An issue of the magazine "Poland" entirely devoted to Lviv. The text briefly recalls the entire history of Lviv, dating back to its semi-legendary beginnings and the Halych prince. The issue contains numerous illustrations and photographs of the most important buildings, including the Latin Cathedral, the Boim Chapel, the city theatre, and, among others, fragments of the elevations of Lviv tenement houses, as well as a bird's-eye view of the entire market square (Source: "Polska", Warsaw 1936, R: 2, no. 6, after: Jagiellonian Digital Library).

A modernised reading of the text

Lviv "City of Eaglets".

Each of our major historical cities has a distinct and unique character, which gives its spiritual face a different and distinctive expression. Lviv has always been characterised by the unbelievable heroism of its people. Lviv is the true home of the Polish borderland lions. It was indeed difficult to choose a more appropriate name for this city.

Perhaps a prophetic inspiration dictated to the founding prince, enough that the spirit of the fearless king of the wilderness - enchanted in the inhabitants of Lviv - has always stood steadfastly to guard the Polishness of this, our borderland stronghold, so prominent on the eastern fringes of the Republic. Lviv has honourably performed this mission to this day, and its coat of arms - a mighty crowned lion - has become the truest symbol of the future heroic role that this "Semper fidelis" ("Always faithful") defender of the eastern borders of the Republic, a beacon of Polishness and a bastion of Christianity, has repeatedly played in the history of our Commonwealth.

The citizens of Lviv were boldly compared to the Romans at the height of their fame. They equalled them in courage, honour and love of their homeland, always setting an example of dedication and patriotism, and could serve as a model for all the nations of the world in this respect. Their vivacious life, their agility, their readiness to take up arms in any danger threatening their home town or country, were more reminiscent of the life of the swashbuckling, militant nobility than of the vegetation of the peaceful bourgeoisie.

When in 1655 Chmielnicki, the rebellious leader of Zaporizhzhya, at the head of Cossacks and Moscow troops marched at the capture of Lviv, when almost all of Poland was flooded by the Swedish invasion, the brave Lviv bourgeoisie were not afraid of this power. They answered the call to surrender through their deputies that, although they foresaw a sad end to their resistance, they would never swear an oath to the Muscovite Tsar, they would keep their loyalty to King Jan Kazimierz, and they would not give up the city voluntarily to their enemies. So impressed were the Cossacks that, after several assaults, they retreated from the besieged city.

A few years later, when Rakoczi's troops, the infamous Magyars, invaded Red Ruthenia, taking advantage of Poland's difficult position, and, after having stood near Lviv, demanded the keys to the city gates amidst threats and promises, he also received an adamant response: "We hold in such high esteem the beautiful fame of our fidelity and constancy to N. the King, the Most Merciful Lord, and to the Republic, that we have nothing dearer than God and the fathers of our faith.".

It was also in recognition of the great virtues and merits of Lviv that in 1658 the Sejm ennobled Lviv, granting all the city's patricians of the Catholic faith the privileges of nobility. The crowning achievement of Lviv's glorious wartime tradition was the heroic defence of Lviv against the Ukrainian invasion in 1918. The crumbling Austria, together with the Germans, secretly handed over the city with its arsenal, weapons and ammunition to the Russian bands convened in secret.

Against thousands of cannon- and rifle-wielding Haidamaky, a handful of lions went bare-handed: under-age boys, girls, women, invalids, along with a bunch of men on military leave in the city. They all went, without distinction of sex or origin, enduring the fighting for several months, suffering hunger, cold and misery, but they won and saved Lviv for Poland, covering its name and theirs with eternal glory. For this heroic feat, the city was decorated with the Virtuti Militari Cross and was further adorned with a new nickname: "Gród Orląt". At the time of its glory and power, Poland was a vast country, but due to its geographical location and lack of natural borders, it had to use a lot of strength to keep its lands safe.

Particularly precarious was the south-eastern borderland, which neighboured countries conquered by the Tartars. The Polish kings took great care to secure these lands by maintaining many defensive strongholds and castles. One such bastion on the eastern borderlands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was our old Lviv, which lay in the Red Land. The Czerwienska Land, or Red Ruthenia, was already part of the Polish state in the time of Mieszko I. The first mention of it is found in the Ruthenian historian Nestor, who writes in 981: "Vladimir, prince of Kyiv, conquered the Lachs of their stronghold of Cherven."

These records state most impartially the eternal Polishness of these lands. They were taken from Ruthenian hands by Bolesław Chrobry, but then alternated between Polish and Ruthenian rule for a long period of time. The date of the beginning of Lviv's history is not precisely known. According to legend, Lew, Duke of Halych, having made his residence in Halych unpleasant for himself, constantly harassed by the Tatars, sought refuge in a settlement hidden among the forests and marshes on the hills, and having taken a liking to it for its safety and beautiful location, built around 1250 a wooden castle and named it after himself.

He had no idea that the name of its founder would soon fade into oblivion, while the name of the town would grow into ever new laurels. Thanks to its natural defensive conditions, picturesque surroundings and convenient location on the great trade route of the world, Lviv soon grew into a powerful fortified and trading city. Even the lack of a large navigable river did not make itself felt, as a watershed between two areas runs through the centre of Lviv, one sending its waters to the Baltic and the other to the Black Sea.

