxi]]s and over 50 trolleybuses. In 1955 the [[Lviv Airport|new airport terminal]] started operations. By 1955 Lviv had by 415 restaurants, cafes and canteens, but it was still not enough to cover the needs of the growing population. Several public parks, including [[Shevchenkivskyi Hai]], were established during the 1950s.<ref name=loc>{{Cite web|title=Фіри із трофейними німецькими кіньми, 400-тисячний житель і перші "сталінки". Побутові хроніки Львова: 1950|date=2023-04-05|url=https://localhistory.org.ua/texts/statti/firi-iz-trofeinimi-nimetskimi-kinmi-400-tisiachnii-zhitel-i-pershi-stalinki-pobutovi-khroniki-lvova-1950/|access-date=2026-03-24}}</ref>  

Due to the development of industrial enterprises in old city quarters, local authorities introduced measures against [[noise pollution]]. At the same time, until 1958 Lviv continued to serve as a transit point for heavy military equipment. In 1958 a house in one of the city's streets collapsed due to the movement of [[self-propelled artillery]] in a nearby street. As a result, the transport of military hardware through the old town quarters was outlawed, and the [[division (military)|division]] stationed in Lviv was transferred to [[Yavoriv]].<ref name=loc/>

During the early 1950s the Soviet government adopted a resolution to turn Lviv into a major industrial centre. In 1954 the Soviet Union's first [[kinescope]] tube was produced on a local factory, and in 1958 serial production of [[TV set]]s started. In 1956 the [[Lviv Bus Factory]] launched its production. A [[tank]] repair plant was also established in the city. In order to accommodate the working population, authorities ordered the construction of cheap housing. At the same time, much more comfortable buildings in [[Stalinist architecture|Stalinist]] style were erected for the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Communist]] elite. Despite the new construction, many people continued to live in [[communal flat]]s or even in cellars. Central heating, water supplies and [[sewage|sewers]] were absent in many districts. Throughout the 1950s, several nearby villages and towns were administratively incorporated into Lviv, including [[Briukhovychi]] and [[Vynnyky]]. In December 1957 the [[Suspilne Lviv|Lviv TV centre]] made its first broadcast from the city's Opera Theatre.<ref name=loc/>

In the 1950s and 1960s, the city expanded both in population and size mostly due to its rapidly growing industrial base. Due to the fight of [[SMERSH]] with the [[Ukrainian Insurgent Army]], Lviv obtained a nickname with a negative connotation: ''Banderstadt'', meaning the city of [[Stepan Bandera]]. The German suffix for the city ''stadt'' was added instead of the Russian ''[[Grad (toponymy)|grad]]'' to imply alienation. Over the years the residents of the city found this so ridiculous that even people not familiar with Bandera accepted it as sarcasm in reference to the Soviet perception of [[western Ukraine]]. By the time of the [[Dissolution of the Soviet Union|fall of the Soviet Union]] the name became a proud mark for the Lviv natives culminating in the creation of a local rock band under the name ''Khloptsi z Bandershtadtu'' (Boys from Banderstadt).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bandershtadt.w6.ru/ |title=Official site of the Khloptsi z Bandershtadtu |publisher=Bandershtadt.w6.ru |access-date=3 May 2012 |archive-date=14 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080414164419/http://bandershtadt.w6.ru/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Lviv. Former Jewish Quarter of Suburb.jpg|thumb|View on the Opera Theatre and Hotel Lviv in the late 1960s]]
During the 1960s, inhabitants of Lviv and the surrounding region benefitted from their access to [[Television in Poland|Polish television]] and [[Polish Radio|radio]], as well as press publications from fellow [[Warsaw Pact]] countries. Many migrants from Ukrainian villages, who settled in the city during that time, had relatives abroad and could engage in correspondence across the [[Iron Curtain]]. In order to combat "[[bourgeois nationalism]]", Soviet authorities outlawed the combination of [[Flag of Ukraine|blue and yellow]] in printed production and media. In order to [[USSR anti-religious campaign (1958–1964)|combat religion]], the regime closed down Lviv's Dominican Cathedral and organized a museum of [[atheism]] in its building. Despite government pressure, Lviv's inhabitants continued to follow religious traditions, with many districts organizing [[vertep]] performances. During the 1960s Lviv also developed its own youth [[subculture]]s, which formed under the influence of Western music.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Коли є "все" не для всіх, зате є джинси, "довгі патли" і жовто-сині трамваї. Побутові хроніки Львова: 1960-ті|date=2023-06-07|url=https://localhistory.org.ua/texts/statti/plodi-khrushchovskoyi-vidligi-i-brezhnievskii-zastii-koli-ie-vse-ne-dlia-vsikh-zate-ie-dzhinsi-dovgi-patli-i-zhovto-sini-tramvayi-pobutovi-khroniki-lvova-1960-ti/|access-date=2026-03-24}}</ref>  

During the 1970s the policies of [[Soviet Ukraine|Ukrainian Soviet]] leadership under [[Volodymyr Shcherbytsky]] resulted in a new wave of [[Russification]]. Many inscriptions and advertisements in Lviv's streets and in public transport were now written in Russian language. Meanwhile the economic situation worsened, with numerous goods [[shortage economy|disappearing]] form shops by the middle part of the decade. By the end of 1970s [[inflation]] became a major concern. At the same time, the city's trade network continued to expand, with more than 200 shops being built. New cultural trends continued to influence Lviv's population, and in 1979 two cult locations appeared in the city: youth palace "Romantyk", which became popular due to its [[discotheque|disco]], and the "Virmenka" [[coffee house]], which became a gathering place for local [[bohemianism|bohéme]]. The 1970s saw the rise of the [[hippie]] movement in Lviv. In 1975-1977 the garden of the local [[Carmelite Church, Lviv|Carmelite Monastery]] became a centre of gatherings for [[nonconformist]] youth from various parts of the Soviet Union.<ref name=loc1>{{Cite web|title=Русифікований побут, зате з "голосом" західних радіостанцій, дешева "бормотуха", тихий бунт позасуспільних гіпі. Побутові хроніки Львова: 1970-ті|date=2023-08-23|url=https://localhistory.org.ua/texts/statti/rusifikovanii-pobut-zate-z-golosom-zakhidnikh-radiostantsii-desheva-bormotukha-tikhii-bunt-pozasuspilnikh-gipi-pobutovi-khroniki-lvova-1970-ti-roki/|access-date=2026-03-24}}</ref>  
Despite the conditions of [[Russification of Ukraine#Soviet period|Soviet Russification]],{{citation needed|date=July 2018}} Lviv became a major centre of the [[Dissident movement in the Soviet Union|dissident movement]]. Starting from [[1972-1973 Ukrainian purge|1972]], many of Lviv's dissident activists were arrested and held in the infamous [[Prison on Łącki Street]].<ref name=loc1/>

In the period of [[Perestroika|liberalisation from the Soviet system]] in the 1980s, the city became the centre of political movements advocating [[Modern history of Ukraine|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.<ref name="cnn1803">{{cite news |title=Russia has attacked Lviv. Here's why the western city is so important to Ukraine's defense |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/18/europe/lviv-ukraine-attack-russia-importance-intl/index.html |access-date=18 March 2022 |agency=CNN |date=18 March 2022 |archive-date=23 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323011157/https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/18/europe/lviv-ukraine-attack-russia-importance-intl/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Independent Ukraine===
[[File:Lviv street scene 20041126.jpg|thumb|Protesters in Lviv during the 2004 presidential election]]
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.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tchorek |first=Kamil |title=Protest grows in western city |work=Times Online |date=26 November 2004 |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article395652.ece |access-date=25 July 2009 |archive-date=29 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629121745/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article395652.ece |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ukraine-facing-civil-war-lviv-declares-independence-yanukovich-rule-1437092 |title=Ukraine Facing Civil War: Lviv Declares Independence from Yanukovich Rule |last=Gianluca Mezzofiore |date=19 February 2014 |work=International Business Times |access-date=19 February 2014 |archive-date=1 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201194141/http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ukraine-facing-civil-war-lviv-declares-independence-yanukovich-rule-1437092 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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 regional significance (Ukraine)|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.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Про утворення та ліквідацію районів. Постанова Верховної Ради України № 807-ІХ. |url=http://www.golos.com.ua/article/333466 |access-date=2020-10-03 |date=2020-07-18 |website=Голос України |language=uk |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709121303/http://www.golos.com.ua/article/333466 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Нові райони: карти + склад |work=Мінрегіон |date=July 17, 2020 |url=https://www.minregion.gov.ua/press/news/novi-rajony-karty-sklad/ |publisher=Міністерство розвитку громад та територій України |language=Ukrainian |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-date=2 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302224321/https://www.minregion.gov.ua/press/news/novi-rajony-karty-sklad/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Russo-Ukrainian War====
=====2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine=====
{{See also|Lviv strikes (2022–present)}}
[[File:2022 Lviv bombing.jpg|thumb|Fire after a Russian strike on a fuel depot in Lviv, March 2022]]
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.<ref name=War>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/18/ukraine-russia-lviv-war/ |title=Ukraine's Lviv in spotlight as diplomats and others leave Kyiv – the Washington Post |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=23 February 2022 |archive-date=24 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224074723/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/18/ukraine-russia-lviv-war/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref name="cnn1803" /> 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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Wrapping The Art Treasures Of Lviv |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/lviv-monuments-protection-russia-war/31759566.html |access-date=18 March 2022 |agency=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |date=18 March 2022 |language=en |archive-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318145610/https://www.rferl.org/a/lviv-monuments-protection-russia-war/31759566.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the course of the war, the area in and around Lviv has been struck by Russian missile attacks. [[Yavoriv military base attack|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,<ref name="cnn1803" /> and a fuel depot and other facilities within the city limits on 26 March 2022.<ref>{{cite news |title=Three additional blasts heard in Lviv, regional military administration says |url=https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-03-26-22#h_0209716058a32b5f42a81bf113a2f979 |access-date=26 March 2022 |work=CNN |date=26 March 2022 |language=en |archive-date=26 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326184113/https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-03-26-22/h_0209716058a32b5f42a81bf113a2f979 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news |title= Blasts rock Ukraine as bodies line streets |url= https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7702438/blasts-rock-ukraine-as-bodies-line-streets/ |access-date= 18 April 2022 |publisher= the Canberra Times |date= 18 April 2022 |language= en |archive-date= 18 April 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220418092930/https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7702438/blasts-rock-ukraine-as-bodies-line-streets/ |url-status= live }}</ref>

Lviv was targeted during the [[10 October 2022 missile strikes on Ukraine]], resulting in a city-wide blackout.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explosions in Lviv, city is without electricity and mobile connection |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/10/10/7371068/ |access-date=2022-10-12 |website=Ukrainska Pravda |language=en |archive-date=12 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221012150631/https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/10/10/7371068/ |url-status=live }}</ref> On 11 October 2022, Sadovyi announced that the city was hit by a missile strike, resulting in a power outage and water supply shortage.<ref>{{Cite news |agency=Reuters |date=2022-10-12 |title=Russian strike on Ukraine's Lviv hits power supply – mayor |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-strike-ukraines-lviv-hits-power-supply-mayor-says-2022-10-11/ |access-date=2022-10-12 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013015118/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-strike-ukraines-lviv-hits-power-supply-mayor-says-2022-10-11/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite news |title= Russian aerial attack on Kyiv kills two, injures 13, Ukraine officials say |url= https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-aerial-attack-kyiv-kills-one-injures-10-officials-say-2025-10-25/ |website= [[Reuters]] |date= October 25, 2025}}</ref>

On the night of 8 January 2026, Russian forces launched an [[Oreshnik missile]] from the [[Kapustin Yar]] test site towards Lviv. It was the first time Lviv was struck by an [[Intermediate-range ballistic missile]] (IRBM) in the [[Russo-Ukraine War]].<ref> {{cite news |title=Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 9, 2026 |date=9 January 2026 |url=https://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-january-9-2026/ |work=[[Institute for the Study of War]]}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Lviv City, Ukraine, Sentinel-2 satellite image, 30-AUG-2017.jpg|thumb|A satellite view of Lviv ([[Sentinel-2]], <br />14 August 2017)]]
Lviv is on the edge of the [[Roztocze|Roztochia Upland]], about {{convert|70|km|mi|abbr=off}} east of the Polish border and {{convert|160|km|mi|abbr=on}} north of the eastern [[Carpathian Mountains]]. The average altitude of Lviv is {{convert|296|m|ft|abbr=off}} above [[sea level]]. Its highest point is the ''Vysokyi Zamok'' ([[Lviv High Castle|High Castle]]), {{convert|409|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]]. This castle has a commanding view of the historic city centre with its distinctive, green-domed churches and intricate architecture.

