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, encompassing the historical region of Galicia, and also including parts of historical regions of Lodomeria and Lesser Poland. The crown land was established in 1772, after the First Partition of Poland, when Habsburgs annexed those regions, previously belonging to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1804, it became a crown land of the newly proclaimed Austrian Empire. From 1867, it was a crown land within the Cisleithanian or Austrian half of the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. It maintained a degree of provincial autonomy, and its status remained unchanged until the dissolution of the monarchy in 1918.

The domain was initially carved in 1772 from the southwestern 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, which 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, the borders of the crown land remained stable until 1918.

During the World War I, it was temporarily occupied and governed within the General Governorate of Galicia and Bukovina (1914–1915). In 1918, after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, its eastern regions were claimed by the Ukrainian People's Republic, and also by the West Ukrainian People's Republic, but following the Polish–Ukrainian War the entire region became part of the Second Polish Republic. As a result of later border changes following World War II, the region of Galicia became divided between the Republic of Poland and the Ukrainian SSR of the Soviet Union, now Poland and Ukraine.

The nucleus of historical Galicia broadly corresponds to the modern Lviv, Ternopil, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions of western Ukraine; while the western part makes up the bulk of the Polish Lesser Poland and Subcarpathian Voivodeships and a large part of the Silesian Voivodeship.

Name

The name of the newly created realm, selected by the Habsburgs in 1772, stems from a title used since the 13th century by Kings of Hungary, who had a long-standing claim over both Galicia and Lodomeria. The term "Galicia" is a Latinized form of Halychyna, a historical region and a medieval principality centered in the city of Halych. The name "Lodomeria" is also a Latinized form of the original Slavic name of the principality centered in Volodymyr-Volynskyi, and also known as Volhynia. The royal title "King of Galicia and Lodomeria" was created by King Andrew II of Hungary (1205–1235) during his temporary conquests of the region. Since that time, the dual title was included among ceremonial titles used by the kings of Hungary, thus creating the basis for later (1772) Habsburg claims.

Galicia was the largest part of the area annexed by the Habsburg monarchy in the First Partition of Poland in 1772, with the addition of a minor part of historical Lodomeria (the Belz region belonged to medieval Volhynia/Lodomeria). As such, the newly annexed territory was named the "Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria" to underline the Habsburg claim to those regions, as lands of the Hungarian Crown. Already in 1772, the annexed territory included a significant (southern) part of Lesser Poland, but that region was not represented in the name of the realm, for various political reasons.

In the Third Partition of Poland (1795), additional portions of the abolished Kingdom of Poland (northern and eastern parts of the historical Lesser Poland, and the most western part of historical Lodomeria) were also annexed by the Habsburgs, and renamed as West Galicia (or New Galicia), which additionally expanded the geographical reference of the term Galicia, thus omitting again Polish designations from the official geopolitical terminology.

Ceremonial name

After the annexation of the Grand Duchy of Kraków in 1846, the name of the realm, in its wider ceremonial form, was: Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria with the Grand Duchy of Kraków and the Duchies of Auschwitz and Zator. It had equivalents in all languages spoken in the region, including: ; .

History

thumb|Galician borders overlaid with modern state borders

In 1772, by the First Partition of Poland, the Habsburg Monarchy acquired Galicia, with parts of Lodomeria and Lesser Poland. Until then, those regions were parts of the Polish Kingdom: the Lesser Poland since the early medieval times, and Galicia-Lodomeria since the Galicia–Volhynia Wars in the 14th century, when they were annexed, and remained under Polish rule until the First Partition. The first governor, Count Johann Anton von Pergen, took his post in the autumn of 1772.

Lwów (Lemberg in German) served as the capital of Austrian Galicia, which was dominated by the Polish aristocracy, despite the fact that the population of the eastern half of the province was mostly Ukrainians. In addition, there existed a large Jewish population in Galicia, also more heavily concentrated in the eastern parts of the province.

During the first decades of Austrian rule, Galicia was firmly governed from Vienna, and many significant reforms were carried out by a bureaucracy staffed largely by Germans and Czechs. The aristocracy was guaranteed its rights, but these rights were considerably circumscribed. The former serfs were no longer mere chattels but became subjects of law and were granted certain personal freedoms, such as the right to marry without the lord's permission. Their labour obligations were defined and limited, and they could bypass the lords and appeal to the imperial courts for justice. The eastern-rite Uniate Church, which primarily served the Ruthenians, was renamed the Greek Catholic Church to bring it on a par with the Roman Catholic Church; it was given seminaries, and eventually, a Metropolitan. Although unpopular with the aristocracy, among the common folk, Polish and Ukrainian/Ruthenian alike, these reforms created a reservoir of good will toward the emperor which lasted almost to the end of Austrian rule. At the same time, however, the Austrian Empire extracted from Galicia considerable wealth and conscripted large numbers of the peasant population into its armed services.

From 1809 to 1860

thumb|400px|Physical map of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, 1861–1918

In 1809, during the Napoleonic Wars, Austria was forced in the Treaty of Schönbrunn to cede all of its third partition gains, plus Zamość and some other areas, to the Napoleonic Duchy of Warsaw, and some eastern areas around Ternopol to the Russian Empire. (For details, see .) In 1815, after the Napoleonic Wars, the Congress of Vienna returned Ternopil and a few other territories to Austria, but assigned the bulk of the formerly-Austrian territory of West Galicia to Congress Poland (Kingdom of Poland), which was ruled by the tsar. The city of Kraków and the surrounding territory, formerly also part of New or West Galicia, became the semi-autonomous Free City of Kraków under the supervision of the three powers that ruled Poland (i.e. Austria, Russia, and Prussia).

The 1820s and 1830s were periods of bureaucratic rule that was overseen by Vienna. Most administrative positions were filled by German speakers, including German-speaking Czechs. After the failure of the November Uprising in Russian Poland in 1830–1831, in which a few thousand Galician volunteers participated, many Polish refugees arrived in Galicia. The late 1830s period was rife with Polish conspiratorial organizations whose work culminated in the unsuccessful Galician insurrection of 1846. This uprising was easily put down by the Austrians with the help of a Galician peasantry that remained loyal to the emperor. The uprising occurred in the Polish-populated part of Galicia. Polish manorial gentry supported or were sympathetic to plans for an uprising to establish an independent Polish state, but peasants on the manorial estates of western Galicia, reduced to misery by poor harvests, saw little advantage for themselves in a free Poland. Instead, they seized the opportunity to rise against the institution of serfdom by killing many of the estate owners. With the collapse of the uprising for a free Poland, the city of Kraków lost its semi-autonomy and was integrated into the Austrian Empire under the title of a grand duchy. In practice, it was administered by the Austrian authorities as if it were part of Galicia.

In the same period, a sense of national awakening began to develop among the Ruthenians in the eastern part of Galicia. A circle of activists, primarily Greek Catholic seminarians, affected by the romantic movement in Europe and the example of fellow Slavs elsewhere, especially in eastern Ukraine under the Russians, began to turn their attention to the common folk and their language. In 1837, the so-called Ruthenian Triad led by Markiian Shashkevych, published Rusalka Dnistrovaia (The Nymph of the Dniester), a collection of folksongs and other materials in vernacular Ukrainian (then called rusynska, Ruthenian). Alarmed by such democratism, the Austrian authorities and the Greek Catholic Metropolitan banned the book.

In 1848, revolutionary actions broke out in Vienna and other parts of the Austrian Empire. In Lemberg, a Polish National Council, and then later, a Ukrainian, or Supreme Ruthenian Council were formed. Even before Vienna had acted, the remnants of serfdom were abolished by the Governor, Franz Stadion, in an attempt to thwart the revolutionaries. Moreover, Polish demands for Galician autonomy were countered by Ruthenian demands for national equality and for a partition of the province into an Eastern, Ruthenian part, and a Western, Polish part. Eventually, Lemberg was bombarded by imperial troops and the revolution was put down completely.

A decade of renewed absolutism followed, but to placate the Poles, Count Agenor Gołuchowski, a conservative representative of the eastern Galician aristocracy, the so-called Podolians, was appointed viceroy. He began to Polonize the local administration and managed to have Ruthenian ideas of partitioning the province shelved. He was unsuccessful, however, in forcing the Greek Catholic Church to shift to the use of the western or Gregorian calendar, or among Ruthenians generally, to replace the Cyrillic alphabet with the Latin alphabet.

