Galicia, << guh LIHSH ee uh, >> is a region that lies on the north slope of the Carpathian Mountains in southeastern Poland and the western part of Ukraine. It extends from the Vistula River Valley in Poland to the Dniester River Valley in Ukraine and covers about 32,000 square miles (82,900 square kilometers). Krakow, in Poland, and Lviv, in Ukraine, are the principal cities of Galicia.
Galicia has rich deposits of petroleum and natural gas. Other minerals found there include coal, iron, lead, salt, sulfur, and zinc. Farmers in Galicia raise livestock and such crops as barley, oats, potatoes, rye, sugar beets, and wheat. Galicia’s forests supply lumber.
Galicia was an independent principality during the Middle Ages. It became part of Poland during the 1300’s. Austria took over Galicia during the late 1700’s. In 1867, Galicia gained limited self-government under Austrian rule. The region then flourished as a center of Polish culture and education. It served as a source of the movement for Polish independence.
Galicia formed part of the independent nation of Poland that was established after World War I (1914-1918). Germany and the Soviet Union claimed eastern Galicia during World War II (1939-1945). In 1945, a Polish-Soviet treaty united eastern Galicia with the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. The republic became the independent nation of Ukraine in 1991. Western Galicia remained part of Poland.
See also Lviv ; Rajoy, Mariano ; Russia (World War I) ; Ukraine (Lithuanian and Polish rule) (Russian rule) ; World War I (The Eastern Front) .
