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Founding
Founding of Ivano-Frankivsk
city in Ukraine
- 1662
- Europe
Founding
city in Ukraine
Fetching the article from Wikipedia…
Ivano-Frankivsk (Ukrainian: Івано-Франківськ, IPA: [iˈwɑno frɐnˈkiu̯sʲk] ⓘ), formerly Stanyslaviv, Stanislav and Stanisławów, is a city in western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast as well as Ivano-Frankivsk Raion within the oblast. Ivano-Frankivsk also hosts the administration of the Ivano-Frankivsk urban hromada. Its population is 238,196 (2022 estimate), 227,827 (2024 estimate).
Built in the mid-17th century as a fortress of the Polish Potocki family, Stanisławów was annexed to the Habsburg Empire during the First Partition of Poland in 1772, after which it became the property of the State within the Austrian Empire. Throughout this time, it was within the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. The fortress was slowly transformed into one of the most prominent cities at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. After World War I, for several months, it served as a temporary capital of the West Ukrainian People's Republic. Following the Peace of Riga in 1921, Stanisławów became part of the Second Polish Republic. After the Soviet invasion of Poland at the onset of World War II, the city was annexed by the Soviet Union, only to be occupied by Nazi Germany two years later. With the liberation of Soviet Ukraine in 1944 and the shifting of borders, the city remained part of the Ukrainian SSR and was renamed in 1962 after Ivan Franko. With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the city became part of newly-independent Ukraine.
Ivano-Frankivsk is one of the principal cities of the Carpathian Euroregion. There are elements of various cultures intertwined in the city's architecture, including the Polish city hall, the Austro-Hungarian city's business centre, the Soviet prefabricated apartment blocks at the city's rural–urban fringe, and others.
The town was founded as a fortress known as Stanisławów where it was named after the Polish hetman Stanisław "Rewera" Potocki. Some sources claim it was named after his grandson Stanisław. Following the First Partition of Poland in 1772, the name was transliterated as Stanislau in German, as the city became part of the Austrian Empire, and later Austria-Hungary; however, after the Revolutions of 1848, the city carried three different linguistic renderings of its name: German, Polish, and Ruthenian (German: Stanislau, pronounced [ˈʃtaːnɪslaʊ]; Polish: Stanisławów, pronounced [staɲiˈswavuf]; Ukrainian: Станісла́вів Stanislaviv, pronounced [stɐn⁽ʲ⁾iˈslɑwiu̯], or Станиславiв Stanyslaviv, pronounced [stɐnɪˈslɑwiu̯]). Other spellings used in the local press media included Russian: Станиславов Stanislavov and Yiddish: סטאַניסלאוו.
After World War II it was changed by the Soviet authorities into a simplified version Stanislav (Ukrainian: Станісла́в, pronounced [stɐn⁽ʲ⁾iˈslɑu̯]; Russian: Станисла́в, pronounced [stənʲɪˈslaf]). In 1962, to honor the Ukrainian writer Ivan Franko on the city's 300th anniversary, it was renamed Ivano-Frankivsk (Ukrainian: Івано-Франківськ) or Ivano-Frankovsk (Russian: Ивано-Франковск). It is sometimes colloquially called Frankivsk Франківськ. In several languages two names can be found in 21st century sources: one ending in /ivsk/ and one in /ovsk/. In English the city is "also known as" Ivano-Frankovsk. Poland clarified in 2010 that Iwano-Frankiwsk should be used instead of Iwano-Frankowsk.
The town of Stanisławów was founded as a fortress in order to protect the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from Tatar invasions and to defend the multi-ethnic population of the region in case of armed conflicts such as the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648. The fort was originally built next to Zabolotiv village (known since 1435), and Knyahynyn (1449). The village of Zabolotiv and the land around it were purchased by Andrzej Potocki from another Polish nobleman, Rzeczkowski. Stanisławów was issued by Potocki and his declaration establishing the city with Magdeburg rights on 7 May 1662; but the city and its rights, however, were not recognized by the Polish Crown until 14 August 1663, when John Casimir had finally approved it. By 1672, the fortress had been rebuilt from wood to stone, brick, and mortar. Also a new large fortified Potocki palace was erected in the place of an older wood structure. Today this building serves as the military hospital. In the same year Jews were granted the right to become permanent residents, who could work, conduct commerce and travel in and out of the city as they pleased.
Originally the city was divided into two districts: Tysmenytsia and Halych. Sometime in 1817–1819 the neighbouring village of Zabolottya, that had a special status, was incorporated into the city as a new district, while Tysmenytsia district was divided into Tysmenytsia and Lysets districts. Each district had its main street corresponded with its name: Halych Street (Halych district), Tysmenytsia Street which today is Independence Street (Tysmenytsia district), Zabolotiv Street – Mykhailo Hrushevsky Street and Street of Vasylyanok (Zabolottya district), and Lysets Street – Hetman Mazepa Street (Lysets district). Later the city was split into six small districts: midtown where the rich Catholic population and patricians lived, pidzamche (subcastle), and four suburbs – Zabolotiv, Tysmenytsia, Halych and Lysets where the plebeians lived.