The old [[Defensive wall|walled city]] was at the foothills of the High Castle on the banks of the [[Poltva River]]. In the 13th century, the river was used to transport goods. In the early 20th century, the Poltva was covered over in areas where it flows through the city; the river flows directly beneath Lviv's central street, {{ill|Liberty Avenue (Lviv)|lt=Liberty Avenue|uk|Проспект Свободи (Львів)}}, and the [[Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet]].

===Climate===
Lviv's climate is [[Humid continental climate|humid continental]] ([[Köppen climate classification]] ''Dfb'') with cold winters and warm summers.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kottek |first=M. |author2=J. Grieser |author3=C. Beck |author4=B. Rudolf |author5=F. Rubel |title=World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated |journal=Meteorol. Z. |volume=15 |pages=259–263 |url=http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pdf/kottek_et_al_2006_A4.pdf |doi=10.1127/0941-2948/2006/0130 |access-date=24 August 2012 |year=2006 |issue=3 |bibcode=2006MetZe..15..259K |archive-date=11 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811204828/http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pdf/kottek_et_al_2006_A4.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> The average temperatures are {{cvt|-3|°C|0}} in January and {{cvt|18|°C|0}} in July.<ref name="pogoda" /> Average [[humidity]] level is dry, with [[summer]] humidity ranging from comfortable to muggy.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://weatherspark.com/y/91475/Average-Weather-in-Lviv-Ukraine-Year-Round |title=Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Lviv |website=WeatherSpark |access-date=2025-12-08}}</ref> The average annual rainfall is {{cvt|745|mm|0}} with the maximum in summer.<ref name="pogoda" /> Mean [[sunshine duration]] per year at Lviv is about 1,804 hours.<ref name="NOAA"/>
{{Weather box|collapsed=yes
|location=Lviv (1991–2020, extremes 1936–present)
|metric first=Y
|single line=Y
|Jan record high C=14.9
|Feb record high C=17.9
|Mar record high C=23.5
|Apr record high C=28.9
|May record high C=32.2
|Jun record high C=34.1
|Jul record high C=36.3
|Aug record high C=35.6
|Sep record high C=34.5
|Oct record high C=25.6
|Nov record high C=21.6
|Dec record high C=16.5
|year record high C=36.3
|Jan high C=0.2
|Feb high C=2.0
|Mar high C=7.0
|Apr high C=14.5
|May high C=19.5
|Jun high C=23.0
|Jul high C=24.7
|Aug high C=24.5
|Sep high C=19.0
|Oct high C=13.2
|Nov high C=6.8
|Dec high C=1.5
|year high C=13.0
|Jan mean C=-2.7
|Feb mean C=-1.5
|Mar mean C=2.5
|Apr mean C=9.0
|May mean C=13.8
|Jun mean C=17.3
|Jul mean C=19.0
|Aug mean C=18.5
|Sep mean C=13.5
|Oct mean C=8.4
|Nov mean C=3.3
|Dec mean C=-1.3
|year mean C=8.3
|Jan low C=-5.7
|Feb low C=-4.8
|Mar low C=-1.4
|Apr low C=3.8
|May low C=8.4
|Jun low C=12.0
|Jul low C=13.7
|Aug low C=13.2
|Sep low C=8.7
|Oct low C=4.4
|Nov low C=0.4
|Dec low C=-4.1
|year low C=4.1
|Jan record low C=-28.5
|Feb record low C=-29.5
|Mar record low C=-25.0
|Apr record low C=-12.1
|May record low C=-5.0
|Jun record low C=0.5
|Jul record low C=4.5
|Aug record low C=2.6
|Sep record low C=-3.0
|Oct record low C=-13.2
|Nov record low C=-17.6
|Dec record low C=-25.6
|year record low C=-29.5
|precipitation colour=green
|Jan precipitation mm=46
|Feb precipitation mm=48
|Mar precipitation mm=48
|Apr precipitation mm=52
|May precipitation mm=93
|Jun precipitation mm=86
|Jul precipitation mm=96
|Aug precipitation mm=73
|Sep precipitation mm=70
|Oct precipitation mm=57
|Nov precipitation mm=50
|Dec precipitation mm=50
|year precipitation mm=769
|Jan snow depth cm=7
|Feb snow depth cm=9
|Mar snow depth cm=4
|Apr snow depth cm=0
|May snow depth cm=0
|Jun snow depth cm=0
|Jul snow depth cm=0
|Aug snow depth cm=0
|Sep snow depth cm=0
|Oct snow depth cm=0
|Nov snow depth cm=1
|Dec snow depth cm=4
|year snow depth cm=9
|Jan rain days=9
|Feb rain days=9
|Mar rain days=11
|Apr rain days=14
|May rain days=16
|Jun rain days=17
|Jul rain days=16
|Aug rain days=14
|Sep rain days=14
|Oct rain days=14
|Nov rain days=13
|Dec rain days=11
|year rain days=158
|Jan snow days=17
|Feb snow days=17
|Mar snow days=11
|Apr snow days=3
|May snow days=0.1
|Jun snow days=0
|Jul snow days=0
|Aug snow days=0
|Sep snow days=0
|Oct snow days=1
|Nov snow days=8
|Dec snow days=15
|year snow days=72
|Jan humidity=83.3
|Feb humidity=80.7
|Mar humidity=74.5
|Apr humidity=67.1
|May humidity=70.4
|Jun humidity=72.6
|Jul humidity=74.1
|Aug humidity=74.3
|Sep humidity=78.2
|Oct humidity=80.3
|Nov humidity=84.4
|Dec humidity=85.0
|year humidity=77.1
|Jan sun=64
|Feb sun=79
|Mar sun=112
|Apr sun=188
|May sun=227
|Jun sun=238
|Jul sun=254
|Aug sun=222
|Sep sun=179
|Oct sun=148
|Nov sun=56
|Dec sun=37
|year sun=1804
|source 1=Pogoda.ru.net<ref name=pogoda>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214004830/http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/33393.htm |archive-date=14 December 2019 |url=http://www.pogodaiklimat.ru/climate/33393.htm |title=Pogoda.ru.net |access-date=8 November 2021 |publisher=Weather and Climate (Погода и климат) |language=ru |date=May 2011}}</ref> 
|source 2=[[NOAA]] (humidity 1991–2020, sun 1961–1990)<ref name=WMOCLINO>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250422013818/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/archive/arc0216/0253808/6.6/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Ukraine/CSV/Lviv_33393.csv |archive-date=22 April 2025 |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/archive/arc0216/0253808/6.6/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Ukraine/CSV/Lviv_33393.csv |format=CSV |title=Lviv Climate Normals 1991–2020 |work=World Meteorological Organization Climatological Standard Normals (1991–2020) |publisher=[[National Centers for Environmental Information]] |access-date=21 April 2025}}</ref><ref name=NOAA>{{cite web |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/TABLES/REG_VI/UP/33393.TXT |title=L'vov (Lviv) Climate Normals 1961–1990 |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |access-date=13 October 2015 |archive-date=29 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029040233/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/TABLES/REG_VI/UP/33393.TXT |url-status=live }}</ref>
|date=April 2012
}}

==Administrative divisions==
{{Main|Administrative divisions of Lviv}}

[[File:Town hall in Lviv2018.jpg|thumb|[[Lviv Town Hall|Lviv City Hall]]]]
Lviv is divided into six [[Urban districts of Ukraine|urban districts]] (raions), each with its own administrative bodies:

*[[Halytskyi District, Lviv|Halytskyi District]] ({{lang|uk|Галицький район}}), named after [[Daniel of Galicia]] (Danylo Halytskyi).
*[[Zaliznychnyi District, Lviv|Zaliznychnyi District]] ({{lang|uk|Залізничний район}}), literally "railway neighborhood"
*[[Lychakivskyi District]] ({{lang|uk|Личаківський район}})
*[[Sykhivskyi District]] ({{lang|uk|Сихівський район}})
*[[Frankivskyi District]] ({{lang|uk|Франківський район}}), named after [[Ivan Franko]].
*[[Shevchenkivskyi District, Lviv|Shevchenkivskyi District]] ({{lang|uk|Шевченківський район}}), named after [[Taras Shevchenko]].

Notable suburbs include [[Vynnyky]] ({{lang|uk|Винники}}), [[Briukhovychi]] ({{lang|uk|Брюховичі}}), and [[Rudno, Ukraine|Rudno]] ({{lang|uk|Рудно}}).

==Demographics==
{{historical populations|5=1939|6=340000|7=1959|8=410678|9=1970|10=553452|11=1979|12=667243|13=1989|14=790908|15=2001|16=732818|17=2011|18=732009|19=2022|20=717273|align=right|cols=1|source=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pop-stat.mashke.org/ukraine-cities.htm|title=Cities & towns of Ukraine|website=pop-stat.mashke.org}}</ref>}}Lviv residents live 75 years on average, and this age is 7 years longer than the average age in Ukraine and 8 years more than the world average (68 years). In 2010 the [[average life expectancy]] was 71 among men and 79.5 years among women.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.city-institute.org/Socio/Demographic_forecast_small_eng.jpg|title=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205154531/http://www.city-institute.org/Socio/Demographic_forecast_small_eng.jpg |access-date=7 August 2023|archive-date=5 December 2014 }}</ref> The [[fertility]] rates have been steadily increasing between 2001 and 2010; however, the effects of low fertility in the previous years remained noticeable even though the [[birth rates]] grew. However, there is an acute shortage of young people under the age of 25. In 2011, 13.7% of Lviv's population consisted of young people under 15 years and 17.6% of persons aged 60 years and over.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ebed.org.ua/sites/expertise.one2action.com/files/repo/ebed_lviv_city_profile_eng.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140701033150/http://www.ebed.org.ua/sites/expertise.one2action.com/files/repo/ebed_lviv_city_profile_eng.pdf |url-status=dead |title=Lviv City Profile 2010–2011 |archive-date=1 July 2014}}</ref>

===Historical populations===
{|class="wikitable floatright"
! colspan="7" style="background:#E0E0E0;"|Population structure by religion 1869–1931
|-
! Community
! 1869<ref name="Britannica1890" />
! 1890<ref name="Brockhaus1894" />
! 1900<ref name="Meyers1908" />
! 1910<ref name="Hann">C. M. Hann, Paul Robert Magocsi ed. ''Galicia: a Multicultured land''. [[University of Toronto Press]]. 2005. p. 155.</ref>
! 1921<ref name="Hann" />
! 1931<ref name="Chorny" />
|-
|Roman Catholic||53.1%||52.6%||51.7%||51%||51%||50.4%
|-
|Jewish||30.6%||28.2%||27.7%||28%||35%||31.9%
|-
|Greek Catholic||14.2%||17.1%||18.3%||19%||12%||15.9%
|}

{|class="wikitable floatright"
! colspan="10" style="background:#E0E0E0;" |Population makeup by ethnicity 1900–2001
|-
! Ethnicity
! 1900<ref>[http://etno.uaweb.org/nsklad/1900-halychyna.html Населення Східної Галичини] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101031192201/http://etno.uaweb.org/nsklad/1900-halychyna.html|date=31 October 2010 }} за переписом 1900 року</ref>
!1921{{Sfn|Romantsov|2012|p=115}}
! 1931<ref name=Chorny>[http://etno.uaweb.org/nsklad/1931-lvivske.html Національний склад Львівського воєводства] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101031192233/http://etno.uaweb.org/nsklad/1931-lvivske.html|date=31 October 2010 }} за переписом 1931 року</ref>
! 1944<ref name="Risch">William Jay Risch. ''Ukrainian West: Culture and the Fate of Empire in Soviet Lviv.'' [[Harvard University Press]]. 2011. pp. 41–42.</ref>
! 1950
! 1959<ref name=Szporluk>Roman Szporluk. ''Russia, Ukraine, and the Breakup of the Soviet Union''. Hoover Institution Press, 2000, p. 304. {{ISBN|0-8179-9542-0}}</ref>
! 1979<ref name=Szporluk />
! 1989<ref name=Szporluk />
! 2001<ref name="2001census" />
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Ukrainians]]||19.9%
|9.1%||11.2%||26.4%||49.9%||60.0%||74.0%||79.1%||88.1%
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Russians]]||0.0%
|0.2%||0.2%||5.5%||31.2%||27.0%||19.3%||16.1%||8.9%
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Jews]]||26.5%
|27.6%||24.1%|| ||6.4%||6.0%||2.7%||1.6%||0.3%
|- style="text-align:right;"
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Polish people|Poles]]||49.4%
|62.2%||63.5%||63%||10.3%||4.0%||1.8%||1.2%||0.9%
|}
{|class="wikitable floatright" style="text-align:right; margin:0 0 0 1em;"
! colspan="4"|Ethnicity in Lviv according to censuses of 1989 and 2001 respectively
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Ukrainians]]
|622,800||79.1%||88.1%
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Russians]]
|126,418||16.1%||8.9%
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Jews]]
|12,837||1.6%||0.3%
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Polish people|Poles]]
|9,697||1.2%||0.9%
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Belarusians]]
|5,800||0.7%||0.4%
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|[[Armenians]]
|1,000||0.1%||0.1%
|-
|style="text-align:left;"|Total
|778,557||||
|-
|colspan="4" style="text-align:left;"|<small>Numbers do not include regions nor the surrounding towns.</small><ref name="per">Official census of 2001.</ref>{{full citation needed|date=February 2017}}
|}

