Lviv Lviv
City
From top, left to right: Historic Centre of Lviv Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet Dormition Church Church of Sts. Olha and Elizabeth Market Square Potocki Palace
Flag Coat of arms Brandmark
Nicknames:  Ukrainian Piedmont[1]
Motto(s):  "Lviv is open to the world" "Semper fidelis" (historical)[2]
Lviv Lviv shown within Lviv Oblast Show map of Lviv Oblast Lviv Lviv shown within Ukraine Show map of Ukraine Lviv Lviv shown within Europe Show map of Europe
Coordinates: 49°50′33″N 24°01′56″E / 49.84250°N 24.03222°E / 49.84250; 24.03222
Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Lviv Oblast
Raion	Lviv Raion
Hromada	Lviv urban hromada
Founded	1256
Magdeburg law	1356
Government
• Mayor	Andriy Sadovyi
Area
• City	148.9 km2 (57.5 sq mi)
• Metro	4,975 km2 (1,921 sq mi)
Elevation	296 m (971 ft)
Population  (2022)
• City	717,273
• Rank	6th in Ukraine
• Density	4,800/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
• Metro	1,141,119[3][4]
• Demonym	Leopolitan
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal codes	79000–79490
Area code	+380 32(2)
Licence plate	BC, HC (before 2004: ТА, ТВ, ТН, ТС)
Sister cities	Plovdiv, Freiburg, Cannes, Chengdu, Kraków, Lublin, Novi Sad, Przemyśl, Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Winnipeg, Vilnius, Banja Luka, Budapest, Rishon LeZion, Łódź, Rzeszów, Wrocław, Rochdale, Corning
Website	city-adm.lviv.ua
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	L'viv – the Ensemble of the Historic Centre
Criteria	Cultural: ii, v
Reference	865
Inscription	1998 (22nd Session)
Area	2,441 ha

Lviv (/ləˈviːv/, /ləˈviːf/ lə-VEEV, lə-VEEF; Ukrainian: Львів [lʲwiu̯] ^ⓘ; see below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the sixth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of 717,273 (2022 estimate).^[5] It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion,^[6] and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine. Lviv also hosts the administration of Lviv urban hromada. It was named after Leo I of Galicia, the eldest son of Daniel, King of Ruthenia.

Lviv emerged as the centre of the historical regions of Red Ruthenia and Galicia in the 14th century, superseding Halych, Chełm, Belz, and Przemyśl. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia^[7] from 1272 to 1349, when it was conquered by King Casimir III the Great of Poland. From 1434, it was the regional capital of the Ruthenian Voivodeship in the Kingdom of Poland. In 1772, after the First Partition of Poland, the city became the capital of the Habsburg Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. In 1918, for a short time, it was the capital of the West Ukrainian People's Republic. Between the wars, the city was the centre of the Lwów Voivodeship in the Second Polish Republic. After the German-Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939, Lviv was annexed by the Soviet Union.

The once-large Jewish community of the city was murdered in large numbers by the Nazis during the Holocaust. For decades there was no working synagogue in Lviv after the final one was closed by the Soviets. The greater part of the once-predominant Polish population was sent to Poland during a population exchange between Poland and Soviet Ukraine in 1944–46.

The historical heart of the city, with its cobblestone streets and architectural assortment of Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-classicism and Art Nouveau, survived Soviet and German occupations during World War II largely unscathed. The historic city centre is on the UNESCO World Heritage List; however, it has been listed as an endangered site due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Due to the city's Mediterranean aura, many Soviet movies set in places like Venice or Rome were actually shot in Lviv.^[8] In 1991, Lviv became part of the independent nation of Ukraine.

The city has many industries and institutions of higher education, such as Lviv University and Lviv Polytechnic. Lviv is also the home of many cultural institutions, including a philharmonic orchestra and the Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet.^[9]

Names and symbols

The city of Lviv is also historically known by different names in other languages – Polish: Lwów [lvuf] ^ⓘ; German: Lemberg [ˈlɛmbɛʁk] ^ⓘ; Yiddish: לעמבעריק, romanized: Lemberik; Russian: Львов, romanized: Lvov [lʲvof]; as well as a number of other names.^[10]

The coat of arms, the banner of the Lviv City Council and the logo, are the officially approved symbols of Lviv. The names or images of architectural and historical monuments are also considered symbols of the city by the Statute of Lviv.^[11]

Lviv's modern coat of arms is based on the coat of arms from the city seal in the middle of the 14th century—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 colorful towers in Lviv and the slogan "Lviv — open to the world" under them.^[12] 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.

Geography

Lviv is on the edge of the Roztochia Upland, about 70 kilometres (43 miles) east of the Polish border and 160 km (99 mi) north of the eastern Carpathian Mountains. The average altitude of Lviv is 296 metres (971 feet) above sea level. Its highest point is the Vysokyi Zamok (High Castle), 409 meters (1,342 feet) 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 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, Liberty Avenue [uk], and the Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet.

Climate

Lviv's climate is humid continental (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with cold winters and warm summers.^[13] The average temperatures are −3 °C (27 °F) in January and 18 °C (64 °F) in July.^[14] The average annual rainfall is 745 mm (29 in) with the maximum in summer.^[14] Mean sunshine duration per year at Lviv is about 1,804 hours.^[15]