In October 1918, the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed and the Western Ukrainian People's Republic (ZUNR) was proclaimed. In the early months of 1919 (from January to May) the city became a temporary capital of the West Ukrainian National Republic, while still recovering from World War I. All state affairs took place in the building of Dnister Hotel where the Act Zluky (Unification Act) was composed and signed on 22 January 1919 by the Ukrainian People's Republic. The same year it was subjected to the Polish–Ukrainian and the Romanian-Ukrainian skirmishes eventually being annexed by Poland as part of the Second Polish Republic as the centre of the Stanisławów Voivodeship. It was occupied by the Romanian army for the summer months from 25 May to 21 August 1919. During the Polish–Soviet War in 1920, the Red Army took over the city for a brief period. After the Soviet retreat, Ukrainian troops loyal to Symon Petlura occupied the city for a few days. At this period of history the city was in complete disorder. It then became part of Poland until the start of World War II.
In the 1939 invasion of Poland by German and Soviet forces, the territory was captured by the Soviets in September 1939 and annexed to the Ukrainian SSR. Between September 1939 and June 1941, the Soviet regime ordered thousands of inhabitants of the city to leave their houses and move to Siberia, where most of them perished. Numerous people were taken out of the city prison and simply shot outside of the city when Soviet forces were leaving it in 1941. Ivano-Frankivsk was occupied by German forces from 2 July 1941 to 27 July 1944. There were more than 40,000 Jews in Stanisławów when it was occupied by the Nazis on 26 July 1941. The Stanisławów Ghetto was formed. During the occupation (1941–1944), more than 600 educated Poles and most of the city's Jewish population were murdered.
In early 1944, the city became part of the Soviet Union and was again renamed Stanislav. The Soviets forced most of the Polish population to leave the city, where most of them settled in the Recovered Territories. In 1962, the city was renamed Ivano-Frankivsk after the Ukrainian writer Ivan Franko.
During the post-war period, the city was part of the Carpathian Military District housing the 38th Army (70th Motor Rifle Division) that participated in Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Until 18 July 2020, Ivano-Frankivsk was incorporated as a city of oblast significance and the center of Ivano-Frankivsk Municipality. The municipality was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast to six. The area of Ivano-Frankivsk Municipality was merged into the newly established Ivano-Frankivsk Raion.
Since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the city is often bombed by Russian forces. On 24 February and 11 March 2022, Ivano-Frankivsk was struck by Russian missiles during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The city is situated in the Carpathian region northeast of the mountain range, sitting approximately 120 metres (390 ft) above mean sea level. One of the several main geographical features is the Vovchynets Hill also known as the Vovchynets Mountains. The hill reaches 300-350 metres (1,150 ft) above sea level and is part of the Pokuttya Highland (Upland). Around the hill Bystrytsia River branches into Bystrytsia of Nadvirna, Bystrytsia of Solotvyn, and Vorona. The last two rivers serve as a natural border between the Pokuttya Highland and Stanislav Basin. The Vovchynets Hill is located just outside and northeast of Ivano-Frankivsk. Located southeast from the Stanislav Basin in the direction of the Prut Valley is the Khorosnen (Prut-Bystrytsia) Highland. The highest point of that highland is Mount Hostra, 425 metres (1,394 ft).
The closest neighboring city is Tysmenytsia, less than 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) to the east. Other cities that lie in the radius of 25 to 30 km (16 to 19 mi) are Tlumach (east), Nadvirna (south), Kalush (west), and Halych (north). The city also administers five adjacent villages that surround it: Mykytyntsi, Krykhivtsi, Vovchynets, Uhornyky, and Khryplyn.
As is the case with most of Ukraine, the climate is moderate continental with warm summers, and fairly cold winters. The following climate data provided is for the past 62 years. The average number of days with precipitation is 170 spread almost equally throughout a year. Most precipitation takes place during the winter months and least in early autumn. Thunderstorms occur mostly in summer months averaging around 25 annually. Ivano-Frankivsk averages about 296 days of fog or misty days with about 24 per month.
Note: Historical population record is taken out of Ivano-Frankivsk portal, more recent – the Regional Directorate of Statistics. There is also other information on a population growth such as the JewishGen. With asterisk there are identified years of approximate data. In the 18th century, differentiation among Poles and Ukrainians was by religious background rather than ethnic (Catholics vs. Orthodox).
Distribution of the population by native language according to the 2001 census:
According to a survey conducted by the International Republican Institute in April–May 2023, 97% of the city's population spoke Ukrainian at home, and 3% spoke Russian.
Both city and oblast administrations as well as the regional council are all located in a massive white building on Hrushevsky Street locally known as Bily Dim or Bily Budynok. In front of the building, there is a big open space bordered by Shpytalna Street on the north-east, Hrushevsky Street on the south-east, and Melnychuk Street on the south-west. Next to the building, there is a memorial to the Unification of the Western Ukraine with the rest of Ukraine. The main feature of the memorial is a tall marble stele, both sides of which are adorned with statues: kamenyar (west) and kobzar (east).
The Ivano-Frankivsk City Council currently consists of 42 deputies. The political representation after the 2020 Ukrainian local elections by political blocs was elected as such: 28 seats for Svoboda, 10 seats for European Solidarity and 4 seats for Batkivschyna.
In the (first round of the) 2020 Ukrainian local elections Martsinkiv was reelected with about 85% of the vote.
All street names reflecting the city's Soviet or Russian past have been returned to their former names, or given new names of national historic importance, or other non-controversial names. For example, Gagarin Street (connecting the city with its suburbs) became Vovchynets Street, Suvorov Street is now Harbar Street, and Soviet Street is Independence Street.
Around 100 other streets were renamed.
The city has seven main city squares, four of them located in the "old town" part of the city.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Ivano-Frankivsk”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.