*Year 1405: approx. 4,500 inhabitants in the Old Town, and additionally approx. 600 in the two suburbs.<ref name="Petersen">Heidemarie Petersen: ''Judengemeinde und Stadtgemeinde in Polen: Lemberg 1356–1581''. Harrasso Verlag, Wiesbaden 2003, p. 50 (in German, [https://books.google.com/books?id=HoEtGJ9GKGYC&pg=PA50 limited online preview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102033537/https://books.google.com/books?id=HoEtGJ9GKGYC&pg=PA50 |date=2 January 2016 }})</ref>
*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.<ref name="Petersen" />
*Year 1840: approx. 67,000 inhabitants, including 20,000 Jews.<ref>''Universal-Lexikon der Gegenwart und Vergangenheit'' (edited by H. A. Pierer). 2nd edition, vol. 7, Altenburg 1843, p. 344.</ref>
*Year 1850: nearly 80,000 inhabitants (together with the four suburbs), including more than 25,000 Jews.<ref>''Konversations-Lexikon'' (edited by Brockhaus). 10th edition, vol. 9, Leipzig 1853, p. 512.</ref>
*Year 1869: 87,109 inhabitants, among them 46,252 Roman Catholics, 26,694 Jews, 12,406 members of the Greek Uniate Churches.<ref name="Britannica1890">''The Encyclopædia Britannica: a dictionary of arts, sciences and general literature''. Vol. 14. The Henry G. Allen Company. 1890. p. 435.</ref>
*Year 1890: 127,943 inhabitants (64,102 male, 63,481 female), among them 67,280 [[Roman-Catholic Church|Catholics]], 36,130 [[Judaic]], 21,876 members of the [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church|Greek Uniate Churches]], 2,061 Protestants, 596 Orthodox and others.<ref name="Brockhaus1894">''Brockhaus' Konversations-Lexikon''. 14th edition, vol. 11, Leipzig 1894, p. 76</ref>
*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 [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church|Greek Uniate Churches]], and 44,258 were Jews. As their language of communication, 120,634 used [[Polish language|Polish]], 20,409 [[German language|German]] or [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], and 15,159 [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]].<ref name="Meyers1908">''Meyers Konversations-Lexikon''. 6th edition, vol. 12, Leipzig and Vienna 1908, pp. 397–398.</ref>
*Year 1921: 219,388 inhabitants, including 136,519 [[Polish people|Poles]], 60,431 Jews and 19,866 [[Ukrainians]].{{Sfn|Romantsov|2012|p=114}}
*Year 1931: 312,231 inhabitants, including 198,212 Poles, 75,316 Jews and 35,137 Ukrainians.{{Sfn|Romantsov|2012|p=115}}
*Year 1939: 340.000 inhabitants.<ref>''Meyers Enzyklopädisches Lexikon''. 9th edition, vol. 14, Mannheim/Vienna/Zürich 1975, p. 802.</ref>
*Year 1940: 500,000.<ref name="Risch" />
*July 1944: 149,000.<ref name="Risch" />
*Year 1955: 380,000.<ref name="Risch" />
*Year 2001: 725,000 inhabitants, of whom 88% were Ukrainians, 9% [[Russians]] and 1% Poles.<ref name="2001census">{{Cite web |url=http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/general/nationality/Lviv/ |title=Всеукраїнський перепис населення 2001 |website=2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua |access-date=2 May 2011 |archive-date=23 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723105733/http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/general/nationality/Lviv/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 [[Soviet Union|USSR]] (Russia 4%), 4% born in Poland, and 3% born in [[West Ukrainian People's Republic|Western Ukraine]], but not in the [[Lviv Oblast]].<ref name="per" />{{full citation needed|date=February 2017}}
*Religious adherence: (2001)<ref name="per" />{{full citation needed|date=February 2017}}
**52% [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church]]
**31% [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate|Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate]]
**{{0|0}}5% [[Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church]]
**{{0|0}}3% [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)]]
**{{0|0}}3% Other faiths

===Language===
{|class="floatright wikitable"
! colspan="5" style="background:#E0E0E0;" |Language use throughout 20th century
|-
! Language !! 1931 !! 1970 !! 1979 !! 1989
|-
|Ukrainian||&nbsp;11.3%||&nbsp;65.2%||&nbsp;71.3%||&nbsp;77.2%
|-
|Russian||&nbsp;0.1%||&nbsp;31.1%||&nbsp;25.7%||&nbsp;19.9%
|-
|Yiddish||&nbsp;24.1%||&nbsp;||&nbsp;||&nbsp;
|-
|Polish||&nbsp;63.5%||&nbsp;||&nbsp;||&nbsp;
|-
|Other||&nbsp;1.0%||&nbsp;3.7%||&nbsp;3.0%||&nbsp;2.9%
|}
The majority of Lvivians speak [[Ukrainian language|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.<ref name="The population of Lviv in the mirror polls">{{Cite web |url=http://www.ji.lviv.ua/n23texts/sadovyj.htm |title=Андрій Садовий |website=www.ji.lviv.ua |access-date=10 April 2013 |archive-date=16 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090816124100/http://www.ji.lviv.ua/n23texts/sadovyj.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Results of the [[2001 Ukrainian census|2001 census]]:<ref>{{cite web | language=uk | url=https://socialdata.org.ua/projects/mova-2001/ | title=Рідні мови в об'єднаних територіальних громадах України}}</ref>
{| class="standard"
|-
! Language
! Number
! Percentage
|-
| [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]
| align="right"| 641 688 ||align="right"| 88.48%
|-
| [[Russian language in Ukraine|Russian]]
| align="right"| 72 125 || align="right"| 9.95%
|-
| Other or undecided
| align="right"| 11 389 || align="right"| 1.57%
|-
| Total
| align="right"| 725 202 || align="right"| 100.00%
|}

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ratinggroup.ua/files/ratinggroup/reg_files/municipal_survey_may_2023_ua_-_final.pdf|title=Municipal Survey 2023|website=ratinggroup.ua|access-date=7 August 2023|archive-date=19 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719164824/https://ratinggroup.ua/files/ratinggroup/reg_files/municipal_survey_may_2023_ua_-_final.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Ethnic Polish population===
{|class="wikitable floatright"
|+ Historical Polish population
|-
! Year
! Poles
! %
|-
|1921<ref name="brockhaus">''Der Große Brockhaus''. 15th edition, vol. 11, Leipzig 1932, pp. 296–297.</ref>
|112,000
|51
|-
|1989
|9,500<ref>1.2% of 790,908</ref>
|1.2<ref name="2001census"/>
|-
|2001<ref name="2001census"/>
|6,400
|0.9
|}

Ethnic Poles and the [[Polish Jews]] began to settle in Lwów in considerable numbers already in 1349 after the city was conquered by [[Casimir III the Great|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.<ref>{{cite news |title=In Poland, a Jewish Revival Thrives |quote=Probably about 70 percent of the world's European Jews, or [[Ashkenazi]], can trace their ancestry to Poland – thanks to a 14th-century king, Casimir III the Great, who drew Jewish settlers from across Europe with his vow to protect them as "people of the king". |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=12 July 2007}}</ref> 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.<ref name="grodek">{{cite web |url=http://www.grodekjagiellonski.republika.pl/wojewodztwo.html |title=Województwo lwowskie. 1920–1939 |publisher=Grodek Jagiellonski |work=KALENDARIUM |date=2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308215808/http://www.grodekjagiellonski.republika.pl/wojewodztwo.html |archive-date=8 March 2012}}</ref>

As a result of World War II, Lviv was de-Polonised, mainly through [[Polish population transfers (1944–1946)|Soviet-arranged population exchange in 1944–1946]] but also by early deportations to Siberia.<ref name="loz">{{cite web |url=http://postup.brama.com/010928/148_8_1.html |author=R. Lozinsky |title=poles in Lviv |access-date=11 February 2016 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175015/http://postup.brama.com/010928/148_8_1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Those who remained on their own volition after [[Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union|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.<ref name=loz /> During the Soviet decades only two Polish schools continued to function: [[St. Mary Magdalene High School No. 10 in Lviv|No. 10]] (with 8 grades) and No. 24 (with 10 grades).<ref name=loz/>

In the 1980s the process of uniting groups into ethnic associations was allowed. In 1988 a Polish-language newspaper was permitted (''[[Gazeta Lwowska]]'').<ref name="ir">[https://archive.today/20060118000349/http://www.polska.com.ua/ua/ambasada/news/3526/ Polish Embassy ''The Poles in Lviv continue to be proud of their identity''], accessed 21:05, 29 October 2009</ref> The Polish population of the city continues to use the dialect of the Polish language known as ''[[Lwów dialect]]'' ({{langx|pl|gwara lwowska}}).<ref name=ir/>

An association of Poles named [[Association of Poles "White Eagle"|White Eagle]] was founded in Lviv in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |title=Orzeł Biały Lwów |url=http://orzelbialy.org.ua/ |website=orzelbialy.org.ua |language=uk-UA}}</ref>

===Jewish population===
The first known Jews in Lviv date back to the tenth century.<ref name="erasedvanishingtraces">{{cite book |last1=Bartov |first1=Omer |title=Erased: Vanishing Traces of Jewish Galicia in Present-Day Ukraine |date=2007 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, New Jersey |isbn=9780691131214 |oclc=123912559 |pages=13–41}}</ref> The oldest remaining Jewish tombstone dates back to 1348.<ref name="erasedvanishingtraces"/> Apart from the Rabbanite Jews there were many [[Crimean Karaites|Karaites]] who had settled in the city after coming from the East and from [[Byzantine Empire|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 quarter (diaspora)|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 [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|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".<ref name="erasedvanishingtraces"/>