Constitutional experiments

thumb|250px|[[Galician slaughter (Polish "Rzeź galicyjska") by Jan Lewicki (1795–1871)]]

In 1859, following the Austro-Hungarian military defeat in Italy, the Empire entered a period of constitutional experiments. In 1860, the Vienna Government, influenced by Agenor Gołuchowski, issued its October Diploma, which envisioned a conservative federalization of the empire, but a negative reaction in the German-speaking lands led to changes in government and the issuing of the February Patent, which watered down this decentralization. Nevertheless, by 1861, Galicia was granted a legislative assembly, the Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria ( in Polish). Although at first pro-Habsburg Ukrainian and Polish peasant representation was considerable in this body (about half the assembly), and the pressing social and Ukrainian questions were discussed, administrative pressures limited the effectiveness of both peasant and Ukrainian representatives and the diet became dominated by the Polish aristocracy and gentry, who favoured further autonomy. This same year, disturbances broke out in Russian Poland and, to some extent, spilled over into Galicia. The diet ceased to sit.

By 1863, an open revolt broke out in Russian Poland and from 1864 to 1865, the Austro-Hungarian government declared a state of siege in Galicia, temporarily suspending civil liberties. The year 1865 brought a return to federal ideas along the lines suggested by Gołuchowski and negotiations on autonomy between the Polish aristocracy and Vienna began once again.

Meanwhile, the Ruthenians felt more and more abandoned by Vienna and among the Old Ruthenians grouped around the Greek Catholic Cathedral of Saint George, there occurred a turn towards Russia. The more extreme supporters of this orientation came to be known as Russophiles. At the same time, influenced by the Ukrainian language poetry of the central Ukrainian writer, Taras Shevchenko, an opposing Ukrainophile movement arose which published literature in the Ukrainian/Ruthenian language and eventually established a network of reading halls. Supporters of this orientation came to be known as Populists , and later, as Ukrainians. Almost all Ruthenians, however, still hoped for national equality and for an administrative division of Galicia along ethnic lines.

Galician autonomy

thumb|260px|The Galician Sejm (parliament) in Lviv

thumb|Visit of Emperor [[Franz Joseph I of Austria to Galicia in 1880]]

In 1866, following the Battle of Königgrätz and the Austrian defeat in the Austro-Prussian War, the Austrian Empire began to experience increased internal problems. In an effort to shore up support for the monarchy, Emperor Franz Joseph began negotiations for a compromise with the Hungarian nobility to ensure their support. Some members of the government, such as the Austro-Hungarian prime minister Count Richard von Belcredi, advised the Emperor to make a more comprehensive constitutional deal with all of the nationalities that would have created a federal structure. Belcredi worried that an accommodation with the Magyar interests would alienate the other nationalities. However, Franz Joseph was unable to ignore the power of the Magyar nobility, and they would not accept anything less than dualism between themselves and the traditional Austrian elites.

Finally, after the so-called of February 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into a dualist Austria-Hungary. Although the Polish and Czech plans for their parts of the monarchy to be included in the federal structure failed, a slow yet steady process of liberalisation of Austrian rule in Galicia started. Representatives of the Polish aristocracy and intelligentsia addressed the Emperor asking for greater autonomy for Galicia. Their demands were not accepted outright, but over the course of the next several years, a number of significant concessions were made toward the establishment of Galician autonomy.

From 1873, Galicia was de facto an autonomous province of Austria-Hungary with Polish and, to a lesser degree, Ukrainian or Ruthenian, as official languages. The Germanisation had been halted and the censorship lifted as well. Galicia was subject to the Cisleithanian jurisdiction of the Dual Monarchy, but the Galician Sejm and provincial administration had extensive privileges and prerogatives, especially in education, culture, and local affairs.

These changes were supported by many Polish intellectuals. In 1869, a group of young conservative publicists in Kraków, including Józef Szujski, Stanisław Tarnowski, Stanisław Egbert Koźmian and Ludwik Wodzicki, published a series of satirical pamphlets entitled ' (Stańczyk's Portfolio). Only five years after the tragic end of the January Uprising, the pamphlets ridiculed the idea of armed national uprisings and suggested compromise with Poland's enemies, especially the Austrian Empire, concentration on economic growth, and acceptance of the political concessions offered by Vienna. This political grouping came to be known as the Stanczyks or Kraków Conservatives. Together with the eastern Galician conservative Polish landowners and aristocracy, called the "Podolians", they gained a political ascendancy in Galicia which lasted until 1914. This shift in power from Vienna to the Polish landowning class was not welcomed by the Ruthenians, who became more sharply divided between Ukrainophiles, who looked to Kyiv and the common people for historic connection, and Russophiles who stressed their connections to Russia.

Both Vienna and the Poles saw treason among the Russophiles and a series of political trials eventually discredited them. Meanwhile, by 1890, an agreement was worked out between the Poles and the "Populist" Ruthenians or Ukrainians which saw the partial Ukrainianization of the school system in eastern Galicia and other concessions to Ukrainian culture. Possibly as a result of this agreement, Ukrainian language students rose sharply in number. Thereafter, the Ukrainian national movement spread rapidly among the Ruthenian peasantry and, despite repeated setbacks, by the early years of the twentieth century this movement had almost completely replaced other Ruthenian groups as the main rival for power with the Poles. Throughout this period, the Ukrainians never gave up the traditional Ruthenian demands for national equality and for partition of the province into a western, Polish half and an eastern, Ukrainian half. Starting with the election of September 1895, Galicia became known for its "bloody elections" as the Austrian prime minister Count Kasimir Felix Badeni proceeded to rig the election results while having policemen beat those voters who were not voting for the government at the poll stations.

First World War and Polish-Ukrainian conflict

thumb|left|230px|The [[Siege of Przemyśl in 1915]]

During the World War I, Galicia saw heavy fighting between the forces of Russia and the Central Powers. The Imperial Russian Army overran most of the region in 1914 after defeating the Austro-Hungarian Army in a chaotic frontier battle in the opening months of the war. They were, in turn, pushed out in the spring and summer of 1915 by a combined German and Austro-Hungarian offensive.

In late 1918, Eastern Galicia became a part of the restored Republic of Poland, which absorbed the Lemko-Rusyn Republic. The local Ukrainian population briefly declared the independence of Eastern Galicia as the West Ukrainian People's Republic. During the Polish-Soviet War, the Soviets tried to establish the puppet-state of the Galician SSR in East Galicia, the government of which, after a couple of months, was liquidated.

The fate of Galicia was settled by the Peace of Riga on March 18, 1921, giving all of Galicia to the Second Polish Republic. Although never accepted as legitimate by some Ukrainians, it was internationally recognized with significant French support on 15 May 1923. The French support for Polish rule of ethnically mixed eastern Galicia and its oil resources in the Borysław-Drohobycz basin was rewarded by Warsaw, allowing significant French investment to pour into the Galician oil industry. The Poles had convinced the French that since less than 25% of the ethnic Ukrainians were literate before the Great War, and Ukrainians were novices in governing themselves, only the Poles, not the Ukrainians, would be able to administer eastern Galicia and its precious oil assets. In 1854 the were formally re-established, sub-divided into and grouped into two ("administrative regions/territories") – (Lviv/Lwów) and (Krawów). and were themselves statutory cities subordinate directly to the Kingdom.

Below is a list of the as of 1854 and their . Aside from the and the addition of Krakau, these had essentially remained consistent since shortly after the end of the Napoleonic wars.

(A listing which includes the for each can be found at .)

In 1860 and Bukovina were dissolved and re-subordinated to ; the was split between the and ; and the and were merged into the .

and political districts (1850–1853)

In 1850 Galicia and Lodomeria was divided into three ("government districts"), named after their capitals: (Lviv/Lwów), (Krawów) and (Stanislaviv/Stanisławów; today called Ivano-Frankivsk). The were abolished and replaced with political districts (), of which they had 19, 26 and 18 respectively (giving a total of 63).

The and political districts abolished in 1853 In 1914 they numbered 82. Besides Lwów (Lviv in Ukrainian) being the capital of the Kingdom, Kraków was considered as the unofficial capital of the western part of Galicia and the second most important city in the region.

