After the first partition of Poland in 1772, L'viv (Polish Lvov, German Lemberg) became part of Austrian Empire and was the capital of the region of Galicia. It would grow to be the 4th largest city of first the Austrian, then the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Walking around it's old town today, you clearly see the Austrian influence in the architecture: It's feels like a small Vienna, quite out of place this far east.

While the Austrians, initially tried to Germanize the region, they never succeeded. Eventually, Polish became the administrative language spoken in the city by the Polish elite, while Ruthenian (Ukrainian) was the language of the countryside and the peasant population. It's a role reversal compared to cities further west where Polish was the peasant language while German the language of the city elite.

After the 2nd World War Stalin forcibly resettled the Polish (west) and Ukrainians (East) populations. The Polish replaced the Germans of Silesia that were expelled and had to migrate further west. This is why, if you are in Wroclaw (Breslau) you will find restaurants serving Lemberg/Lvov cuisine.

Wandering the streets of L'viv you feel like you can see a glimpse of the glory of the Austrian empire. This was a vibrant, cosmopolitan city, with Jews/Jiddish, Armenians, Polish, German, and Ukrainian influences. The Armenian church is a true gem as is eating at an authentic Jewish/Jiddish restaurant. It all ended due to World War 1.

L'viv rivals other central and eastern European cities such as Vilnius and Krakow. Similar to these cities, it has also become part of the tourist itinerary thanks to low prices and cheap flights (pre COVID).

Getting There

L'viv has an international airport and (pre Covid) there were an increasing number of cheap flights going there from all over Europe. Alternatively, you can take a bus from Warsaw or Lublin in Poland. Or a train to Kiew.

In my case, I stayed at Zamosc and then found a connection from Tomaszów Lubelski. But instead of going straight to L'viv I got off at Schowkwa where I visited one of the Wooden Tserkvas. From Schowkwa, there were plenty of local busses doing the trip to L'viv. However, I got drop off way North of the city center and it was a long walk to get to my hotel. I left by express train to Kiew.