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, [[Jewish assimilation|assimilation]], and is estimated to number a few thousand.<ref>{{cite web |title=L'viv entry |url=https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/lviv#id0e2jbk |access-date=18 November 2022 |archive-date=18 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118135400/https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/lviv#id0e2jbk |url-status=live }}</ref> A number of organisations continue to be active.
[[File:Стінопис-привид вул Тиктора Львів.jpg|thumb|Dairy store ''"[[:pl:mleczarnia|mleczarnia]]"'' adverts. One can still find pre-war Polish, Yiddish, and German [[ghost signs]] around the city.]]
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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Memorial for the Lwów Ghetto Victims |url=http://www.lvivcenter.org/en/lia/description?ci_objectid=224 |publisher=Center for Urban History of East Central Europe |access-date=11 February 2016 |archive-date=1 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501193308/http://www.lvivcenter.org/en/lia/description?ci_objectid=224 |url-status=live }}</ref> During 2011–2012, some [[Antisemitism|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.<ref>{{cite web |title=Near Lviv desecrated monument to Holocaust victims |url=http://jn.com.ua/Antisemitism/lvov_1703.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110421022626/http://jn.com.ua/Antisemitism/lvov_1703.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2011 |publisher=JewishNews.com.ua |access-date=20 October 2012}}</ref> On 21 March 2012, the memorial was vandalized by unknown individuals, in what seemed to be an [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] act.<ref>{{cite web |title=Львовский мемориал жертвам Холокоста во Львове осквернили. ФОТО |url=http://polemika.com.ua/news-85154.html |publisher=ДемотиваторыДемотиваторы Редакция не несет ответственности за содержание и |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324111203/http://polemika.com.ua/news-85154.html |archive-date=24 March 2012}}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:E14101.jpg|thumb|E19101 electric bus – product of the [[Electron (company)|Electron]]]]
Lviv is the most important business centre of [[Western Ukraine]]. As of 1 January 2011, the city has invested 837.1 million [[United States dollar|US dollars]] into the economy, accounting for almost two-thirds of total investment in the Lviv region. In 2015, the companies of Lviv received $14.3 million of foreign direct investment; which is however half as much as a year earlier ($30.9 million in 2014).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://vgolos.com.ua/news/pryami_inozemni_investytsii_u_lviv_skorotylys_u_22_razu_207661.html |title=Прямі іноземні інвестиції у Львів скоротились у 2,2 разу (ГРАФІК) |website=vgolos.com.ua |access-date=11 September 2017 |archive-date=14 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314161130/http://vgolos.com.ua/news/pryami_inozemni_investytsii_u_lviv_skorotylys_u_22_razu_207661.html |url-status=live }}</ref> During January–September 2017 the general amount of direct foreign investment received by the local government in Lviv was $52.4 million. According to the statistics administration, foreign capital was invested by 31 countries (some of the main investors: Poland – 47.7%; Australia – 11.3%; [[Cyprus]] – 10.7% and the Netherlands – 6%).<ref>{{cite news |script-title=uk:Обсяг прямих іноземних інвестицій на Львівщині сягнув понад 50 млн дол. |language=uk |url=http://leopolis.news/obsyag-pryamyh-inozemnyh-investytsij-na-lvivshhyni-syagnuv-ponad-50-mln-dol/ |year=2017 |publisher=Leopolis News |access-date=6 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122184706/http://leopolis.news/obsyag-pryamyh-inozemnyh-investytsij-na-lvivshhyni-syagnuv-ponad-50-mln-dol/ |archive-date=22 January 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The total revenue of the city budget of Lviv for 2015 was set at about UAH 3.81 billion, which was 23% more than a year earlier (UAH 2.91 billion in 2014).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www8.city-adm.lviv.ua/inteam/uhvaly.nsf/(SearchForWeb)/909A31A6B178D576C2257DDB0031913A?OpenDocument |title=Ухвала №4261 від 01/19/2015 |website=www8.city-adm.lviv.ua |access-date=11 September 2017 |archive-date=14 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314173229/http://www8.city-adm.lviv.ua/inteam/uhvaly.nsf/(SearchForWeb)/909A31A6B178D576C2257DDB0031913A?OpenDocument |url-status=live }}</ref> As of 10 November 2017, the deputies of the [[Lviv City Council]] approved a budget in amount of UAH 5.4 billion ($204 million), most of which (UAH 5.12 billion) was the revenue of the fund of Lviv.<ref>{{citation |last1=Особа |first1=Софія |script-title=uk:Львів отримав бюджет на 2017 рік |language=uk |url=https://lvivrada.gov.ua/novyny/item/6170-lyviv-otrymav-byudzhet-na-2017-rik |year=2017 |publisher=LvivRada |access-date=23 January 2018 |archive-date=23 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072110/https://lvivrada.gov.ua/novyny/item/6170-lyviv-otrymav-byudzhet-na-2017-rik |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |script-title=uk:Депутати Львова затвердили бюджет на 2017 рік |language=uk |url=https://zik.ua/news/2016/11/10/byudzhet_lvova_na_2017_rik_zatverdyly_iz_profitsytom_v_1235_milyarda_988957 |year=2017 |publisher=Zik.UA |access-date=10 November 2016 |archive-date=23 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072214/https://zik.ua/news/2016/11/10/byudzhet_lvova_na_2017_rik_zatverdyly_iz_profitsytom_v_1235_milyarda_988957 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The average wage in Lviv in 2015 in the business sector amounted to 14,041 UAH, in the budget sphere – 9,475 [[Ukrainian hryvnia|UAH]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://galinfo.com.ua/news/u_lvovi_serednya_zarplata_v_galuzi_it__28_tys_grn_217703.html |title=У Львові середня зарплата в галузі ІТ – 28 тис. грн |work=Гал-інфо |access-date=11 September 2017 |archive-date=14 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314193826/http://galinfo.com.ua/news/u_lvovi_serednya_zarplata_v_galuzi_it__28_tys_grn_217703.html |url-status=live }}</ref> On 1 February 2014, registered unemployment was 0.6%.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://vgolos.com.ua/news/bezrobitnyh_u_lvovi_menshe_1__ofitsiyna_statystyka_134830.html |title=Безробітних у Львові менше 1% – офіційна статистика |website=vgolos.com.ua |access-date=11 September 2017 |archive-date=14 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314161918/http://vgolos.com.ua/news/bezrobitnyh_u_lvovi_menshe_1__ofitsiyna_statystyka_134830.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Lviv is one of the largest cities in Ukraine and is growing rapidly. According to the Ministry of [[Economy of Ukraine]] the [[List of Ukrainian oblasts and territories by salary|monthly average salary]] in Lviv is a little less than the average for Ukraine which in February 2013 was 6050 [[Ukrainian hryvnia|UAH]] ($755). According to [[World Bank Group|the World Bank]] classification Lviv is a [[middle class|middle-income]] city. In June 2019, the average wage amounted to 23,000 UAH ($920), which was 18.9% more than in the previous year.<ref>{{cite news |script-title=uk:Яка у Львові середня зарплата |language=uk |url=https://dyvys.info/2019/09/10/yaka-u-lvovi-serednya-zarplata/ |year=2019 |publisher=Dyvys.info |access-date=10 September 2019 |archive-date=15 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115203628/https://dyvys.info/2019/09/10/yaka-u-lvovi-serednya-zarplata/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=State Statistics Service of Ukraine |language=en |url=http://www.ukrstat.gov.ua/ |year=2019 |publisher=Statistics Service of Ukraine |access-date=23 January 2018 |archive-date=23 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123112523/http://www.ukrstat.gov.ua/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Lviv has 218 large industrial [[Business|enterprises]], more than 40 commercial [[Banks in Lviv|banks]], 4 exchanges, 13 investment companies, 80 insurance and 24 leasing companies, 77 audit firms and almost 9,000 small ventures.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://map.lviv.ua/lviv04.html |title=Львів діловий, виставковий, бізнесовий ''Карта Львова'' |website=map.lviv.ua |access-date=9 April 2013 |archive-date=14 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100714035316/http://map.lviv.ua/lviv04.html |url-status=live }}</ref> For a number of years machinery-building and [[electronics]] were leading industries in Lviv. The city-based public company [[Electron (company)|Electron]], trademark of national [[television set]]s manufacturing, produces the 32 and 37-inches liquid-crystal TV-sets. The Electrontrans specializes in design and production of modern [[Electric vehicle|electric transport]] including [[tram]]s, [[trolleybus]]es, [[electric bus]]es, and spare parts. In 2013 Elektrotrans JV started producing low-floor trams, the first Ukrainian 100% low-floor tramways.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://zik.ua/ua/news/2013/05/24/410451 |title=Низькопідлоговий трамвай ось-ось завершать. У червні він уже може поїхати Львовом |access-date=6 June 2013 |archive-date=16 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016080929/http://zik.ua/ua/news/2013/05/24/410451 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Lviv Bus Factory|LAZ]] is a bus manufacturing company in Lviv with its own rich history. Founded in 1945, LAZ started bus production in the early 1950s. Innovative design ideas of Lviv engineers have become the world standard in bus manufacturing.{{Citation needed|date=July 2017}}

The total volume of industrial production sold in 2015 amounted to UAH 24.2 billion, which was 39% more than a year earlier (UAH 14.6 billion in 2014).<ref>{{citation |script-title=uk:Обсяг реалізованої промислової продукції за основними видами діяльності у місті Львові за 2015 рік |language=uk |url=http://www.lv.ukrstat.gov.ua/ukr/si/express/2016/v0309_20.pdf |year=2016 |publisher=ukrstat.gov.ua |access-date=23 January 2018 |archive-date=14 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314172608/http://www.lv.ukrstat.gov.ua/ukr/si/express/2016/v0309_20.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{citation |script-title=uk:ОВІДОМЛЕННЯ ПРО СОЦІАЛЬНО-ЕКОНОМІЧНЕ СТАНОВИЩЕ МІСТА ЛЬВОВА У СІЧНІ 2015 РОКУ |language=uk |url=http://www.lv.ukrstat.gov.ua/ukr/themes/99/2015/pp_LV_0115.pdf |year=2015 |publisher=ukrstat.gov.ua |access-date=23 January 2018 |archive-date=14 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314172735/http://www.lv.ukrstat.gov.ua/ukr/themes/99/2015/pp_LV_0115.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>

There are several banks based in Lviv, such as Kredobank, Idea Bank, VS Bank, Oksi Bank and Lviv Bank. None of these banks have bankrupted during the political and economic crisis of 2014–2016, which can be explained by the presence of foreign capital in most of them.

From 2015 to 2019, the city experienced a construction boom. In Q1 2019, according to statistical data, growth in the volume of new housing construction was recorded in Lviv (3.2 times, to 377,900 square meters).<ref>{{citation |title=Lviv becomes Ukraine's real estate boomtown |publisher=bunews.com |language=en |url=http://bunews.com.ua/economy/item/lviv-becomes-ukraines-real-estate-boomtown |access-date=15 November 2019 |archive-date=15 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115223132/http://bunews.com.ua/economy/item/lviv-becomes-ukraines-real-estate-boomtown |url-status=live }}</ref>

Lviv is a major business center between Warsaw and Kyiv. According to the Lviv Economic Development Strategy, the main branches of the city's economy by 2025 were to be [[tourism]] and [[information technologies]] (IT), with business services and [[logistics]] also considered priorities.<ref>{{citation |script-title=uk:Стратегія економічного розвитку |language=uk |url=http://www.city-adm.lviv.ua/adm/projects/department-of-economic-policy/649-strategija-jekonomichnogo-rozvitku |year=2015 |publisher=city-adm.lviv.ua |access-date=23 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091024061219/http://www.city-adm.lviv.ua/adm/projects/department-of-economic-policy/649-strategija-jekonomichnogo-rozvitku |archive-date=24 October 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In addition, the Nestlé service center is in Lviv. This center guides the company's divisions in 20 countries of Central and Eastern Europe.<ref>{{cite news |title=У Львові відкрили перший у Європі об'єднаний бізнес-сервіс-центр Nestlé |language=uk |url=http://zaxid.net/news/showNews.do?u_lvovi_vidkrili_pershiy_u_yevropi_obyednaniy_biznesservistsentr_neztl&objectId=1230327 |year=2011 |publisher=Zahid.Net |access-date=4 July 2011 |archive-date=28 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128221548/http://zaxid.net/news/showNews.do?u_lvovi_vidkrili_pershiy_u_yevropi_obyednaniy_biznesservistsentr_neztl&objectId=1230327 |url-status=live }}</ref> Also during 2016 the Global Service Center VimpelCom in Lviv was launched, which serves finance, procurement and HR operations in eight foreign branches of this company.<ref>{{cite news |title=У Львові відкрили перший у Європі об'єднаний бізнес-сервіс-центр Nestlé |language=uk |url=http://city-adm.lviv.ua/news/city/lviv-changes/236291-vimpelcom-vidkryla-u-lvovi-hlobalnyi-servisnyi-tsentr-na-900-robochykh-mists |year=2016 |publisher=Zahid.Net |access-date=16 December 2016 |archive-date=18 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218180607/http://city-adm.lviv.ua/news/city/lviv-changes/236291-vimpelcom-vidkryla-u-lvovi-hlobalnyi-servisnyi-tsentr-na-900-robochykh-mists |url-status=live }}</ref>

There are multiple restaurants and shops as well as street vendors of food, books, clothes, traditional cultural items and tourist gifts. Banking and money trading are an important part of the economy of Lviv with banks and exchange offices throughout the city. The city is also a home for big food-related companies like [[Lvivske]] [[beer]] factory, [[Svitoch]] [[chocolate]] factory, [[Enzym Group|Enzym]], [[Lviv Liquor and Vodka factory]], etc.