Belz (Polish: ', Yiddish: ')
Berezhany (Polish: ')
Biecz (German: ', , ')
Bochnia (German: ')
Boryslav (Polish: ')
Brody (Yiddish: ')
Busk
Buchach (Polish: ')
Chortkiv (Polish: ')
Chrzanów
Dukla (Ukrainian: , ')
Drohobych (Polish: ')
Gorlice (Ukrainian: , ', German: ')
Halych (Polish: ', German: ', Yiddish: ')
Husiatyn
Jarosław (German: ', Ukrainian: , ')
Jasło (German: ')
Kalush (Polish: ')
Kolomyia (German: ', Polish: ', , Yiddish: ')
Kozova (Polish: ')
Kraków (German: ', Yiddish: ')
Krosno (German: ', Ukrainian: , ')
Lesko (Ukrainian: , ', Yiddish: ')
Leżajsk (German: ', Yiddish: ')
Limanowa (German: ')
Lwów (German: ', Yiddish: 'Ukrainian Lviv )
Łańcut (German: ')
Machliniec (Ukrainian: , ')
Myślenice (German: ')
Nadvirna (Polish: ')
Nowy Sącz (German: ', Yiddish: ')
Oświęcim (German: ', Yiddish: ')
Peremyshliany (Polish: ')
Przemyśl (Ukrainian: , ')
Pidhaytsi ()
Rava-Ruska (Polish: Rawa Ruska, Yiddish: ')
Rohatyn (, )
Rymanów (German: ')
Rzeszów (Yiddish: ', Ukrainian: ', German: ')
Sambir (Polish: ')
Sanok (Ukrainian: , ', Yiddish: ', )
Stanisławów (, German: ', Yiddish: '; renamed in 1962 to ')
Ternopil (Polish: ')
Trembowla (Ukrainian: ')
Tarnów (Ukrainian: , ', German: ')
Tomaszów Lubelski ()
Truskavets (Polish: ')
Wieliczka (German: ')
Zalishchyky (Polish: ')
Zator (German: ')
Zolochiv (Polish: ', Yiddish: ')
Zhovkva (Polish: ')
Żywiec (Ukrainian: , ', German: ')

Other administrative entities

West Galicia

West Galicia was part of the Kingdom from 1795 to 1809, until 1803 as a separate administrative unit. As with the rest of Galicia, it was divided into :

Bukovina District

Bukovina was part of the Kingdom from 1786 to 1849 (after 1849: Duchy of Bukovina).

Free City of Cracow

The Free City of Cracow was a co-protectorate with Prussia and Russia from 1815 to 1846. It was annexed by Austria in 1846 as the Grand Duchy of Kraków and became de facto part of the Kingdom.

Government

After the partition of Poland, the region was governed by an appointed governor, later a vice-regent. During the war time, the office of the vice-regent was supplemented by a military-governor. In 1861, a regional assembly was established, the Sejm of the Land, which initially, due to a lack of adequate administrative building, was located in the building of the Skarbek Theatre until 1890.

Vice-Regents

thumb|250px|The [[Government House, Lviv|Vice-regency Office in Lviv]]

List of vice-regents since 1900:

Count Leon Piniński (31 March 1898 – June 1903)
Count Andrzej Kazimierz Potocki (8 June 1903 – 12 April 1908)
Count Michał Bobrzyński (28 April 1908 – 14 May 1913)
Witold Korytowski (14 May 1913 – 20 August 1915)
Russian occupation (September 1914 – 1915)
Hermann von Colard (August 1915 – 8 April 1916)
Baron Erich von Diller (April 1916 – March 1917), exiled due to Russian occupation
Russian occupation (1916 – 26 July 1917)
Count Karl Georg Huyn (1917 – 1 November 1918), in fact subordinate to the Regency Council and its General Commissar Prince Witold Leon Czartoryski instead of the Austrian Crown.

Political parties and public organisations

Political

Chief Ruthenian Council (2 May 1848 – 1851), headed by Gregory Yakhimovich and later by Mykhailo Kuzemsky. It consisted of 30 members.
Ruthenian Council (Lviv) (1870–1814)
Ruthenian Congress (23 May 1848) was an oppositional political formation to the Chief Ruthenian Council, to which belonged such personalities as Ivan Vahylevych, Julian Lawriwskyj, Leon Sapieha, and others.
Ukrainian National Democratic Party (1899–1919) was created in place of the People's Council (1885–1899), eventually becoming part of the Ukrainian National Democratic Alliance (UNDO)
Ukrainian Radical Party (1890–1939)
Christian-Social Party (1896–1930), until 1911 was called the Catholic-Ruthenian People's Union, in 1930 it split when some members joined UNDO, while others created the Ukrainian Catholic People's Party.
Ukrainian Social Democratic Party (1899–1939), was created by some members of the Ukrainian Radical Party and in 1924 partially merged with Communist Party of Western Ukraine (1919–1938)
Ukrainian General Council (1914–1916), initially as the Chief Ukrainian Council, was a national political bloc of most of the Ukrainian parties. It laid the foundation for creating the Ukrainian state in the West Ukraine.

Public

Ukrainian Forum (Besida) (until 1928 Ruthenian Forum) (1861–1939), a forum-type association created by Julian Lawriwskyj based on the Lviv intelligentsia circle, "Young Rus". The organization established its own Ukrainian-based professional theater (1864–1924).
Prosvita (1868–present)
Shevchenko Scientific Society (1873–present)
Ruthenian Triad (1833–1843), literary organization discontinued after the death of Markiyan Shashkevych
Academic Society (Hromada) (1882–1921), until 1896 as Brotherhood
Academical Circle (1874–1877)
Polish Sokół movement and Ukrainian Sokil movement, sport organizations created in light of the European gymnastics movement
Sich and Plast
Luh, a fireman society
Riflemen's Association

Demographics

thumb|People of East Galicia

thumb|Map of a region where Ruthenians (considered "Russians" by the Russian Empire) lived in the [[Austrian Empire – Galicia and "Hungarian Russia" (Carpathian Ruthenia) – by Dmitry Vergun]]

thumb|Until 1918, [[Choral Synagogue (Drohobych)|Choral Synagogue of Drohobych had been the central synagogue of Galicia and Lodomeria]]

In 1773, Galicia had about 2.6 million inhabitants in 280 cities and markets and approx. 5,500 villages. There were nearly 19,000 noble families with 95,000 members (about 3% of the population). The "non-free" accounted for 1.86 million, more than 70% of the population. A small number were full farmers, but by far the overwhelming number (84%) had only smallholdings or no possessions.

No country of the Austrian monarchy had such a varied ethnic mix as Galicia: Poles, Ruthenians, Germans (Galician Germans), Armenians, Jews, Hungarians, Romani people, Lipowaner, etc. The Poles were mainly in the west, with the Ruthenians (Ukrainians) predominant in the eastern region (Ruthenia).

The Jews of Galicia had immigrated in the Middle Ages from Germany and mostly spoke Yiddish as their first language. German-speaking people were more commonly referred to as "Saxons" or "Swabians", even though most of them did not come from Saxony or Swabia (cf. Transylvanian Saxons and Danube Swabians). There were also some Mennonites who mostly came originally from Switzerland, but spoke a dialect of Palatine German which is close to Pennsylvania German. With inhabitants who had a clear difference in language, such as with the Saxons or the Roma, identification was less problematic, but widespread multilingualness blurred the borders again.

It is however possible to make a clear distinction in religious denominations: the majority of the Poles were Latin Catholics, while the Ruthenians were mostly Greek Catholics (formerly part of the Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Ruthenia in the Ruthenian Uniate Church). In Galicia, there were few Eastern Orthodox Christians, who were concentrated mainly in Bukovina (part of the Kingdom from 1786 to 1849), and had their own eparchy (diocese), centered previously at Rădăuți, and since 1782 in Chernivtsi.

The Jews, who represented the third largest religious group, were mostly traditional in their religious observance, which later developed into Orthodox Judaism. The Jewish community had a strong sense of Galician identity and called themselves to distinguish themselves from the other Ashkenazi communities of Eastern Europe. The Jewish community of Galicia was largely Orthodox or Hasidic in 1772 and many regarded the reforms introduced by the Emperor Joseph II, such as the introduction of conscription, as a form of oppression, leading the to split between the Orthodox and Hasidic communities committed to the traditional values vs. the "modernisers" who wanted to change.

The average life expectancy was 27 years for men and 28.5 years for women, as compared to 33 and 37 in Bohemia, 39 and 41 in France and 40 and 42 in England. Also, the quality of life was much lower as Galicia was the poorest province in the Austrian Empire. The yearly consumption of meat did not exceed per capita, as compared to in Hungary and 33 in Germany. This was mostly due to a much lower average income. In 2014, The Economist reported: "Poverty in Galicia in the 19th century was so extreme that it had become proverbial—the region was called Golicja and Glodomeria, a play on the official name (Galicja i Lodomeria) and goly (naked) and glodny (hungry)."

{|class="wikitable"

|+ Religions demographics<br>(per the December 1910 census)

! Religion

! colspan=2 | Adherents

| Roman Catholic

|align=right| 3,731,569

|align=right| 46.5%

| Greek Catholic

|align=right| 3,379,613

|align=right| 42.1%

| Jewish

|align=right| 871,895

|align=right| 10.9%

| Protestant

|align=right| 37,144

|align=right| 0.5%

| Other

|align=right| 5,454

|align=right| <0.1%

| Total

|align=right| 8,025,675

|align=right|

Linguistic and religious structure in 1910

thumb|left|300x300px|Roman Catholic population of Galicia in the 1910 census|alt=Roman Catholic population of Galicia in the 1910 census

thumb|300x300px|Greek Catholic and Eastern Orthodox population of Galicia in 1910|alt=Greek Catholic and Eastern Orthodox population of Galicia in 1910

thumb|center|300x300px|Prevalence of Polish or Ukrainian language in Galicia in 1910|alt=Prevalence of Polish or Ukrainian language in Galicia in 1910

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"

|+Linguistic and religious structure of Galicia according to the 1910 Austrian census

!Today part of

!County

!Pop.

