Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria

The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia in Eastern Europe. The crownland was established in 1772. The lands were annexed from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as part of the First Partition of Poland. In 1804 it became a crownland of the newly proclaimed Austrian Empire. From 1867 it was a crownland within the Cisleithanian or Austrian half of the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. It maintained a degree of provincial autonomy. Its status remained unchanged until the dissolution of the monarchy in 1918.

Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, with the Grand Duchy of Kraków and the Duchies of Auschwitz and Zator
Name in different languages ↓
1772–1918
Flag
(1890–1918)
Coat of arms
Galicia and Lodomeria (red) within Austria-Hungary in 1914
Status
CapitalLemberg (Lviv)
Common languages
  • Official language:
    German
  • Language of government (from 1867):
    Polish
  • Minority languages:
    • Ruthenian
    • Yiddish
  • By census 1910:
    • Polish 58.6%
    • Ruthenian 40.2%
Religion
Minority:
Government
Monarch 
 1772–1780 (first)
Maria Theresa
 1916–1918 (last)
Charles I
Governor 
 1772–1774 (first)
J. A. von Pergen
 1917–1918 (last)
Karl Georg Huyn
LegislatureDiet
History 
August 5, 1772
 Claimed by West UPR
October 19, 1918
 Joined to Poland
November 14, 1918
 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye
September 10, 1919
Area
 Total
78,497 km2 (30,308 sq mi)
Population
 1910
8,025,675
Currency
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Moldavia
Duchy of Warsaw
Free City of Cracow
Second Polish Republic
West Ukrainian People's Republic
Republic of Tarnobrzeg
Duchy of Bukovina
General Government of Galicia and Bukovina
Today part of
  • Poland
  • Ukraine

The domain was initially carved in 1772 from the south-western part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. During the following period, several territorial changes occurred. In 1795 the Habsburg monarchy participated in the Third Partition of Poland and annexed additional Polish-held territory, that was renamed as West Galicia. That region was lost in 1809. Some other changes also occurred, by territorial expansion or contraction (1786, 1803, 1809, 1815, 1846, 1849). After 1849, borders of the crownland remained stable until 1918.

The name "Galicia" is a Latinized form of Halych, one of several regional principalities of the medieval Kievan Rus'. The name "Lodomeria" is also a Latinized form of the original Slavic name of Vladimir, that was founded in the 10th century by Vladimir the Great. The title "King of Galicia and Lodomeria" was a late medieval royal title created by Andrew II of Hungary during his conquest of the region in the 13th century. Since that time, the title "King of Galicia and Lodomeria" was included among many ceremonial titles used by the kings of Hungary, thus creating the basis for later (1772) Habsburg claims. In the aftermath of the Galicia–Volhynia Wars, the region was annexed by the Kingdom of Poland in the 14th century and remained in Poland until the 18th-century partitions.

After World War I, Galicia became part of the Second Polish Republic. Then, as a result of border changes following World War II, the region of Galicia became divided between Poland and Ukraine. The nucleus of historic Galicia consists of the modern Lviv, Ternopil, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions of western Ukraine.

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