===Information technology===
Lviv is also one of the leaders of [[software]] export in [[Eastern Europe]], with expected sector growth of 20% by 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.newfireglobal.com/learn/why-outsource-software-development-to-eastern-europe/ |title=Why Outsource Software Development to Eastern Europe? |website=newfireglobal.com |date=12 July 2017 |language=en |access-date=2021-05-27 |archive-date=27 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210527123222/https://www.newfireglobal.com/learn/why-outsource-software-development-to-eastern-europe/ |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.n-ix.com/why-lviv-is-most-attractive-it-outsourcing-destination-ukraine/ |title=Why Lviv is the Most Attractive IT Outsourcing Destination in Ukraine – N-iX |website=n-ix.com |language=en |access-date=2019-10-02 |archive-date=26 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526081011/https://www.n-ix.com/why-lviv-is-most-attractive-it-outsourcing-destination-ukraine/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Over 24,000 IT specialists work in Lviv as of 2019.<ref name="ain.ua">{{Cite web |url=https://ain.ua/en/2019/01/02/lviv-it-cluster-research/ |title=Economic impact of IT Industry in Lviv reached $1 billion – IT Cluster research |date=2019-01-02 |website=AIN.UA |language=en-US |access-date=2019-10-02 |archive-date=17 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017223715/https://ain.ua/en/2019/01/02/lviv-it-cluster-research/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Lviv is among top five most popular Ukrainian cities for opening [[Research and development|R&D]] center in IT and [[Outsourcing|IT outsourcing]] spheres together with [[Kyiv]], [[Dnipro]], [[Kharkiv]] and [[Odesa]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://perfectial.com/blog/it-outsourcing-2019/ |title=IT Outsourcing 2019 in Ukraine |last=Storozhkova |first=Elena |date=2019-11-25 |website=Perfectial |language=en |access-date=2020-04-13 |archive-date=15 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315054857/https://perfectial.com/blog/it-outsourcing-2019/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news |script-title=uk:Події 2009 року, що змінили Львів |language=uk |url=http://www.city-adm.lviv.ua/news/lviv-zminujetsa/7375-text1 |year=2009 |publisher=city-adm.lviv.ua |access-date=23 January 2018 |archive-date=3 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100103085130/http://www.city-adm.lviv.ua/news/lviv-zminujetsa/7375-text1 |url-status=live |work=Львівська міська рада }}</ref> 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.<ref name="ain.ua"/>

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.<ref>{{citation |title=IT Research 2.0 |language=en |url=https://itcluster.lviv.ua/en/projects/it-research/ |year=2017 |publisher=IT Cluster |access-date=23 January 2018 |archive-date=23 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180123190940/https://itcluster.lviv.ua/en/projects/it-research/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{citation |author1=Altinajusufi |title=Regional Structure of Ukraine's IT Outsourcing Industry |work=Symphony Solutions |url=https://www.symphony-solutions.eu/regional-structure-of-ukraines-it-outsourcing-industry/ |year=2017 |access-date=26 August 2021 |archive-date=26 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826113821/https://www.symphony-solutions.eu/regional-structure-of-ukraines-it-outsourcing-industry/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Lviv IT outsourcing companies gathered{{when|date=July 2021}} 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://elitex.systems/blog/lviv-destination-it-software-outsourcing/ |title=Why Lviv is the best destination for IT outsourcing – Elitex Systems |website=elitex.systems |date=11 January 2021 |language=en |access-date=2021-01-18 |archive-date=6 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306045659/https://elitex.systems/blog/lviv-destination-it-software-outsourcing/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Culture==
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
|WHS = L'viv – the [[Old Town (Lviv)|Ensemble of the Historic Centre]]
|Image=[[File:Панорама центру Львова.jpg|250px]]
|Caption=Town view from ''[[Lviv High Castle|High Castle]]''
|Criteria=Cultural: ii, v
|ID = 865
|Year=1998
|Area=120 ha
|Buffer_zone=2,441 ha
}}

Lviv is one of Ukraine's most important cultural centres. It is known as a centre of art, literature, music and theatre. Nowadays, the evidence of the city's cultural richness is the number of theatres, concert halls, and creative unions, and the high number of artistic activities (more than 100 festivals annually, 60 museums, and 10 theatres).

[[Old Town (Lviv)|Lviv's historic centre]] has been on the [[UNESCO|United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)]] [[World Heritage Site|World Heritage list]] since 1998. UNESCO gave the following reasons<ref name=":0">[https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/865 L'viv&nbsp;– the Ensemble of the Historic Centre] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224203848/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/865/ |date=24 February 2022 }}, UNESCO&nbsp;– World Heritage. URL Accessed: 30 October 2006</ref> for its selection:

{{blockquote|Criterion II: In its urban fabric and its architecture, Lviv is an outstanding example of the fusion of the architectural and artistic traditions of central and eastern Europe with those of Italy and Germany.}}

{{blockquote|Criterion V: The political and commercial role of Lviv attracted to it a number of ethnic groups with different cultural and religious traditions, who established separate yet interdependent communities within the city, evidence for which is still discernible in the modern town's landscape.}}The World Heritage Site consists of Seredmistia (Middletown), Pidzamche, [[Lviv High Castle|High Castle]], and the ensemble of [[St. George's Cathedral, Lviv|St. George's Cathedral]].<ref name=":0"/>

===Architecture===
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 [[List of cities in Ukraine|Ukrainian cities]]. Its architecture reflects various European styles and periods. After the fires of 1527 and 1556 Lviv lost most of its [[gothic architecture|gothic]]-style buildings but it retains many buildings in [[renaissance architecture|renaissance]], [[baroque architecture|baroque]] and the [[classical architecture|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 [[Lychakiv Cemetery|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 [[History of the Soviet Union|Soviet era]] is reflected mainly in a few modern-style national monuments and sculptures.

<gallery mode="packed">
File:2017-05-25 Armenian church, Lviv.jpg|[[Armenian Cathedral of Lviv]]
File:StsPeterAndPaulChurchinLviv.jpg|[[Baroque]] [[Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church (Lviv)|Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church]]
File:LvivEveningSummer2019.jpg|[[Bernardine Church, Lviv|Bernardine church and monastery]] in the style of Italian [[mannerism]]
File:ProspektSvobodyLviv.jpg|Early 20th century architecture in Lviv
File:LvivShevchenkoAve.JPG|Architecture of [[Shevchenko Avenue]]
File:Управління Львівської залізниці.jpg|[[Lviv Railways]] headquarters
File:ВП РОКС Львов.jpg|Railwaymen's Palace of Culture, an example of [[functionalism (architecture)|functionalist]] architecture
File:Lviv (Lvov) - Danylo Halytsky (Snilow) (LWO - UKLL) AN1373650.jpg|Old terminal of [[Lviv Airport]] built in [[Stalinist architecture|Stalinist]] style
File:SykhivChurch.jpg|[[The Nativity of the Holy Virgin Church]] was constructed in 1995–2001 in [[Sykhivskyi District|Sykhiv district]]
File:Lviv northern part of the city.jpg|The mixture of modern and Soviet-era architecture in the northern part of the city
File:Ukrainian Catholic University (5).jpg|Andrey Sheptytsky Centre of the [[Ukrainian Catholic University]]
</gallery>

Many buildings in the old part of the city are examples of [[Architecture of Poland|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, Lviv|Potocki Palace]].<ref>Ihor Zhuk, 'The Architecture of Lviv from the Thirteenth to the Twentieth Centuries', s. 113</ref>

===Monuments===
[[File:Lviv - Church of Transfiguration 01.jpg|thumb|upright|Inside the [[Church of Transfiguration, Lviv|Church of the Transfiguration]]]]
[[File:Успенская церковь в Львов.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Dormition Church, Lviv|Church of the Assumption]]]]
[[File:Chapel-of-Boim-family.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Chapel of the Boim family]]]]

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]], [[Daniel of Galicia|King Danylo]], [[Taras Shevchenko]], [[Ivan Fyodorov (printer)|Ivan Fedorov]], [[Solomiya Krushelnytska]], [[Ioan Potcoavă|Ivan Pidkova]], [[Mykhailo Hrushevskyi]], [[Pope John Paul II]], [[Jan Kiliński]], [[Ivan Trush]], [[Saint George]], [[Wojciech Bartosz Głowacki|Bartosz Głowacki]], the monument to the [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|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 [[Aleksander Fredro Monument in Wrocław|Monument to Aleksander Fredro]], which now is in [[Wrocław]], the [[John III Sobieski Monument in Gdańsk|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 Fyodorov (printer)|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 [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] church. In 1997 the Polish government asked the [[Government of Ukraine|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 literature|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.

===Religion===
Lviv is a city of religious variety. [[Religion]] (2012): Catholic: 57% ([[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church]] 56% and [[Roman Catholic Church]] 1%), [[Orthodoxy#Christianity|Orthodox]]: 32%, [[Protestantism]]: 2%, [[Judaism]]: 0.1%, Other religion: 3%, Indifferent to religious matters: 4%, [[Atheism]]: 1.9%.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://city-institute.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=231:who-is-he-the-citizen-of-lviv&catid=1:latest|title=Who is he, the citizen of Lviv?|date=29 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429045226/http://city-institute.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=231:who-is-he-the-citizen-of-lviv&catid=1:latest |access-date=7 August 2023|archive-date=29 April 2014 }}</ref>

====Christianity====
At one point, over 60 churches existed in the city. Christian groups have existed in the city since the 13th century. The city has been the [[episcopal see]] of three different [[particular church]]es of [[Catholic Church]]: The [[Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Lviv]] of the [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church]], the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lviv|Archdiocese of Lviv]] of the [[Latin Church]], and formerly the [[Armenian Catholic Church in Ukraine|Armenian Catholic Archeparchy of Lviv]] of the [[Armenian Catholic Church]]. Each has had a diocesan seat in Lviv since the 16th century. At the end of the 16th century, the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] community in Ukraine [[Union of Brest|transferred their allegiance]] to the [[Pope]] in Rome and became the [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church]]. This bond was forcibly dissolved in 1946 by the Soviet authorities and the Roman Catholic community was forced out by the expulsion of the Polish population. Since 1989, religious life in Lviv has experienced a revival. About 35 percent of religious buildings belong to the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, 11.5 percent to the [[Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church]], 9 per cent to the [[Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan Patriarchate|Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate]] and 6 per cent to the [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]].

In June 2001, [[Pope John Paul II]] visited the [[Latin Cathedral, Lviv|Latin Cathedral]], [[St. George's Cathedral, Lviv|St. George's Cathedral]] and the [[Armenian Cathedral, Lviv|Armenian Cathedral]].

====Judaism====
Lviv historically had a large and active [[History of the Jews in Ukraine|Jewish community]] and until 1941, at least 45 [[synagogue]]s and prayer houses existed. Even in the 16th century, two separate communities existed. One lived in today's old town with the other in the [[Krakowskie Przedmieście]]. The [[Golden Rose Synagogue (Lviv)|Golden Rose Synagogue]] was built in Lviv in 1582. In the 19th century, a more differentiated community started to spread out. [[Reform Judaism|Liberal Jews]] sought more [[cultural assimilation]] and spoke German and Polish. On the other hand, [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox]] and [[Hasidic Judaism|Hasidic Jews]] tried to retain the old traditions. Between 1941 and 1944, the Germans in effect completely destroyed the centuries-old Jewish tradition of Lviv. Most synagogues were destroyed and the Jewish population was forced first into a [[Nazi ghettos|ghetto]] before being forcibly transported to [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]] where they were murdered.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.holocaust.kiev.ua/eng/seminarse/lviv.htm#vip2 |title=International Forum:"Challenge of Holocaust and Its Lessons" |work=Lviv Polytechnic National University Regional Holocaust Study Center: Ukrainian Holocaust History Study Center |date=November 2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308035832/http://www.holocaust.kiev.ua/eng/seminarse/lviv.htm |archive-date=8 March 2012}}</ref>

Under the Soviet Union, synagogues remained closed and were used as warehouses or cinemas. The last functioning synagogue was closed in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Entry for L'viv |url=https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/lviv |publisher=[[YIVO]] |access-date=16 November 2022 |archive-date=16 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116213137/https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/lviv |url-status=live }}</ref> Only since the fall of the [[Iron Curtain]], has the remainder of the Jewish community experienced a faint revival.

Currently, the only functioning Orthodox Jewish synagogue in Lviv is the [[Beis Aharon V'Yisrael Synagogue]].

===Arts===
[[File:Lwowska Galeria Sztuki - Wnętrza 01.JPG|thumb|A room in the [[Lviv National Art Gallery]]]]
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 Pinsel|Johann Georg Pinzel]], whose works can be seen on the façade of the [[St. George's Cathedral, Lviv|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|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.<ref>Kosmolinska, Natalia (2007). "[https://books.google.com/books?id=KFbmtdibpIMC&pg=PA224 Ein Fenster zur Moderne: Das Atelier der Sielskis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102033537/https://books.google.com/books?id=KFbmtdibpIMC&pg=PA224 |date=2 January 2016 }}." In: Hermann Simon, Irene Stratenwerth, & Ronald Hinrichs (Eds.), ''Lemberg: Eine Reise nach Europa'' Berlin: Ch. Links Verlag. pp. 218–227; here: p. 224.</ref>

Henryk Streng and [[Margit Reich-Sielska]] were able to escape the [[The Holocaust|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]], [[Dzyga 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.