!Polish

!Ruthenian (Ukrainian)

!Other Slavic

!German

!Other language

!Roman Catholic

!Protestant

!Uniate

!Eastern Orthodox

!Jewish

!Other religion

| rowspan="31" |

|Kraków City

|151886

|94.4%

|0.4%

|1.8%

|3.4%

|0.0%

|76.8%

|0.7%

|1.1%

|0.0%

|21.3%

|0.0%

|Biała

|86174

|83.0%

|0.0%

|0.3%

|16.7%

|0.0%

|93.9%

|2.8%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|3.1%

|0.0%

|Bochnia

|114401

|99.8%

|0.0%

|0.2%

|0.0%

|93.9%

|0.2%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|5.8%

|0.0%

|Brzesko

|104498

|100.0%

|0.0%

|94.3%

|0.0%

|5.6%

|0.0%

|Chrzanów

|110838

|99.6%

|0.0%

|0.1%

|0.3%

|0.0%

|89.5%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|10.3%

|0.0%

|Dąbrowa

|69119

|100.0%

|0.0%

|91.8%

|0.0%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|8.1%

|0.0%

|Gorlice

|82203

|75.6%

|24.2%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|68.5%

|0.0%

|23.9%

|0.0%

|7.5%

|0.0%

|Grybów

|53240

|82.2%

|17.7%

|0.0%

|77.1%

|0.0%

|17.4%

|0.0%

|5.5%

|0.0%

|Jasło

|87878

|91.6%

|8.4%

|0.0%

|84.9%

|0.0%

|8.6%

|0.0%

|6.5%

|0.0%

|Kolbuszowa

|73912

|99.7%

|0.0%

|0.3%

|0.0%

|91.3%

|0.2%

|0.0%

|8.5%

|0.0%

|Kraków County

|68829

|99.2%

|0.2%

|0.4%

|0.0%

|97.8%

|0.1%

|0.3%

|0.0%

|1.8%

|0.0%

|Krosno

|83115

|84.6%

|15.4%

|0.0%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|77.2%

|0.0%

|15.2%

|0.0%

|7.5%

|0.0%

|Łańcut

|93532

|96.8%

|3.0%

|0.0%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|87.2%

|0.3%

|5.0%

|0.0%

|7.5%

|0.0%

|Limanowa

|81163

|99.9%

|0.0%

|96.2%

|0.0%

|3.8%

|0.0%

|Mielec

|77218

|98.5%

|0.0%

|1.4%

|0.0%

|88.8%

|1.1%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|10.0%

|0.0%

|Myślenice

|93241

|99.9%

|0.0%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|98.0%

|0.0%

|2.0%

|0.0%

|Nisko

|69194

|99.8%

|0.0%

|0.2%

|0.0%

|90.3%

|0.2%

|1.3%

|0.0%

|8.2%

|0.0%

|Nowy Sącz

|131366

|86.5%

|12.8%

|0.0%

|0.7%

|0.0%

|76.6%

|1.2%

|13.0%

|0.0%

|9.3%

|0.0%

|Nowy Targ

|80767

|99.5%

|0.5%

|0.0%

|93.1%

|0.1%

|2.7%

|0.0%

|4.1%

|0.0%

|Oświęcim

|49996

|99.1%

|0.1%

|0.3%

|0.6%

|0.0%

|86.4%

|0.2%

|0.3%

|0.0%

|13.1%

|0.0%

|Pilzno

|48673

|100.0%

|0.0%

|93.8%

|0.0%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|6.1%

|0.0%

|Podgórze

|64383

|98.2%

|0.1%

|1.0%

|0.8%

|0.0%

|88.4%

|0.2%

|0.4%

|0.0%

|11.0%

|0.0%

|Przeworsk

|57044

|98.4%

|1.5%

|0.0%

|87.4%

|0.0%

|5.6%

|0.0%

|6.9%

|0.0%

|Ropczyce

|80170

|99.6%

|0.2%

|0.0%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|91.1%

|0.0%

|0.3%

|0.0%

|8.5%

|0.0%

|Rzeszów

|144271

|99.1%

|0.5%

|0.1%

|0.3%

|0.0%

|88.4%

|0.1%

|1.8%

|0.0%

|9.7%

|0.0%

|Strzyżów

|58549

|95.5%

|4.5%

|0.0%

|87.9%

|0.0%

|4.9%

|0.0%

|7.2%

|0.0%

|Tarnobrzeg

|77360

|99.9%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|89.0%

|0.0%

|0.2%

|0.0%

|10.7%

|0.0%

|Tarnów

|114118

|99.3%

|0.1%

|0.2%

|0.5%

|0.0%

|84.4%

|0.1%

|0.2%

|0.0%

|15.4%

|0.0%

|Wadowice

|95339

|99.7%

|0.0%

|0.1%

|0.2%

|0.0%

|96.7%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|3.1%

|0.0%

|Wieliczka

|67724

|99.9%

|0.0%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|95.5%

|0.2%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|4.2%

|0.0%

|Żywiec

|119653

|99.5%

|0.0%

|0.5%

|0.0%

|98.1%

|0.2%

|0.0%

|1.6%

|0.0%

| rowspan="6" |

|Lwów City

|206129

|85.8%

|10.8%

|0.4%

|2.9%

|0.1%

|51.2%

|1.5%

|19.2%

|0.3%

|27.8%

|0.1%

|Bibrka

|88527

|30.1%

|69.1%

|0.0%

|0.8%

|0.0%

|18.8%

|0.2%

|69.5%

|0.0%

|11.5%

|0.0%

|Bohorodchany

|69463

|13.7%

|84.9%

|0.1%

|1.3%

|0.0%

|5.1%

|0.6%

|83.6%

|0.0%

|10.8%

|0.0%

|Borshchiv

|109320

|31.0%

|68.6%

|0.0%

|0.4%

|0.0%

|19.4%

|0.0%

|68.9%

|0.0%

|11.7%

|0.0%

|Brody

|146216

|37.8%

|59.6%

|0.0%

|2.5%

|0.2%

|21.7%

|0.2%

|62.4%

|0.3%

|15.5%

|0.0%

|Berezhany

|104810

|40.9%

|58.9%

|0.0%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|27.8%

|0.0%

|62.0%

|0.0%

|10.3%

|0.0%

|Brzozów

|81409

|87.9%

|12.1%

|0.0%

|78.2%

|0.0%

|15.2%

|0.0%

|6.5%

|0.0%

|Buchach

|138297

|46.6%

|53.0%

|0.0%

|0.4%

|0.0%

|31.4%

|0.0%

|55.9%

|0.0%

|12.6%

|0.0%

|Cieszanów

|86549

|48.1%

|51.4%

|0.0%

|0.5%

|0.0%

|34.9%

|0.2%

|52.4%

|0.0%

|12.5%

|0.0%

| rowspan="7" |

|Chortkiv

|76447

|39.1%

|59.7%

|0.2%

|1.0%

|0.0%

|28.0%

|0.2%

|61.3%

|0.0%

|10.4%

|0.0%

|Dobromyl

|72103

|39.2%

|59.7%

|0.0%

|1.1%

|0.0%

|24.9%

|0.7%

|64.0%

|0.0%

|10.5%

|0.0%

|Dolyna

|113831

|21.4%

|74.9%

|0.0%

|3.7%

|0.0%

|10.8%

|2.1%

|75.8%

|0.0%

|11.3%

|0.0%

|Drohobych

|171687

|41.3%

|56.7%

