Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the first time in history. Finally dispatching the Nazis after bloody battles during WWII,
the Soviets hung around until 1991, when the USSR imploded.
LVIV REGION
TOP OF CHAPTER
Lviv
032 / POP 729,800
If you've done time in any other region of Ukraine, Lviv (luh-
veev
) will come as a
shock. Mysterious and architecturally lovely, this Unesco World Heritage Site is the
country's least Soviet and exudes the same authentic central European charm as pre-tour-
ism Prague or Kraków once did. Its quaint cobbles, bean-perfumed coffeehouses and rat-
tling trams are a continent away from the post-Soviet badlands to the east. It's also a
place where the candle of Ukrainian national identity burns brightest and where Russian
is definitely a minority language.
But the secret is out about Lviv, and those who foresaw a decade ago that the city
would become Ukraine's premier tourist attraction are now watching their prediction
come true. No other place in the country is more geared up for visitors and no other at-
tracts so many of them. The Euro 2012 football (soccer) championships gave the world a
taste of this Ukrainian treat; a successful bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics would be the
icing on the cake.
Lviv is on the map and regardless of what the rest of the country may be doing, it has
its sights set firmly on the visitor experience.The city has the best range of hotels in the
country; hostels, tour agencies, guides and English-language information abound; and
local restaurateurs have been letting their imaginations run amok, producing one of
Eastern Europe's wackiest list of places to eat. So forget Ukraine's capital of humour,
Odesa - you're bound to find infinitely more smiles here in forward-looking Lviv.
History
Lviv has had as many names as it has had rulers. It took its first name from Lev, the son
of King Danylo Halytsky, who founded a hilltop fort here on present-day Castle Hill in
the 13th century. When the Poles took over 100 years later, the place became known as
Lwów, as it still is in Poland. Austrians called it Lemberg between the 18th and 20th cen-
turies, and still do. The Russians, who later christened it Lvov, continue to use this his-
torical name. Most of its names - apart from Lemberg, which has many competing ori-