===Theatre and opera===
[[File:Lviv Opera House.jpg|thumb|The [[Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet|Lviv Opera and Ballet Theatre]], an important cultural centre for residents and visitors]]
In 1842 the [[Skarbek Theatre]] was opened making it the third-largest theatre in [[Central Europe]]. In 1903 the [[Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet|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 [[Solomiya Krushelnytska|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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/Tango-Death-Story-Holocaust-Survivors/dp/B085HHMGMT/ |title=Tango of Death. A True Story of Holocaust Survivors |last=Baranovskiy |first=Mikhail |website=Amazon |date=202 |access-date=16 April 2020 |archive-date=18 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200818124211/https://www.amazon.com/Tango-Death-Story-Holocaust-Survivors/dp/B085HHMGMT |url-status=live }}</ref>

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 [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] productions{{According to whom|date=October 2025}}. 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)

===Museums and art galleries===
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2025}}
[[File:Zabytki Lwowa 106.jpg|thumb|upright|The main building of [[Lviv National Museum]]]]
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 (painter)|Jan Stanisławski]], [[Leon Wyczółkowski]], [[Józef Chełmoński]], [[Józef Mehoffer]], [[Stanisław Wyspiański]], [[Olga Boznańska]], [[Władysław Słowiński]], [[Jacek Malczewski]].{{citation needed|date=August 2018}}

===Music===
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2025}}
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]], [[Stanyslav Lyudkevych|Stanislav Liudkevych]], [[Wojciech Kilar]] and [[Mykola Kolessa]].

Flute virtuoso and composer [[Franz Doppler|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 [[Solomiya Krushelnytska|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 [[Polskie Radio|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.
[[File:PikkardiyskaTertsia01.jpg|thumb|[[Pikkardiyska Tertsiya]] – Ukrainian a cappella musical formation]]
Popular throughout Poland was the [[Wesoła Lwowska Fala|Comic Lwów Wave]] a [[cabaret]]-revue with [[musical composition|musical pieces]]. Jewish artists contributed a great part to this artistic activity. Composers such as [[Henryk Wars]], songwriters [[Emanuel Szlechter]] and [[Wiktor Budzyński (song writer)|Wiktor Budzyński]], the actor [[Wesoła Lwowska Fala|Mieczysław Monderer]] and [[Wesoła Lwowska Fala|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 music|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.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} Lviv is also the hometown of one of the most successful and popular Ukrainian rock bands, [[Okean Elzy]].

===Universities and academia===
[[File:Львівський університет ім, Франка.jpg|thumb|The front [[Facade|façade]] of the [[Lviv University]], the oldest university in Ukraine]]
[[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 [[Stanislaw Ulam|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, Podlaskie Voivodeship|Dublany]], ({{cvt|8|km|mi|spell=in|abbr=off}} from the outskirts of Lviv) the [[Agricultural Academy in Dublany|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 culture|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:

===Mathematics===
[[File:Hotel-Atlas-2014.JPG|thumb|upright|The building of the former Scottish Café]]
Lviv was the home of the [[Scottish Café]], where in the 1930s and the early 1940s, Polish [[mathematician]]s from the [[Lwów School of Mathematics]] met and spent their afternoons discussing mathematical problems. [[Stanislaw Ulam|Stanisław Ulam]] who was later a participant in the [[Manhattan Project]] and the proposer of the [[Teller–Ulam design|Teller-Ulam design]] of [[Nuclear weapon design|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.<ref name="Ulam">Stanislaw M. Ulam, ''Adventures of a Mathematician'', New York: [[Charles Scribner's Sons]], 1976. {{ISBN|0-684-15064-6}}</ref> The café building now houses the Atlas Deluxe Hotel at 27 Taras Shevchenko Prospekt (prewar Polish street name: ''ulica Akademicka'').<ref>[http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Miscellaneous/Scottish_Cafe.html "The Scottish Café in Lvov"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929145904/http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/Miscellaneous/Scottish_Cafe.html |date=29 September 2007 }}, at the [[MacTutor History of Mathematics archive]].</ref> Mathematician [[Zygmunt Janiszewski]] died in Lviv on 3 January 1920.

===Print and media===
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 (newspaper)|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 {{Lang|pl|[[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 Przerwa-Tetmajer|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]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.reporterzy.info/article.php?go=historia,13,slowo_polskie_dziennik_z_ponadstuletnia_tradycja |title=Slowo Polskie – a daily with 100-year tradition |publisher=Reporterzy.info |date=20 November 2007 |access-date=3 May 2012 |archive-date=15 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315054852/https://reporterzy.info/13,slowo-polskie-dziennik-z-ponadstuletnia-tradycj.html |url-status=live }}</ref> After World War II Słowo was moved to [[Wrocław]] with first postwar issue published on 1 November 1946.
*''[[Czerwony Sztandar (Lviv newspaper)|Czerwony Sztandar]]'': A Soviet daily published between 1939 and 1941.
{{More citations needed section|date=March 2011}}
<!--''Not sure about the notability of some of these following publications '' -->
Starting in the 20th century a new movement started with authors from Central Europe. In Lviv a small [[Neo-romanticism|neo-romantic]] group of authors formed around the [[lyricist]] Schmuel Jankev Imber.{{Who|date=March 2011}}{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}} Small print offices produced collections of modern poems and [[short story|short stories]] and through emigration a large network<!-- Of what ? -->was established. A second smaller group{{Who|date=March 2011}} in the 1930s tried to create a connection between [[Avant-garde|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.{{Citation needed|date=March 2011}}

===In cinema and literature===
*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 [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]]. 
*The 2011 film ''[[In Darkness (2011 film)|In Darkness]]'', Poland's entry in the [[84th Academy Awards]] category for Best Foreign Film, is based on a true incident in [[#German occupation|Nazi-occupied Lviv]].
*Some of the Austrian road-movie ''[[Blue Moon (2002 film)|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 (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 (disambiguation)|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 (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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lévy |first=Bernard-Henri |date=2016-05-23 |title='East West Street,' by Philippe Sands |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/books/review/east-west-street-by-philippe-sands.html |access-date=2023-02-25 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=28 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228123259/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/29/books/review/east-west-street-by-philippe-sands.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Parks===
[[File:Центральна алея парку восени.jpg|thumb|right|Ivan Franko Park]]
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.
[[File:Стрийський парк, осінь.jpg|thumb|Stryiskyi Park]]
*[[Stryiskyi Park]], is on the hills of the Lviv Heights is considered one of the most picturesque parks in the city.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web |title=Stryiskyi Park |url=https://lia.lvivcenter.org/en/objects/park-stryiskyi/ |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=Lviv Interactive |language=en}}</ref> Designed in the 1870s by architect Arnold Roering,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lviv old photos, Ukraine |url=https://retrophotos.org/lviv |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=retrophotos.org}}</ref> the park hosted around 1.1 million visitors to the Regional Exhibition of 1894,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Following the Steps of the 1894 General Regional Exhibition in Lviv |url=https://www.lvivcenter.org/en/spatial/general-regional-exhibition/ |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=Lvivcenter |language=en-US}}</ref> which was held inside the park's almost 50 hectares (approximately 120 acres).<ref name="auto2"/> 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|Ivasyk Telesyk]], riding geese.<ref>{{Cite web |title="Ivasyk-Telesyk" fountain in Stryiskyi park |url=https://uma.lvivcenter.org/en/photos/3718 |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=Urban Media Archive |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Znesinnia Regional Landscape Park|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 ({{cvt|413|m|ft|abbr=off|disp=or}}) and occupies the territory of {{cvt|36|ha|abbr=off}} 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 {{cvt|18.5|ha|1|abbr=off}}.

== Sport ==
Lviv was an important centre for sport in Central Europe and is regarded as the birthplace of Polish [[Association football|football]]. Lviv is the Polish birthplace of other sports. In January 1905 the first Polish [[ice hockey|ice-hockey]] match took place there and two years later the first [[ski jumping|ski-jumping]] competition was organised in nearby [[Slavske|Sławsko]]. In the same year, the first Polish basketball games were organised in Lviv's gymnasiums. In autumn 1887 a gymnasium by Lychakiv Street (pol. ''ulica Łyczakowska'') held the first Polish [[track and field]] competition with such sports as the [[long jump]] and [[high jump]]. Lviv's athlete Władysław Ponurski represented Austria in the [[1912 Summer Olympics|1912 Olympic Games]] in [[Stockholm]]. On 9 July 1922 the first official [[rugby union|rugby]] game in Poland took place at the stadium of Pogoń Lwów in which the rugby team of Orzeł Biały Lwów divided itself into two teams – "The Reds" and "The Blacks". The referee of this game was a Frenchman by the name of Robineau.

=== Association football ===
[[File:EURO 2012 Lvov clock.jpg|thumb|A clock in Lviv on Prospekt Svobody (Freedom Ave.), showing time to start of EURO 2012. Opera and Ballet Theatre in background]]
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 Association|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 Lwów|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.<ref>[http://www.boberskiy.org.ua/indexe.html "Ivan Bobersky – training of the first teachers of physical training is connected to his name."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718175536/http://www.boberskiy.org.ua/indexe.html |date=18 July 2018 }}.</ref>

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.

=== Stadia ===
*[[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 [[UEFA Euro 2012|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro/history/news/0254-0d7d294b28ab-8c0a222ec278-1000--music-and-fireworks-as-arena-lviv-opens-doors/ |title=UEFA EURO 2016 |work=[[UEFA]] |date=29 October 2011 |access-date=31 March 2020 |archive-date=6 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606010522/https://www.uefa.com/news/newsid=1706984.html |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 (2014–2022)|war in Donbas]].
*[[Army Sports Club Stadium (Lviv)|SKA Stadium]], football and [[motorcycle speedway]] stadium, which holds 23,040 spectators.

=== Other sports ===
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.<ref>[http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=5548 "Lviv&nbsp;– the chess capital of Ukraine"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722010540/http://chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=5548 |date=22 July 2011 }}.</ref> Grandmaster [[Anna Muzychuk]] lives in Lviv.

[[Lviv Speedway]] is a motorcycle speedway team based at the SKA Stadium.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ua-football.com/ukrainian/first/4ec50330.html|script-title=uk:ФК "Львів" повертається до рідного міста  |trans-title=FC Lviv returns to its native city|publisher=ua-football.com |date=19 November 2011|access-date=19 November 2011|language=uk}}</ref>

Lviv [[Lviv bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics|made a bid]] to host the [[2022 Winter Olympics]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1016812/lviv-officially-enters-race-to-stage-2022-winter-olympics-and-paralympics |title=Lviv officially enters race to stage 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics |date=5 November 2013 |website=www.insidethegames.biz |access-date=7 March 2022 |archive-date=2 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231002121132/https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1016812/lviv-officially-enters-race-to-stage-2022-winter-olympics-and-paralympics |url-status=live }}</ref> which was withdrawn in June 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://apnews.com/general-news-d65cf71209c8479084ceda139ee46449 |title=Ukraine's Lviv withdraws bid for 2022 Winter Games |date=30 June 2014 |website=AP News |access-date=19 December 2024 }}</ref>

==Tourism==
[[File:Lvivrynok2018.jpg|thumb|right|Market (Rynok) Square]] Due to a comprehensive cultural programme and tourism infrastructure (having more than 8,000 hotel rooms, over 1,300 cafes and restaurants,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://informator.news/eksperty-pidrahuvaly-kilkist-mahazyniv-restoraniv-kafe-u-najbilshyh-mistah-ukrajiny/ |title=Експерти підрахували кількість магазинів, ресторанів і кафе у найбільших містах України Источник |work=ІНФОРМАТОР |date=16 October 2017 |access-date=9 January 2019 |archive-date=10 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190110014403/https://informator.news/eksperty-pidrahuvaly-kilkist-mahazyniv-restoraniv-kafe-u-najbilshyh-mistah-ukrajiny/ |url-status=live }}</ref> free Wi-Fi zones in the city centre, and connection with multiple countries of the world), Lviv is considered one of Ukraine's major tourist destinations.<ref name="BBCLviv2012">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15983012 Two cities prepare for Euro 2012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125112003/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15983012 |date=25 November 2018 }}, [[BBC News]] (2 December 2011)</ref> The city had a 40% increase in tourist visits in the early 2010s; the highest rate in Europe.<ref name="BBCLviv2012"/>

The most popular tourist attractions include the [[Old Town (Lviv)|Old Town]], and the [[Market Square (Lviv)|Market Square]] ({{langx|uk|Ploshcha Rynok}}) which is an {{cvt|18300|m2|0|abbr=off|lk=in|adj=mid}} square in the city centre where the [[Lviv Town Hall|City Hall]] is situated, as well as the [[Black House, Lviv|Black House]] ({{langx|uk|Chorna Kamianytsia}}), [[Armenian Cathedral, Lviv|Armenian Cathedral]], [[Dormition Church, Lviv|the complex of the Dormition Church]] which is the main Orthodox church in the city; [[Saints Peter and Paul Garrison Church (Lviv)|the St. Peter and Paul Church of the Jesuit Order]] (one of the largest churches in Lviv); along with the [[Korniakt Palace]], now part of the Lviv History Museum.