|0.0%

|2.0%

|0.0%

|21.9%

|1.3%

|59.6%

|0.0%

|17.2%

|0.0%

|Horodok

|79612

|35.0%

|62.7%

|0.0%

|2.3%

|0.0%

|29.2%

|2.2%

|58.7%

|0.0%

|9.9%

|0.0%

|Horodenka

|92033

|26.9%

|72.9%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|12.8%

|0.0%

|76.2%

|0.1%

|11.0%

|0.0%

|Husiatyn

|96891

|44.2%

|55.7%

|0.0%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|27.6%

|0.0%

|60.7%

|0.0%

|11.6%

|0.0%

|Jarosław

|150301

|66.7%

|32.0%

|0.6%

|0.0%

|50.3%

|0.1%

|39.6%

|0.0%

|10.0%

|0.0%

|Yavoriv

|86720

|20.6%

|78.3%

|0.0%

|1.1%

|0.0%

|13.1%

|0.5%

|79.0%

|0.1%

|7.3%

|0.0%

| rowspan="4" |

|Kalush

|97421

|17.1%

|81.2%

|0.0%

|1.6%

|0.0%

|10.1%

|0.8%

|80.7%

|0.0%

|8.4%

|0.0%

|Kamianka-Buzka

|115316

|39.7%

|58.4%

|0.0%

|1.7%

|0.2%

|24.6%

|1.6%

|60.7%

|0.3%

|12.7%

|0.0%

|Kolomyia

|124850

|38.1%

|59.2%

|0.2%

|2.4%

|0.0%

|17.8%

|0.9%

|62.0%

|0.2%

|19.1%

|0.0%

|Kosiv

|85805

|15.1%

|84.1%

|0.0%

|0.8%

|0.0%

|4.8%

|0.0%

|83.8%

|0.0%

|11.3%

|0.0%

|Lesko

|98492

|30.2%

|68.9%

|0.0%

|0.9%

|0.0%

|15.0%

|0.6%

|70.3%

|0.0%

|14.1%

|0.0%

| rowspan="5" |

|Lwów County

|161580

|61.6%

|36.6%

|0.0%

|1.8%

|0.0%

|43.4%

|2.1%

|45.8%

|0.0%

|8.7%

|0.0%

|Mostyska

|87841

|43.8%

|56.1%

|0.0%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|31.8%

|0.1%

|59.9%

|0.0%

|8.2%

|0.0%

|Nadvírna

|90663

|25.4%

|73.4%

|0.0%

|1.1%

|0.0%

|12.8%

|0.6%

|74.0%

|0.0%

|12.6%

|0.0%

|Pechenizhyn

|46794

|12.1%

|87.8%

|0.0%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|3.6%

|0.0%

|87.4%

|0.0%

|9.0%

|0.0%

|Pidhaitsi

|93546

|33.4%

|65.9%

|0.0%

|0.7%

|0.0%

|26.7%

|0.0%

|65.5%

|0.0%

|7.8%

|0.0%

|Przemyśl

|159991

|52.4%

|44.9%

|0.4%

|2.2%

|0.0%

|35.4%

|0.4%

|49.9%

|0.1%

|14.1%

|0.1%

| rowspan="5" |

|Peremyshliany

|86568

|39.5%

|59.5%

|0.0%

|1.0%

|0.0%

|26.0%

|0.7%

|62.3%

|0.0%

|11.0%

|0.0%

|Rava-Ruska

|115333

|32.0%

|67.0%

|0.0%

|1.0%

|0.0%

|15.0%

|0.4%

|70.1%

|0.0%

|14.5%

|0.1%

|Rohatyn

|124966

|29.2%

|70.6%

|0.0%

|0.2%

|0.0%

|17.4%

|0.1%

|71.7%

|0.0%

|10.8%

|0.0%

|Rudky

|77269

|39.1%

|60.5%

|0.0%

|0.4%

|0.0%

|27.8%

|0.4%

|63.5%

|0.0%

|8.3%

|0.0%

|Sambir

|107445

|41.7%

|57.1%

|0.0%

|1.2%

|0.0%

|30.5%

|0.3%

|60.9%

|0.0%

|8.2%

|0.0%

|Sanok

|108678

|54.4%

|45.4%

|0.0%

|0.2%

|0.0%

|39.3%

|0.0%

|50.3%

|0.0%

|10.4%

|0.0%

| rowspan="17" |

|Skałat

|96006

|52.0%

|47.7%

|0.0%

|0.3%

|0.0%

|36.5%

|0.0%

|50.3%

|0.0%

|13.1%

|0.0%

|Skole

|55353

|18.1%

|77.8%

|0.0%

|4.1%

|0.0%

|10.9%

|1.0%

|77.4%

|0.0%

|10.7%

|0.0%

|Sniatyn

|88706

|17.3%

|80.5%

|0.0%

|2.1%

|0.0%

|8.1%

|0.5%

|79.7%

|0.1%

|11.5%

|0.0%

|Sokal

|109250

|39.7%

|60.2%

|0.0%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|19.3%

|0.2%

|65.5%

|0.0%

|14.9%

|0.0%

|Stanyslaviv

|158066

|39.6%

|57.5%

|0.3%

|2.5%

|0.1%

|22.3%

|0.9%

|57.6%

|0.2%

|18.8%

|0.1%

|Staryi Sambir

|60810

|27.4%

|72.4%

|0.0%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|14.9%

|0.0%

|74.4%

|0.0%

|10.7%

|0.0%

|Stryi

|80211

|37.6%

|58.3%

|0.1%

|4.0%

|0.0%

|19.0%

|4.0%

|61.0%

|0.0%

|15.9%

|0.0%

|Ternopol

|142138

|51.4%

|48.0%

|0.1%

|0.4%

|0.0%

|32.5%

|0.1%

|53.5%

|0.0%

|13.9%

|0.0%

|Tlumach

|116066

|27.4%

|71.8%

|0.0%

|0.8%

|0.0%

|17.9%

|0.7%

|73.2%

|0.0%

|8.3%

|0.0%

|Trebowla

|81048

|51.7%

|48.0%

|0.2%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|39.4%

|0.1%

|51.5%

|0.0%

|9.0%

|0.0%

|Turka

|85823

|19.9%

|79.8%

|0.1%

|0.3%

|0.0%

|6.1%

|0.1%

|80.2%

|0.0%

|13.6%

|0.0%

|Zalishchyky

|76957

|30.3%

|69.2%

|0.1%

|0.4%

|0.0%

|16.6%

|0.0%

|71.3%

|0.1%

|12.0%

|0.0%

|Zbarazh

|71498

|43.0%

|57.0%

|0.0%

|31.6%

|0.0%

|60.9%

|0.0%

|7.5%

|0.0%

|Zboriv

|60665

|32.0%

|67.9%

|0.0%

|0.1%

|0.0%

|19.3%

|0.0%

|70.5%

|0.0%

|10.2%

|0.0%

|Zolochiv

|117372

|40.3%

|59.1%

|0.1%

|0.6%

|0.0%

|25.6%

|0.3%

|62.6%

|0.0%

|11.6%

|0.0%

|Zhovkva

|99658

|25.9%

|72.3%

|0.0%

|1.7%

|0.0%

|16.9%

|0.5%

|73.0%

|0.0%

|9.6%

|0.0%

|Zhydachiv

|83339

|22.4%

|74.7%

|0.0%

|2.9%

|0.0%

|15.9%

|0.2%

|75.7%

|0.0%

|8.2%

|0.0%

Linguistic and religious structure of former Galicia in 1931

thumb|left|300x300px|Roman Catholic population of former Galicia in the 1931 census

thumb|300x300px|Greek Catholic and Eastern Orthodox population of former Galicia in 1931

thumb|center|300x300px|Prevalence of Polish or Ukrainian language in Galicia in 1931

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"

|+Linguistic and religious structure of former Galicia according to the 1931 Polish census

!Today part of

!County

!Pop.