This was the border between two important economic centres, for which this border city became a link and a junction. The Ruthenian princes, however, were unable to cope with the incessant attacks of the Tartar hordes, the growing power of Lithuania and the Hungarian incursions, and Lviv had to share their plight. Fate smiled on him only after the death of the last childless Ruthenian princess Maria, married to Trojden, Duke of Masovia, who came from the Piast dynasty,

Lviv passed by inheritance to the Polish King Casimir the Great, who annexed Ruthenia to the Polish crown. It was a great milestone in the city's history. Having taken possession of the city, which was in a state of final ruin after a number of victorious battles, the great king-builder immediately set about rebuilding it, surrounding it with a strong wall, and replacing the destroyed wooden castle of Prince Lev - he built two new castles on Lion Mountain - one called the High Castle, of which only ruins remain, and at the foot of it the second, smaller "Low" castle, of which there is no trace today.

Having splendidly rebuilt the city, Casimir the Great granted it a wide-ranging self-government and set it on the path of international trade from east and west, so that this great king can be called the second founder of the Lion's Castle. The worse times for Lviv came when, after the death of its benefactor king, it fell under Hungarian rule, and was only relieved when the good and valiant Queen Jadwiga, with arms in her hands, took it back under Polish rule and, with a privilege granted in 1387 in Yaroslavl, swore never to separate it from the crown. The union with Lithuania, and the creation of a huge Polish empire, gave the city the opportunity to develop wildly. Jadwiga and Jagiełło, who often visited Lviv, granted the city a number of privileges, including the so-called "right of storage", under which foreign merchants had to stay here and sell their goods to Lviv merchants.

As a result of this and its convenient location on the trade route, Lviv soon became the centre of markets for eastern goods for the whole of Europe. On the one hand, Wallachian, Armenian, Turkish, Tatar, Greek, Persian and other merchants came here, and on the other hand German, Italian, Scottish and other European merchants. It was also the era of the Jagiellonians and the first three electoral kings until John Casimir that was Lviv's most flourishing moment. Wealth, prosperity, culture, education, art, industry and crafts increased. By the end of the 17th century, the Lviv bourgeoisie is at the height of its prosperity. Most of the city's patricians graduate from domestic or foreign universities, many bourgeoisie are renowned for their scholarship, and rich libraries and art collections are established.

All this is reflected in the appearance of the city, which is adorned with public buildings, churches, palaces and private houses, richly decorated with works of art. The reign of Jan Kazimierz and the following years, during which disasters after disasters rained down on Poland, hit the city hard. Only the famous vows of Jan Kazimierz in Lviv Cathedral and the magnificent victories of Jan III, won over the Turks at the city walls in the village of Wzniesienie, today's district of the city, over a Turkish army of many thousands and Tartar mobs, will remain bright moments.

This victory made the name of John III famous, and Lviv erected a memorial stone to these glorious days at the High Castle, the place from where the beloved king personally commanded the defence. However, these were already the last flashes of the passing glory. The beginning of the 18th century brought with it a decline in the power of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and with it the fall of the city. The Swedish King Charles XII almost became its master without a fight, ravaging it mercilessly. The destruction was completed by fires, the plague and the invasion of the Muscovites.

In 1782 Lviv fell into Austrian hands as the capital of a newly created province, christened Galicia. This rule took a heavy toll on the unfortunate city's battered soul. The streets and all institutions became infested with officials, spies and gendarmes hostile to the native population, and all manner of uniformed executioners, who thought only of germanising the city and squeezing out of it as much taxation and as many recruits as possible. However, the constitution passed in Vienna in 1869, and giving the country autonomy, changes relations in its favour.

The Lviv Sejm becomes a centre of national work, and schools educate young people in the spirit of the fatherland. The University, founded in 1661 by King Jan Kazimierz, became a living fountain of knowledge and ardent love of the Homeland. Lviv is once again becoming a stronghold of Polishness. The People's School Society, having covered the whole country with its network of circles, brought "the muzzle of education" to the masses of the rural population, contributing to the national awareness of the whole district. The emergence of the oil industry was accompanied by an economic rebirth in the country, with the development of industry, crafts, commerce, co-operatives and agriculture, all of which contributed to the rise and flourishing of Lviv, which became a city of over 200,000 inhabitants.

The beginnings of a scouting movement and military work were established in Lviv, which later gave rise to the Legions, which, under the command of J. Pilsudski, went into action in August 1914. In August 1914, they fought for Poland's freedom. From among Lviv's military independence activists also came the current Inspector General of the Armed Forces, General Rydz-Smigly. Lviv also experienced hard times during the Great War, especially after it had ended, when the disintegrating Austria left behind an artificially inflamed feud with the Ruthenians, which resulted in terrible fratricidal fighting in 1918, during which, during the siege of several months, Lviv dripped with the blood of young heroes and the tears of orphaned mothers, and glowed with the living wounds of its walls.

However, crowned with the halo of glorious victory, it happily returned to the reborn "Homeland's bosom" to continue working for it and, through the creation of the "Eastern Trade Fair", to restore its former commercial glory. All those who want to get to know the beauty of Lviv and its history must consult St. Wasylewski's wonderfully published book "Lviv" in the series "The Wonders of Poland", the valuable "Library of the Enthusiasts of Old Lviv", and last but not least recreate in their imagination the moments of battles by reading "Battles of Lviv" by Brigadier Mączyński or "The Eaglets of Lviv" by St. Lipiński.