Other prominent sites include the [[Latin Cathedral, Lviv|Latin Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary]]; [[St. George's Cathedral, Lviv|St. George's Cathedral]] of the [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church|Greek-Catholic Church]]; the [[Dominican Church, Lviv|Dominican Church of Corpus Christi]]; [[Chapel of the Boim family]]; the [[Lviv High Castle]] ({{langx|uk|Vysokyi Zamok}}) on a hill overlooking the centre of the city; the [[Union of Lublin Mound]]; the [[Lychakiv Cemetery|Lychakivskiy Cemetery]] where the notable people were buried; and the Svobody Prospekt which is Lviv's central street. Other popular places include [[Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet]], the [[Potocki Palace, Lviv|Potocki Palace]], and the [[Bernardine Church, Lviv|Bernardine Church]].

<gallery mode="packed" caption="Landmarks and points of interest">
File:2019.08.25.1442.04. Львів пл.Соборна Церква св.Андрія.jpg|[[Bernardine Church, Lviv|Bernardine Church]]
File:Interior of Dominican church, Lviv, 2009.jpg|[[Dominican Church, Lviv|Dominican Church]] 
File:Дворец Потоцких.jpg|[[Potocki Palace, Lviv|Potocki Palace]]
File:StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG|[[St. George's Cathedral, Lviv]]
File:LvivOldTown1.jpg|View of [[Old Town (Lviv)|Old Town]], a UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]]
</gallery>

==Popular culture==
[[File:Скульптор відтворює із шоколаду фігури левів.jpg|thumb|160px|A [[confectioner]] makes [[chocolate]] lions at the Festival of Chocolate]]
The native residents of the city are jokingly known as the Lvivian [[batiar]]y (someone who's mischievous). Lvivians are also well known for their way of speaking that was greatly influenced by the [[Lwów dialect|Lvivian gwara]] (talk).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://balzatul.multiply.com/journal/item/1051 |title=Lviv dialect |publisher=Balzatul.multiply.com |access-date=3 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209084934/http://balzatul.multiply.com/journal/item/1051 |archive-date=9 February 2012}}</ref>
''[[Wesoła Lwowska Fala]]'' (Polish for ''Lwów's Merry Wave'') was a weekly radio program of the [[Polish Radio Lwow]] with ''Szczepko'' and ''Tonko'', later starring in ''[[Będzie lepiej]]'' and ''[[The Vagabonds (1939 film)|The Vagabonds]]''. ''[[The Shoes of the Fisherman (novel)|The Shoes of the Fisherman]]'', both [[Morris L. West]]'s novel and its 1968 film adaptation, had the titular pope as having been its former [[archbishop]].{{clarify|date=May 2018}}{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}

Lviv has established a number of city feasts, such as coffee and chocolate feasts, cheese & wine holiday, the feast of pampukh, the Day of Batyar, Annual Bread Day and others. Over 50 festivals happen in Lviv, such as [[Leopolis Jazz Fest]], an international jazz festival; the Leopolis Grand Prix, an international festival of vintage cars; international festival of academic music Virtuosi; Stare Misto Rock Fest; medieval festival Lviv Legend; international [[Etnovyr]] folklore festival, initiated by UNESCO; international festival of visual art Wiz-Art; international theatrical festival Golden Lion; Lviv Lumines Fluorescent Art Festival; Festival of Contemporary Dramaturgy; international contemporary music festival Contrasts; Lviv international literary festival, Krayina Mriy; gastronomic festival Lviv on a Plate; organ music festival Diapason; international independent film festival KinoLev; international festival LvivKlezFest; and international media festival MediaDepo.{{citation needed|date=May 2018}}

Lviv honors the memory of Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych. The Lviv regional council approved an appeal to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on March 16, 2021, requesting that the largest stadium here be renamed after these two men.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ukrweekly.com/uwwp/local-governments-name-stadiums-after-bandera-and-shukhevych-provoking-protest-from-israel-and-poland/ |title=Local governments name stadiums after Bandera and Shukhevych, provoking protest from Israel and Poland |first=Roman |last=Tymotsko |website=The Ukrainian Weekly |date=19 March 2021 |access-date=27 February 2022 |archive-date=27 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227100758/https://www.ukrweekly.com/uwwp/local-governments-name-stadiums-after-bandera-and-shukhevych-provoking-protest-from-israel-and-poland/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Bandera led the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which fought alongside Nazi Germany during WWII, killing thousands of Jews and Poles.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/hundreds-of-ukrainian-nationalists-march-in-in-honor-of-nazi-collaborator/ |title=Hundreds of Ukrainian nationalists march in honor of Nazi collaborator |website=The Times of Israel |date=January 2022 |access-date=27 February 2022 |archive-date=27 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227100757/https://www.timesofisrael.com/hundreds-of-ukrainian-nationalists-march-in-in-honor-of-nazi-collaborator/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1940, Shukhevych commanded a military unit of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) that actively collaborated with the Nazis.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/03/09/israeli-envoy-in-ukraine-slams-naming-of-soccer-stadium-in-honor-of-nazi-ally-roman-shukhevych/ |title=Israeli Envoy in Ukraine Slams Naming of Soccer Stadium in Honor of Nazi Ally Roman Shukhevych |website=Algemeiner.com |access-date=27 February 2022 |archive-date=27 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220227111348/https://www.algemeiner.com/2021/03/09/israeli-envoy-in-ukraine-slams-naming-of-soccer-stadium-in-honor-of-nazi-ally-roman-shukhevych/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Public transport==
{{See also|Lvivelectrotrans}}
[[File:Electron 1179 (2).jpg|thumb|A [[Trams in Lviv|Lviv tram]] in the Old Town]]
Historically, the first [[horse-drawn tram]]way lines in Lviv were inaugurated on 5 May 1880. An electric tram was introduced on 31 May 1894. The last horse-drawn line was transferred to electric traction in 1908. In 1922 the tramways were switched to driving on the right-hand side. After the annexation of the city by the Soviet Union, several lines were closed but most of the infrastructure was preserved. The tracks were [[narrow-gauge railway|narrow-gauge]], unusual for the Soviet Union, but explained by the fact that the system was built while the city was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and needed to run in narrow medieval streets in the centre of town.

The [[Trams in Lviv|Lviv tramway system]] now runs about 220 cars on {{cvt|75|km|0|abbr=off}} of track. Multiple tracks were reconstructed around 2006. The price in February 2019 of a tram/trolleybus ticket was 5 UAH (the reduced fare ticket was 2.5 UAH, e.g. for students). The ticket may be purchased from the driver.

After World War II the city grew rapidly due to evacuees returning from Russia, and the Soviet Government's vigorous development of [[heavy industry]]. This included the transfer of entire factories from the Urals and others to the newly "liberated" territories of the USSR. The city centre tramway lines were replaced with [[Lviv trolleybus|trolleybuses]] on 27 November 1952. New lines were opened to the [[Tower block|blocks of flats]] at the city outskirts.

The network now runs about 100 trolleybuses – mostly of the 1980s Skoda 14Tr and [[:uk:ЛАЗ 52522|LAZ 52522]]. From 2006 to 2008 11 modern [[Low floor|low-floor]] trolleybuses (LAZ E183) built by the [[Lviv Bus Factory]] were purchased. The public [[bus network]] is represented by mini-buses (so-called ''marshrutka'') and large buses mainly LAZ and MAN. On 1 January 2013, the city had 52 public bus routes.

===Railways===
{{Main|Lviv Railways}}

[[File:Lviv railway station2.png|thumb|Lviv's [[Lviv Rail Terminal|Main Railway Terminal]]]]
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 Rail Terminal|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 {{langx|uk|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]].<ref>Urzędowy Rozkład Jazdy i Lotów PKP, Lato 1939 (Polish State Railroads Timetable, Summer 1939)</ref>

Currently, several trains cross the nearby [[Poland–Ukraine border|Polish–Ukrainian border]] (mostly via [[Przemyśl]] in Poland). There are good connections to Slovakia ([[Košice]]) and Hungary ([[Budapest]]).{{citation needed|date=August 2016}} 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 Area|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.

===Air transport===
[[File:Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767-300ER (ET-AMG) at Lviv International Airport.jpeg|thumb|[[Lviv International Airport]]]]
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.<ref name="Zdzislaw Sikorski, Lotniczy Lwow">{{cite web |url=http://www.lwow.home.pl/semper/lotniczy.html |title=Zdzislaw Sikorski, Lotniczy Lwow |publisher=Lwow.home.pl |access-date=3 May 2012 |archive-date=5 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305172622/http://www.lwow.home.pl/semper/lotniczy.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

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 [[Flag of Poland|Polish flag]] taking off from Lviv's Lewandówka (now {{langx|uk|Levandivka}}) airport.<ref name="Zdzislaw Sikorski, Lotniczy Lwow" /> 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 {{langx|uk|Sknyliv}}). The airport is located {{cvt|6|km|0|abbr=off}} from the city centre.<ref name=europe-airports>{{cite web |url=http://www.europe-airports.com/ukraine/show-airport.php?code=LWO |title=Europe Airports – Lviv (LWO) |publisher=Europe-airports.com |access-date=3 May 2012 |archive-date=4 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304130608/http://www.europe-airports.com/ukraine/show-airport.php?code=LWO |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2012, after renovation, Lviv Airport got a new official name [[Lviv Danylo Halytskyi International Airport]] (LWO).<ref name="New terminal of the Lviv Airport">{{cite web |url=http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control/en/publish/article?art_id=245126146&cat_id=244314975 |title=New terminal of the Lviv Airport |publisher=kmu.gov.ua |access-date=19 February 2013 |archive-date=22 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522135150/http://www.kmu.gov.ua/control/en/publish/article?art_id=245126146&cat_id=244314975 |url-status=live }}</ref> A new terminal and other improvements worth under a $200 million was done in preparation for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship.<ref>[http://zik.com.ua/en/news/2008/05/27/137795 Modernization of Lviv airport for Euro-2012 finals to cost $200 million. The government can cough up $70 million] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120141057/http://zik.com.ua/en/news/2008/05/27/137795|date=20 November 2008}}, [[Z I K]] (27 May 2008)</ref> The connection from Airport to the city centre is maintained by bus No. 48 and No. 9.

===Bicycle lanes===
[[File:LvivPolice2019.jpg|thumb|Police patrol by bicycles in the tourist area of Lviv]]
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]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.city-adm.lviv.ua/news/images/stories/program_bicycle_network_lviv.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717123621/http://www.city-adm.lviv.ua/news/images/stories/program_bicycle_network_lviv.pdf|url-status=dead|title=|archive-date=17 July 2011|website=www.city-adm.lviv.ua}}</ref> – until the year 2019 an overall length of {{cvt|270|km|0}} 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<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bikeday.org.ua |title=bikeday.org.ua |publisher=bikeday.org.ua |access-date=16 February 2013 |archive-date=2 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302160044/http://www.bikeday.org.ua/ |url-status=live }}</ref> or the [[European Mobility Week]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mobilnist.org.ua/en/downloads/doc_download/43-european-mobility-week-2011-in-lvivukraine.html |title=Downloads &#124; Event Reports |publisher=Mobilnist.org.ua |access-date=16 February 2013 |archive-date=17 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130317020347/http://www.mobilnist.org.ua/en/downloads/doc_download/43-european-mobility-week-2011-in-lvivukraine.html |url-status=live }}</ref> show the popularity of cycling among Lviv's citizens.