!Polish

!Yiddish & Hebrew

!Ukrainian & Ruthenian

!Other language %

!Roman Catholic

!Jewish

!Uniate & Eastern Orthodox

!Other religion %

| rowspan="43" |

|Borshchiv

|103277

|46153

|44.7%

|4302

|4.2%

|52612

|50.9%

|0.2%

|28432

|27.5%

|9353

|9.1%

|65344

|63.3%

|0.1%

|Brody

|91248

|32843

|36.0%

|7640

|8.4%

|50490

|55.3%

|0.3%

|22521

|24.7%

|10360

|11.4%

|58009

|63.6%

|0.4%

|Berezhany

|103824

|48168

|46.4%

|3716

|3.6%

|51757

|49.9%

|0.2%

|41962

|40.4%

|7151

|6.9%

|54611

|52.6%

|0.1%

|Buchach

|139062

|60523

|43.5%

|8059

|5.8%

|70336

|50.6%

|0.1%

|51311

|36.9%

|10568

|7.6%

|77023

|55.4%

|0.1%

|Chortkiv

|84008

|36486

|43.4%

|6474

|7.7%

|40866

|48.6%

|0.2%

|33080

|39.4%

|7845

|9.3%

|42828

|51.0%

|0.3%

|Kamianka-Buzka

|82111

|41693

|50.8%

|4737

|5.8%

|35178

|42.8%

|0.6%

|29828

|36.3%

|6700

|8.2%

|45113

|54.9%

|0.6%

|Kopychyntsi

|88614

|38158

|43.1%

|5164

|5.8%

|45196

|51.0%

|0.1%

|31202

|35.2%

|7291

|8.2%

|50007

|56.4%

|0.1%

|Pidhaitsi

|95663

|46710

|48.8%

|3464

|3.6%

|45031

|47.1%

|0.5%

|38003

|39.7%

|4786

|5.0%

|52634

|55.0%

|0.3%

|Peremyshliany

|89908

|52269

|58.1%

|4445

|4.9%

|32777

|36.5%

|0.5%

|38475

|42.8%

|6860

|7.6%

|44002

|48.9%

|0.6%

|Radekhiv

|69313

|25427

|36.7%

|3277

|4.7%

|39970

|57.7%

|0.9%

|17945

|25.9%

|6934

|10.0%

|42928

|61.9%

|2.2%

|Skalat

|89215

|60091

|67.4%

|3654

|4.1%

|25369

|28.4%

|0.1%

|45631

|51.1%

|8486

|9.5%

|34798

|39.0%

|0.3%

|Ternopil

|142220

|93874

|66.0%

|5836

|4.1%

|42374

|29.8%

|0.1%

|63286

|44.5%

|17684

|12.4%

|60979

|42.9%

|0.2%

|Terebovlia

|84321

|50178

|59.5%

|3173

|3.8%

|30868

|36.6%

|0.1%

|38979

|46.2%

|4845

|5.7%

|40452

|48.0%

|0.1%

|Zalishchyky

|72021

|27549

|38.3%

|3261

|4.5%

|41147

|57.1%

|0.1%

|17917

|24.9%

|5965

|8.3%

|48069

|66.7%

|0.1%

|Zbarazh

|65579

|32740

|49.9%

|3142

|4.8%

|29609

|45.2%

|0.1%

|24855

|37.9%

|3997

|6.1%

|36468

|55.6%

|0.4%

|Zboriv

|81413

|39624

|48.7%

|2522

|3.1%

|39174

|48.1%

|0.1%

|26239

|32.2%

|5056

|6.2%

|49925

|61.3%

|0.2%

|Zolochiv

|118609

|56628

|47.7%

|6066

|5.1%

|55381

|46.7%

|0.5%

|36937

|31.1%

|10236

|8.6%

|70663

|59.6%

|0.7%

|Dolyna

|118373

|21158

|17.9%

|9031

|7.6%

|83880

|70.9%

|3.6%

|15630

|13.2%

|10471

|8.8%

|89811

|75.9%

|2.1%

|Horodenka

|92894

|27751

|29.9%

|5031

|5.4%

|59957

|64.5%

|0.2%

|15519

|16.7%

|7480

|8.1%

|69789

|75.1%

|0.1%

|Kalush

|102252

|18637

|18.2%

|5109

|5.0%

|77506

|75.8%

|1.0%

|14418

|14.1%

|6249

|6.1%

|80750

|79.0%

|0.8%

|Kolomyia

|176000

|52006

|29.5%

|11191

|6.4%

|110533

|62.8%

|1.3%

|31925

|18.1%

|20887

|11.9%

|121376

|69.0%

|1.0%

|Kosiv

|93952

|6718

|7.2%

|6730

|7.2%

|79838

|85.0%

|0.7%

|4976

|5.3%

|7826

|8.3%

|80903

|86.1%

|0.3%

|Nadvírna

|140702

|16907

|12.0%

|11020

|7.8%

|112128

|79.7%

|0.5%

|15214

|10.8%

|11663

|8.3%

|113116

|80.4%

|0.5%

|Rohatyn

|127252

|36152

|28.4%

|6111

|4.8%

|84875

|66.7%

|0.1%

|27108

|21.3%

|9466

|7.4%

|90456

|71.1%

|0.2%

|Stanyslaviv

|198359

|49032

|24.7%

|26996

|13.6%

|120214

|60.6%

|1.1%

|42519

|21.4%

|29525

|14.9%

|123959

|62.5%

|1.2%

|Stryi

|152631

|25186

|16.5%

|15413

|10.1%

|106183

|69.6%

|3.8%

|23404

|15.3%

|17115

|11.2%

|108159

|70.9%

|2.6%

|Sniatyn

|78025

|17206

|22.1%

|4341

|5.6%

|56007

|71.8%

|0.6%

|8659

|11.1%

|7073

|9.1%

|61797

|79.2%

|0.6%

|Tlumach

|116028

|44958

|38.7%

|3677

|3.2%

|66659

|57.5%

|0.6%

|31478

|27.1%

|6702

|5.8%

|76650

|66.1%

|1.0%

|Zhydachiv

|83817

|16464

|19.6%

|4728

|5.6%

|61098

|72.9%

|1.8%

|15094

|18.0%

|5289

|6.3%

|63144

|75.3%

|0.3%

|Bibrka

|97124

|30762

|31.7%

|5533

|5.7%

|60444

|62.2%

|0.4%

|22820

|23.5%

|7972

|8.2%

|66113

|68.1%

|0.2%

|Dobromyl

|93970

|35945

|38.3%

|4997

|5.3%

|52463

|55.8%

|0.6%

|25941

|27.6%

|7522

|8.0%

|59664

|63.5%

|0.9%

|Drohobych

|194456

|91935

|47.3%

|20484

|10.5%

|79214

|40.7%

|1.5%

|52172

|26.8%

|28888

|14.9%

|110850

|57.0%

|1.3%

|Horodok

|85007

|33228

|39.1%

|2975

|3.5%

|47812

|56.2%

|1.2%

|22408

|26.4%

|4982

|5.9%

|56713

|66.7%

|1.1%

|Yavoriv

|86762

|26938

|31.0%

|3044

|3.5%

|55868

|64.4%

|1.1%

|18394

|21.2%

|5161

|5.9%

|62828

|72.4%

|0.4%

|Lviv City

|312231

|198212

|63.5%

|75316

|24.1%

|35137

|11.3%

|1.1%

|157490

|50.4%

|99595

|31.9%

|50824

|16.3%

|1.4%

|Lviv County

|142800

|80712

|56.5%

|1569

|1.1%

|58395

|40.9%

|1.5%

|67430

|47.2%

|5087

|3.6%

|67592

|47.3%

|1.9%

|Mostyska

|89460

|49989

|55.9%

|2164

|2.4%

|37196

|41.6%

|0.1%

|34619

|38.7%

|5428

|6.1%

|49230

|55.0%

|0.2%

|Rava-Ruska

|122072

|27376

|22.4%

|10991

|9.0%

|82133

|67.3%

|1.3%

|22489

|18.4%

|13381

|11.0%

|84808

|69.5%

|1.1%

|Rudky

|79170

|38417

|48.5%

|4247

|5.4%

|36254

|45.8%

|0.3%

|27674

|35.0%

|5396

|6.8%

|45756

|57.8%

|0.4%

|Sambir

|133814

|56818

|42.5%

|7794

|5.8%

|68222

|51.0%

|0.7%

|43583

|32.6%

|11258

|8.4%

|78527

|58.7%

|0.3%

|Sokal

|109111

|42851

|39.3%

|5917

|5.4%

|59984

|55.0%

|0.3%

|25425

|23.3%

|13372

|12.3%

|69963

|64.1%

|0.3%

|Turka

|114457

|26083

|22.8%

|7552

|6.6%

|80483

|70.3%

|0.3%

|6301

|5.5%

|10627

|9.3%

|97339

|85.0%

|0.2%

|Zhovkva

|95507

|35816

|37.5%

|3344

|3.5%

|56060

|58.7%

|0.3%

|20279

|21.2%

|7848

|8.2%

|66823

|70.0%

|0.6%

| rowspan="31" |

|Brzozów

|83205

|68149

|81.9%

|3836

|4.6%

|10677

|12.8%

|0.7%

|65813

|79.1%

|4316

|5.2%

|12743

|15.3%

|0.4%

|Jarosław

|148028

|120429

|81.4%

|6064

|4.1%

|20993

|14.2%

|0.4%

|83652

|56.5%

|11721

|7.9%

|52302

|35.3%

|0.2%

|Kolbuszowa

|69565

|65361

|94.0%

|3693

|5.3%

|62

|0.1%

|0.6%

|63999

|92.0%

|5091

|7.3%

|91

|0.1%

|0.6%

|Krosno

|113387

|93691

|82.6%

|4416

|3.9%

|14666

|12.9%

|0.5%

|91189

|80.4%

|6521

|5.8%

|15132

|13.3%

|0.5%

|Lesko

|111575

|31840

|28.5%

|8475

|7.6%

|70346

|63.0%

|0.8%

|18209

|16.3%

|10916

|9.8%

|81588

|73.1%

|0.8%

|Lubaczów

|87266

|43294

|49.6%

|5485

|6.3%

|38237

|43.8%

|0.3%

|32994

|37.8%

|9342

|10.7%

|44723

|51.2%

|0.2%

|Łańcut

|97679

|92084

|94.3%

|2318

|2.4%

|2690

|2.8%

|0.6%

|86066

|88.1%

|6281

|6.4%

|4806

|4.9%

|0.5%

|Nisko

|64233

|60602

|94.3%

|3084

|4.8%

|115

|0.2%

|0.7%

|59069

|92.0%

|3985

|6.2%

|925

|1.4%

|0.4%

|Przemyśl

|162544

|86393

|53.2%

|15891

|9.8%

|60005

|36.9%

|0.2%

|67068

|41.3%

|21424

|13.2%

|73631

|45.3%

|0.3%

|Przeworsk

|61388

|58634

|95.5%

|2144

|3.5%

|406

|0.7%

|0.3%

|54833

|89.3%

|3405

|5.5%

|3042

|5.0%

|0.2%

|Rzeszów

|185106

|173897

|93.9%

|9065

|4.9%

|963

|0.5%

|0.6%

|164050

|88.6%

|17098

|9.2%

|3277

|1.8%

|0.4%

|Sanok

|114195

|67955

|59.5%

|7354

|6.4%

|38192

|33.4%

|0.6%

|48968

|42.9%

|9455

|8.3%

|54882

|48.1%

|0.8%

|Tarnobrzeg

|73297

|67624

