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    • Main contributor: Vera Miller
    A map showing the area of Galicia in 1914
    A map showing the area of Galicia in 1914

    Galicia is a historical region that once existed within an area of current-day southeastern Poland and northwestern Ukraine. Over time, it was ruled by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austrian-Hungarian Empire, Poland and Ukraine. Galicia is written as Galicja in Polish, Galizien in German[1], Galitsiya in Russian[2], and Halychyna in Ukrainian.[3]

    The area got its name from Halych, now called Krylos in Ivano-Frankivsk Region of Ukraine. The suburb of Krylos is now called Halych.[4]

    Galicia was located in Ukraine within the current regions of Lviv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Volhynia, Rivne, Chernivtsi and Transcarpathia[5], while the current Polish areas of Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship and Silesian Voivodeship composed the western portion.[6] The capital was in Lviv, also known as Lemberg and Lwów.[7]

    This area is not to be confused with the existing northwest region of Galicia in Spain.

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    History of Galicia

    A view of village Pidvysoke, Berezhany district, western Ukraine, from the early 20th century when the area was under Austro-Hungarian rule.
    A view of village Pidvysoke, Berezhany district, western Ukraine, from the early 20th century when the area was under Austro-Hungarian rule.

    Galicia was under control of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire from 1772-1918.[8] Before then, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth ruled the area from 1569 until the Austrian-Hungarian Empire took control. The Kingdom of Poland had the area under its control for more than 200 years before the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.[9]

    The area of Bukovina was included as part of Galicia from 1786 to 1849. The Republic of Cracow (now known as Krakow) was added to Galicia in 1846. A nationalist movement formed in eastern Galicia by the Ukrainians to protest the control by the Poles over the Ukrainians in the late 19th century.[10]

    Many people from Galicia left for a better life in North America. It is estimated that 600,000 Ukrainians left the area before 1914. Also, about 350,000 Jews from Galicia left to start new lives in the USA before World War I. Galicia struggled with poverty because the people didn't have enough land to live off and that land wasn't as productive in the Carpathian Mountains as the land in Volhynia and Podolia.[11]

    The Ukrainian-Polish War started in 1919 because the Poles rejected the Ukrainians' creation of the Western Ukrainian National Republic after the Austrian-Hungarian Empire dissolved.[12] The Poles killed more than 70 Jews and injured more than 400 Jews during pogroms within the war.[13] Poland won the war and both sides signing the Treaty of War but soon afterwards the Polish-Soviet War began.[14]

    Then in 1945, a Soviet-Polish agreement relocated Poles living in Soviet Ukraine to Poland and most Ukrainians living in Poland were forced to relocate to Soviet Ukraine or the regions that Poland acquired from Germany as part of Operation Wisla.[15] This ended the existence of Galicia.

    Population of Galicia

    A Jewish klezmer music band from Rohatyn, Western Ukraine. Most of the band members are from the Faust family. (1912)
    A Jewish klezmer music band from Rohatyn, Western Ukraine. Most of the band members are from the Faust family. (1912)

    The area had a mixture of Poles, Ukrainians, Jewish and Germans. The Ukrainians who lived in Galicia were called Ruthenians or Rusyns. Ukrainians who practiced the Catholic religion were called the Uniates but they also were referred to as Greek Catholics. The Polish Catholics in Galicia were known as Roman Catholics.[16]

    The vast majority of people living in the villages of Galicia were Ukrainians while Jews were the large majority (70 percents) in the small towns.[17]

    By 1939, Galicia had about 5.8 million residents. The majority were Ukrainians (64 percent) and the remaining were Poles (16 percent), Roman Catholics who spoke Ukrainian (8.8 percent), Jews (9.8 percent), Germans (almost 1 percent) and Ukrainian Greek Catholics who spoke Polish (0.3 percent).[18]

    How to find records from Galicia

    Due to the changes since Galicia ended in existence, it can be challenging to find records on ancestors and relatives who lived in the area. Edward David Luft and Donald Szumowski visited the Polish National Archives to create the Galician Record Locator based on religious backgrounds: Catholic, Jewish, Greek Catholic and other religions. Luft and Szumowski also created a Parish Records Index for those records FamilySearch had not microfilmed and posted onto its website.[19]

    In Ukraine, records on ancestors from Galicia can be found in the state archives of Lviv, Ternopil, and Lviv regions and the Central State Historical Archives in Lviv.[20]

    Explore more about Galicia

    • Galicia- A thorough historic description of the former land from the Encyclopedia of Ukraine.
    • Eastern Bordland Places- A database of villages and their parishes to help identify the correct communities in Galicia.

    References

    1. ↑ A Brief History of Galicia, Gesher Galicia, https://www.geshergalicia.org/about-galicia/
    2. ↑ Virtual Jewish World: Galicia, Ukraine https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/galicia-ukraine
    3. ↑ Galicia, Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CG%5CA%5CGalicia.htm
    4. ↑ Halych, princely, Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CH%5CA%5CHalychprincely.htm
    5. ↑ Halych, princely, Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CH%5CA%5CHalychprincely.htm
    6. ↑ Galicia (Eastern Europe), Familypedia https://familypedia.fandom.com/wiki/Galicia_(Eastern_Europe)
    7. ↑ What is Galicia, Forgotten Galicia https://forgottengalicia.com/about/what-is-galicia/
    8. ↑ Ukrainian State Archives, Gesher Galicia https://www.geshergalicia.org/ukrainian-archives/
    9. ↑ What is Galicia, Forgotten Galicia https://forgottengalicia.com/about/what-is-galicia/
    10. ↑ Galicia, Britannica https://www.britannica.com/place/Galicia-historical-region-Eastern-Europe
    11. ↑ "The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine,” Serhii Plokhy, Basic Books, 2015.
    12. ↑ Ukrainian-Polish War in Galicia, 1918–19, Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CU%5CK%5CUkrainian6PolishWarinGalicia1918hD719.htm
    13. ↑ Virtual Jewish World: Galicia, Ukraine https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/galicia-ukraine
    14. ↑ Polish-Ukrainian War, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Ukrainian_War
    15. ↑ What is Galicia, Forgotten Galicia https://forgottengalicia.com/about/what-is-galicia/
    16. ↑ “The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine,” Serhii Plokhy, Basic Books, 2015.
    17. ↑ “The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine,” Serhii Plokhy, Basic Books, 2015.
    18. ↑ Galicia, Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine, https://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CG%5CA%5CGalicia.htm
    19. ↑ Vital Records for Galician Towns, Polish Roots https://www.polishroots.com/Research/Galician_records?PageId=203
    20. ↑ Ukrainian State Archives, Gesher Galicia https://www.geshergalicia.org/ukrainian-archives/


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