By September 2011, {{cvt|8|km|0}} of new cycling infrastructure had been built. It can be expected that until the end of 2011 {{cvt|50|km|0}} 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 ({{cvt|268|km|mi|abbr=off|disp=or}}) and street bike hire services.

==Education==
{{Main|List of universities in Ukraine}}

[[File:Львівська політехніка 1.jpg|thumb|right|[[Lviv Polytechnic]]]]
[[File:Palace of Turkull-Comello Lviv.jpg|thumb|right|[[Lviv National Stepan Gzhytsky University of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology]]]]
Lviv is an important education centre in Ukraine. The city contains a total of 12 [[university|universities]], 8 academies and a number of smaller schools of higher education. In addition, within Lviv, there is a total of eight institutes of the [[National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine|National Academy of Science of Ukraine]] and more than forty [[research institute]]s. These research institutes include the [[Lviv Centre of Institute for Space Research|Centre of Institute for Space Research]]; the Institute for [[Condensed Matter Physics]]; the Institute of [[Cell Biology]]; the National Institute of Strategic Studies; the Institute of Neuro-mathematical Simulation in Power Engineering; and the Institute of Ecology of the Carpathians.

In Soviet times, the city of Lviv was the location where the software for the [[Lunokhod]] programme was developed. The technology for the [[Venera]] series probes and the first orbital shuttle [[Buran (spacecraft)|Buran]] were also developed in Lviv.

A considerable scientific potential is concentrated in the city: by the number of doctors of sciences, candidates of sciences, scientific organisations Lviv is the fourth city in Ukraine. Lviv is also known for ancient academic traditions, founded by the [[Assumption Brotherhood School]] and the [[Jesuit Collegium]]. Over 100,000 students annually study in more than 50 higher educational establishments.

'''Educational level of residents''':<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.city-institute.org/en/Socio/Social_portrait_Eng.jpg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205154901/http://www.city-institute.org/en/Socio/Social_portrait_Eng.jpg |access-date=7 August 2023|archive-date=5 December 2014|title=Social Portrait of Lviv resident|url-status=dead|work=Lviv City Institute}}</ref>

*Basic and complete secondary education: 10%
*Specialized secondary education: 25%
*Incomplete higher education (undergraduates): 13%
*Higher education (graduates): 51%
*PhD (postgraduates): about 1%

===Universities===
[[File:Львів медакадемія.JPG|thumb|Anatomy Department Building of [[Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University]] – one of the oldest and prime medical institutes of Ukraine]]
*[[University of Lviv|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'')

==Notable people==
{{Main|List of people from Lviv}}

==International relations==
===Twin towns – sister cities===
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Ukraine}}
Lviv is [[Sister city|twinned]] with:

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!City!!State!!Year
|-
|[[Winnipeg]]
|{{CAN}}
|1973
|-
|[[Corning (city), New York|Corning]]
|{{USA}}
|1987
|-
|[[Freiburg im Breisgau]]
|{{GER}}
|1989
|-
|[[Rzeszów]]<ref name="Rzeszów">{{cite web |url=http://www.rzeszow.pl/wspolpraca-miedzynarodowa/informacja-o-wspolpracy-rzeszowa-z-miastami-partnerskimi/668,informacja-o-wsp-lpracy-rzeszowa-z-miastami-partnerskimi.html |title=Serwis informacyjny UM Rzeszów– Informacja o współpracy Rzeszowa z miastami partnerskimi |publisher=rzeszow.pl |access-date=2 February 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{New archival link needed|date=April 2026}}
|{{POL}}
|1992
|-
|[[Rochdale]]
|{{UK}}
|1992
|-
|[[Budapest]]
|{{HUN}}
|1993
|-
|[[Rishon LeZion]]
|{{ISR}}
|1993
|-
|[[Przemyśl]]
|{{POL}}
|1995
|-
|[[Kraków]]<ref name="Kraków partnerships">{{cite web |url=http://www.krakow.pl/otwarty_na_swiat/2531,kat,0,5,miasta_partnerskie.html |title=Kraków – Miasta Partnerskie |access-date=10 August 2013 |work=Miejska Platforma Internetowa Magiczny Kraków |language=pl |trans-title=Kraków -Partnership Cities |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702010825/http://www.krakow.pl/otwarty_na_swiat/2531%2Ckat%2C0%2C5%2Cmiasta_partnerskie.html |archive-date=2 July 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|{{POL}}
|1995
|-
|[[Novi Sad]]
|{{SRB}}
|1999
|-
|[[Kutaisi]]
|{{GEO}}
|2002
|-
|[[Wrocław]]<ref name="Wrocław twinning">{{cite web |url=http://www.wroclaw.pl/p/964/ |title=Wrocław Official Website&nbsp;– Partnership Cities of Wrocław |access-date=23 October 2008 |language=pl |archive-date=30 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080730201707/http://www.wroclaw.pl/p/964/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|{{POL}}
|2003
|-
|[[Łódź]]<ref name="Łódź twinning">{{cite web |url=http://www.uml.lodz.pl/samorzad/miasta_partnerskie_lodzi/tabelka |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624211727/http://www.uml.lodz.pl/samorzad/miasta_partnerskie_lodzi/tabelka/ |title=Miasta partnerskie – Urząd Miasta Łodzi ''[via WaybackMachine.com]'' |access-date=21 July 2013 |archive-date=24 June 2013 |work=City of Łódź |language=pl}} N.B. Lviv appears on this reference under its Polish language name 'Lwów'</ref>
|{{POL}}
|2003
|-
|[[Banja Luka]]<ref name="Banja Luka twinnings">{{cite web |url=http://www.banjaluka.rs.ba/front/category/64/ |script-title=sr:Градови партнери |access-date=9 August 2013 |work=Administrative Office of the City of Banja Luka |language=sr |trans-title=City of Banja Luka – Partner cities |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110917132032/http://www.banjaluka.rs.ba/front/category/64/ |archive-date=17 September 2011}}</ref>
|{{BIH}}
|2004
|-
|[[Lublin]]<ref name="Lublin twinnings">{{cite web |url=http://www.lublin.eu/en/lublin/wspolpraca-miedzynarodowa-ang/lublins-partner-and-friend-cities/lvov,9117,w.html |title=Lublin's Partner and Friend Cities |work=lublin.eu |access-date=20 November 2015 |archive-date=21 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121083810/http://www.lublin.eu/en/lublin/wspolpraca-miedzynarodowa-ang/lublins-partner-and-friend-cities/lvov,9117,w.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
|{{POL}}
|2004
|-
|[[Tbilisi]]
|{{GEO}}
|2013
|-
|[[Parma, Ohio|Parma]]<ref>{{cite web |last=Sandrick |first=Bob |title=Parma forms sister-city relationship with Lviv in Ukraine |date=16 July 2013 |url=http://www.cleveland.com/parma/index.ssf/2013/07/parma_forms_sister-city_relati.html |access-date=16 April 2014 |archive-date=16 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416221556/http://www.cleveland.com/parma/index.ssf/2013/07/parma_forms_sister-city_relati.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
|{{USA}}
|2013
|-
|[[Vilnius]]
|{{LTU}}
|2014
|-
|[[Chengdu]]
|{{CHN}}
|2014
|-
|[[Cannes]]<ref>{{Cite web |last1=yvasovic#utilisateurs |last2=yvasovic#utilisateurs |date=2022-04-04 |title=Les jumelages – Les pactes d'amitié |url=https://www.cannes.com/fr/mairie/jumelages-pactes-d-amitie.html |access-date=2023-02-25 |website=www.cannes.com |language=fr |archive-date=23 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223155321/https://www.cannes.com/fr/mairie/jumelages-pactes-d-amitie.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
|{{FRA}}
|2022
|-
|[[Würzburg]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://decentralization.gov.ua/admin/articles/16156.html | title=Німецький Вюрцбург став містом-побратимом Львова }}</ref>
|{{GER}}
|2023
|-
|[[Katowice]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://city-adm.lviv.ua/news/city/lviv-international/298292-polske-misto-katovitse-stalo-23-mistom-pobratymom-lvova|title=Польське місто Катовіце стало 23 містом-побратимом Львова — Львівська міська рада|date=11 September 2023|website=city-adm.lviv.ua}}</ref>
|{{POL}}
|2023
|-
|[[Reykjavík]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://city-adm.lviv.ua/news/city/lviv-international/296645-reikiavik-stolytsia-islandii-stav-mistom-partnerom-lvova-video|title=Рейк'явік, столиця Ісландії, став містом-партнером Львова (відео) — Львівська міська рада|date=23 May 2023|website=city-adm.lviv.ua}}</ref>
|{{ISL}}
|2023
|-
|[[Pula]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://decentralization.ua/admin/articles/16554.html | title=Пула-Пола стало 21 містом-побратимом Львова }}</ref>
|{{CRO}}
|2023
|-
|[[Aarhus Municipality|Aarhus]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-regions/3697532-danske-misto-orhus-stalo-mistompobratimom-lvova.html | title=Данське місто Орхус стало містом-побратимом Львова | date=18 April 2023 }}</ref>
|{{DEN}}
|2023
|-
|[[Tartu]]
|{{EST}}
|2024
|-
|[[Mechelen]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://mondiaal.mechelen.be/lviv | title=Stedenband met Oekraïense stad Lviv | work=Mechelen Mondiaal | date=30 May 2025 }}</ref>
|{{BEL}}
|2024
|}

===Partner cities===
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.

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!City!!State!!Year
|-
|[[Kobe]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://decentralization.ua/admin/articles/17149.html | title=Одне з найбільших міст Японії – Кобе стало містом-партнером Львова }}</ref>
|{{JAP}}
|2023
|-
|[[Frankfurt]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.journal-frankfurt.de/journal_news/Stadtleben-2/Ukrainisches-Kulturzentrum-Lviv-Frankfurts-neue-Partnerstadt-42374.html | title=Lviv: Frankfurts Neue Partnerstadt | date=2024 }}</ref>
|{{GER}}
|2024
|-
|}

==See also==
*[[List of people from Lviv|List of Lvivians]]
*Polish football clubs established in Lviv: [[Pogoń Lwów]], [[Czarni Lwów]], [[Lechia Lwów]], [[Hasmonea Lwów]]<ref>Jakob Weiss, ''The Lemberg Mosaic'' (New York: Alderbrook Press, 2011) pp. 72 – 76.</ref>
*[[Great Suburb Synagogue]]
*[[Win with the Lion]]
*[[Wanda Mejbaum-Katzenellenbogen]]
*[[Banks in Lviv]]
*[[Lviv during the Middle Ages]]

==References==
{{notelist}}
{{Reflist}}


==Bibliography==

* {{Cite journal |last=Romantsov |first=Roman |date=2012 |title=Żydzi na tle statystyk demograficznych Lwowa 1918-1939 |url=https://bibliotekanauki.pl/articles/2144057 |journal=Studia Żydowskie. Almanach |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=105–136 |doi=10.56583/sz.786 |doi-access=free }}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|c=yes|m=|voy=yes|species=no|s=no|n=no|q=no|b=no|d=no|}}
*[http://lviv.com/ Lviv.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325053815/https://lviv.com/ |date=25 March 2022 }}
*[http://lviv.travel/en/index Official travel website]
*{{JewishGen-LocalityPage|1045268|Lviv, Ukraine}}
*[http://historic-cities.huji.ac.il/ukraine/lviv/lviv.html Old maps of Lviv] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021155723/http://historic-cities.huji.ac.il/ukraine/lviv/lviv.html |date=21 October 2021 }} – [http://historic-cities.huji.ac.il/historic_cities.html Historic Cities] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325051637/http://historic-cities.huji.ac.il/historic_cities.html |date=25 March 2022 }}
*[https://lv.locator.ua/?l=en Lviv city guide & interactive map]

{{Lviv-related topics}}
{{Navboxes
|list=
{{Subdivisions of Lviv}}
{{Lviv Oblast}}
{{Administrative divisions of Ukraine}}
{{World Heritage Sites in Ukraine}}
{{Cities in Ukraine}}
{{Capitals of Ukraine}}
{{European Youth Capital}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Lviv| ]]<!--leave the empty space as standard-->
[[Category:Cities of regional significance in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Cities in Lviv Oblast]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Historic Jewish communities in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Magdeburg rights]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 13th century]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Virtuti Militari|!Lviv]]
[[Category:13th-century establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:Holocaust locations in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Oblast centers in Ukraine]]
[[Category:Rus' towns]]