|92.3%

|5186

|7.1%

|93

|0.1%

|0.5%

|65891

|89.9%

|6333

|8.6%

|194

|0.3%

|1.2%

|Biała

|139127

|127089

|91.3%

|5932

|4.3%

|48

|0.0%

|4.4%

|126431

|90.9%

|9951

|7.2%

|197

|0.1%

|1.8%

|Bochnia

|113790

|109717

|96.4%

|3847

|3.4%

|75

|0.1%

|107399

|94.4%

|5656

|5.0%

|134

|0.1%

|0.5%

|Brzesko

|102226

|100251

|98.1%

|1894

|1.9%

|20

|0.0%

|0.1%

|97730

|95.6%

|4121

|4.0%

|66

|0.1%

|0.3%

|Chrzanów

|138061

|127078

|92.0%

|10435

|7.6%

|88

|0.1%

|0.3%

|125016

|90.6%

|12127

|8.8%

|240

|0.2%

|0.5%

|Dąbrowa

|66678

|62620

|93.9%

|4016

|6.0%

|25

|0.0%

|61584

|92.4%

|4807

|7.2%

|36

|0.1%

|0.4%

|Gorlice

|104805

|76266

|72.8%

|3508

|3.3%

|24881

|23.7%

|0.1%

|73788

|70.4%

|5578

|5.3%

|25092

|23.9%

|0.3%

|Jasło

|116146

|103935

|89.5%

|4608

|4.0%

|7435

|6.4%

|0.1%

|102213

|88.0%

|5786

|5.0%

|7659

|6.6%

|0.4%

|Kraków City

|219286

|171206

|78.1%

|45828

|20.9%

|924

|0.4%

|0.6%

|159372

|72.7%

|56515

|25.8%

|1894

|0.9%

|0.7%

|Kraków County

|187509

|185567

|99.0%

|1569

|0.8%

|97

|0.1%

|181836

|97.0%

|4138

|2.2%

|309

|0.2%

|0.7%

|Limanowa

|87279

|85238

|97.7%

|1951

|2.2%

|29

|0.0%

|0.1%

|84048

|96.3%

|2766

|3.2%

|43

|0.0%

|0.5%

|Mielec

|77465

|71272

|92.0%

|5441

|7.0%

|48

|0.1%

|0.9%

|69737

|90.0%

|6457

|8.3%

|72

|0.1%

|1.5%

|Myślenice

|102692

|101878

|99.2%

|770

|0.7%

|16

|0.0%

|99978

|97.4%

|2189

|2.1%

|32

|0.0%

|0.5%

|Nowy Sącz

|183867

|148329

|80.7%

|10282

|5.6%

|24252

|13.2%

|0.5%

|141857

|77.2%

|15135

|8.2%

|25060

|13.6%

|1.0%

|Nowy Targ

|129489

|123877

|95.7%

|2571

|2.0%

|2156

|1.7%

|0.7%

|121767

|94.0%

|4853

|3.7%

|2296

|1.8%

|0.4%

|Ropczyce

|110925

|105700

|95.3%

|5101

|4.6%

|60

|0.1%

|104033

|93.8%

|6410

|5.8%

|136

|0.1%

|0.3%

|Tarnów

|142365

|124817

|87.7%

|17307

|12.2%

|102

|0.1%

|120610

|84.7%

|21219

|14.9%

|293

|0.2%

|Wadowice

|145143

|142852

|98.4%

|2070

|1.4%

|53

|0.0%

|0.1%

|140469

|96.8%

|3665

|2.5%

|125

|0.1%

|0.6%

|Żywiec

|130949

|129747

|99.1%

|915

|0.7%

|19

|0.0%

|0.2%

|127685

|97.5%

|2245

|1.7%

|71

|0.1%

|0.7%

! colspan="2" |Total former Galicia

!8505902

!5023763

!59.1%

!549293

!6.5%

!2874451

!33.8%

!0.7%

!4326926

!50.9%

!789886

!9.3%

!3331884

!39.2%

!0.7%

Economy

Socio-economic statistics

Galicia was economically the least developed part of Austria, suffering from under-industrialization and overpopulation. The Austrian government had allowed landowners to maintain old monopolies dating back to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth period, such as the production of beer and vodka. This enabled them to maintain a certain level of wealth, and thus disincentivised the introduction of new crops and the adoption of novel economic pursuits.

The first detailed description of the economic situation of the region was prepared by Stanislaw Szczepanowski (1846–1900), a Polish lawyer, economist and chemist who in 1873 published the first version of his report titled (The Galician Poverty in Numbers). Based on his own experience as a worker in the India Office, as well as his work on the development of the oil industry in the region of Boryslav and the official census data published by the Austro-Hungarian government, he described Galicia as one of the poorest regions in Europe. Several subsequent authors would frame the socio-economic situation in Galicia in a similar negative light, and East Galicia as even less developed than West Galicia. Canadian historian Stella Hryniuk (1985) sought to demonstrate that many of these early observations were flawed due to arbitrary criteria, such as valuing the cultivation of grains over potatoes:

Statistics indicate that Galicia and Lodomeria were poorer than areas west of them. The average income per capita did not exceed 53 Rhine guilders (RG), as compared to 91 RG in the Kingdom of Poland, 100 in Hungary and more than 450 RG in England at that time. Also, the taxes were relatively high and equalled 9 Rhine guilders a year (c. 17% of yearly income), as compared to 5% in Prussia and 10% in England. Also, the percentage of people with higher income was much lower than in other parts of the Monarchy and Europe: the luxury tax, paid by people whose yearly income exceeded 600 RG, was paid by 8 people in every 1,000 inhabitants, as compared to 28 in Bohemia and 99 in Lower Austria. Despite high taxation, the national debt of the Galician government exceeded 300 million RG at all times, that is approximately 60 RG per capita.

All in all, the region was used by the Austro-Hungarian government mostly as a reservoir of cheap workforce and recruits for the army, as well as a buffer zone against the Russian Empire. It was not until early in the 20th century that heavy industry started to be developed, which would be comparable to much of the Russian Empire and the Balkans. Even then, it was mostly connected to war production. The biggest state investments in the region were the railways and the fortresses in Przemyśl, Kraków and other cities. Industrial development was mostly connected to the private oil industry started by Robert Doms and to the Wieliczka salt mines, operational since at least the Middle Ages.

The Great Economic Emigration

Beginning in the 1880s, a mass emigration of the Galician peasantry occurred. The emigration started as a seasonal one to Germany (newly unified and economically dynamic) and then later became a Trans-Atlantic one with large-scale emigration to the United States, Brazil, and Canada.

Caused by the backward economic condition of Galicia, where rural poverty was widespread, the emigration began in the western, Polish populated part of Galicia and quickly shifted east to the Ukrainian inhabited parts. Poles, Ukrainians, Jews, and Germans all participated in this mass movement of countryfolk and villagers. Poles migrated principally to New England and the midwestern states of the United States, but also to Brazil and elsewhere; Ruthenians/Ukrainians migrated to Brazil, Canada, and the United States, with a very intense emigration from Western Podolia around Ternopol to Western Canada; and Jews emigrated both directly to the New World and also indirectly via other parts of Austria-Hungary. The vast majority of the Ukrainians and Poles who went to Canada prior to 1914 came from either Galicia or the neighboring Bukovina province of the Austrian Empire. In 1847, 1849, 1855, 1865, 1876 and 1889, there were famines in Galicia that led to thousands starving to death, which increased the sense that life in Galicia was hopeless and inspired people to leave in search of a better life in the New World. Adding to the exodus were the inheritance laws in Galicia adopted in 1868 which stated that the land should be equally divided amongst the sons of a peasant, which — owing to the tendency of Galician peasants to have large families — led to the land being divided into so many small holdings as to make farming uneconomical.

