City of Lviv

Lviv (Ukrainian L’viv, Polish Lwów, German Lemberg) is a historic city in western Ukraine whose origins lie in the medieval Principality of Galicia–Volhynia. Archaeological evidence suggests the site was inhabited since at least the 5th–6th centuries AD, and by the 10th century there was a settlement around the Vysokyi Zamok (“High Castle”) hill. In its first documented mention in 1256, Lviv (then written L’vovъ or Leopolis) appeared in the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle. It is traditionally said to have been (re)founded in the 1250s by King Danylo Romanovych of Galicia and named for his son Lev (“Lion”). Over the ensuing centuries Lviv grew into a major multiethnic trade and cultural center on key north–south and east–west routes through Central Europe. It served as the capital of Galicia–Volhynia under Danylo’s son Lev (about 1260–1340) and later