A total of several hundred thousand people were involved in this Great Economic Emigration, which grew steadily more intense until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. The war put a temporary halt to emigration, which never again reached the same proportions. The Great Economic Emigration, especially the emigration to Brazil, the "Brazilian Fever" as it was called at the time, was described in contemporary literary works by the Polish poet Maria Konopnicka, the Ukrainian writer Ivan Franko, and many others. Some states in south of Brazil have a large percentage of their population formed by direct descendants of these Ruthenian/Ukrainian immigrants.

When it comes to social relations, most especially between peasants and landlords, the area was the most undeveloped in the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Galician peasantry was always living on the verge of starvation. This led the Polish peasants to ironically refer to the province as "Golicja i Głodomeria" i.e "(the place of) Bareness and Starvation". Tsar Alexander II had officially banned serfdom and liberated the serfs in the Russian Empire in the 1870s and enacted legislation to protect the serfs. But in Galicia, the serfs could be coerced or forced through predatory practices back into serfdom by the affluent Polish merchant class and local nobility, a condition which lasted until the start of World War I.

At the time of these emigrations in the 1890s, many Polish and Ukrainian liberals saw Galicia as a Polish Piedmont or a Ukrainian Piedmont. Because Italians had started their liberation from Austrian rule in the Italian Piedmont, these Ukrainian and Polish nationalists felt that the liberation of their two countries would begin in Galicia.

In spite of almost 750,000 persons emigrating across the Atlantic from 1880 to 1914, Galicia's population increased by 45% between 1869 and 1910.

Industry

In 1880, industry in Galicia was at a low level. In 1857, Galicia had 102,189 persons or 2.2% of the population, who worked in industry. By 1870, that number had risen to 179,626, or 3.3% of the population.

Coal mining and oil production were the region's chief industrial activities.

Oil and natural gas industry

thumb|330px|Rail lines of Galicia before 1897

Near Drohobych and Boryslav in Galicia, significant oil reserves were discovered and developed during the mid 19th and early 20th centuries. The first European attempt to drill for oil was in Bóbrka in western Galicia in 1854. By 1867, a well at Kleczany, in Western Galicia, was drilled using steam to about 200 meters. On 31 December 1872, a railway line linking Borysław (now Boryslav) with the nearby city of Drohobycz (now Drohobych) was opened. American John Simon Bergheim and Canadian William Henry McGarvey came to Galicia in 1882. This significant increase in oil production also caused a slump in oil prices.

Weekly: Zoria Halytska (first issue on May 15, 1848)

Flag

Until 1849, Galicia and Lodomeria was a single province with Bukovina and used the blue-red flag (consisting of two horizontal stripes: the upper one was blue, the lower one was red).

In 1849, Bukovina was given an independent status from that of Galicia-Lodomeria and kept the blue-red flag. Galicia was given a new flag consisting of three horizontal stripes, being blue, red and yellow.

That flag remained in use until 1890, when Galicia-Lodomeria received a new flag consisting of two horizontal stripes being red and white. It remained in use until the dissolution of the Kingdom of Galicia-Lodomeria in 1918 and is displayed in Ströhl's ' (1898).

File:Flag of Galicia and Lodomeria (1849-1890).svg|1772–1800, 1849–1890

File:Flag of Galicia-Lodomeria (until 1849).svg|1800–1849, 1890-1918

</gallery>

;References

Jan Miller: Chorągwie i flagi polskie, Instytut Wydawniczy "Nasza Księgarnia", Warsaw 1962,
Hugo Ströhl: Oesterreichisch-ungarische Wappenrolle, Vienna 1898

Military

The Kingdom was divided into three major military districts centered in Kraków, Lviv, and Przemyśl. Local military used a specialized language for communication known as Army Slav. One of the major army units was the 1st Army, consisting of 1st (Kraków), 5th (Pressburg), and 10th (Przemyśl) Corps.

Selected units (1914); command language German

thumb|The 13th Galicia Lancer Regiment at the [[Battle of Custoza (1866)|Battle of Custoza]]

thumb|Rudolf Barracks in Kraków

Eight out of 11 Imperial and Royal Uhlan regiments were located in Galicia (see Uhlan)

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Regiment

!% of Poles

!% of Ukrainians

!Regimental language(s)

|1st Galician Uhlans (Ritter von Brudermann's)

|85

| rowspan="3" |Polish

|2nd Galician Uhlans (Prince of Schwarzenberg's)

|84

|3rd Galician Uhlans (Archduke Carl's)

|69

|26

|4th Galician Uhlans (Emperor's)

|29

|65

| rowspan="2" |Polish and Ukrainian

|6th Galician Uhlans (Emperor Joseph II's)

|52

|40

|7th Galician Uhlans (Archduke Franz Ferdinand's)

|22

|72

|Ukrainian

|8th Galician Uhlans (Count Auersperg's)

|80

|Polish

|13th Galician Uhlans (von Böhm-Ermolli's)

|42

|55

|Polish and Ukrainian

One Imperial and Royal Dragoon regiment

{| class="wikitable"

!Regiment

!Ethnic composition

!Regimental language(s)

|9th Galician and Bukovina Dragoons (Archduke Albert's Own)

|50% Romanians, 29% Ukrainians

|Romanian and Ukrainian

166px|thumb|[[Shako of the Polish National Guard in Lviv in 1848]]

10 Imperial and Royal Infantry regiments

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!Infantry Regiment

!% of Poles

!% of Ukrainians

!Garrison

|9th

|73

|Stryi

|10th

|43

|47

|Przemyśl

|13th

|82

|Krakau

|24th

|21

|70

|Kolomea

|30th

|31

|59

|Lemberg

|40th

|97

|Rzeszów

|57th

|91

|Tarnów

|58th

|80

|Stanislau

|80th

|25

|68

|Zolochiv

|90th

|75

|Jarosław

Two Artillery divisions:

43rd Field Artillery Division (55% Ukrainians, 25% Poles), Lemberg
45th Field Artillery Division (60% Ukrainians, 25% Poles), Przemyśl

Five Feldjäger battalions (Military Police):

4th Galicia Feldjäger Battalion (77% Poles), Braunau am Inn (Rzeszow district)
12th Bohemia Feldjäger Battalion (67% Czech, 32% German), Cavalese (Kraków district)
14th Feldjäger Battalion (47% Ukrainians, 43% Poles), Mezzolombardo (Przemyśl district)
18th Feldjäger Battalion (59% Ukrainians, 31% Poles), Trient (Lviv district)
30th Galicia-Bukowina Feldjäger Battalion (70% Ukrainians), Steyr (Stanislav district)

Others

10th Engineer Battalion (50% Poles, 30% Ukrainians) (Przemyśl)
1st Sapper Battalion (50% Poles, 23% Germans, 23% Czechs) (Krakau)
10th Sapper Battalion (50% Poles, 30% Ukrainians) (Przemyśl)
11th Sapper Battalion (48% Ukrainians, 32% Poles) (Lemberg)
Polish Legions
Ukrainian Legions, later as part of the battle group of Archduke Wilhelm
1st Ukrainian Cossack Rifle Division (1918)

The memory of Galicia

thumb|Modern Polish Voivodeships ([[Silesian Voivodeship|Silesian, Lesser Poland and Subcarpathian) and Ukrainian Oblasts (Lviv, Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk) which contain parts of the former kingdom.]]

In 2014, the Polish historian Jacek Purchla stated that there were two ways of remembering Galicia, namely as an idyllically innocent multi-cultural land, of a simpler and better time compared to the present vs. the Austrian view of Galicia as a ("half-Asia") as Austrian officials always regarded Galicia as "a barbaric place inhabited by strange people of questionable personal hygiene". Galicia was always considered in Vienna to be a colony in need of being "civilized", and as a result, the Austrians never considered Galicia to be a part of Austria proper. Both the Polish and Ukrainian communities of Galicia saw the province as their "Piedmont" where plans for an independent Polish or Ukrainian state were broached, making the memory of Galicia under Austrian rule a central part of Polish and Ukrainian national memories. In 2014, Purchla stated: "The latest proof of the political significance of the Galician heritage has been the contribution of its Ukrainian parts to the success of the Maidan [revolution] this year and last year". Starting in the late 19th century, about 2 million Galician Jews immigrated to the United States, and amongst the descendants of the in the United States, the memory of Galicia as either a lost paradise or as a backward province to escape from is kept alive. The Economist reported: "In Europe, Galicia is a central element of Poles' national identity and of Ukrainians' search for a European identity."