ВПЛИВ ЕКОНОМІЧНИХ ЧИННИКІВ НА ФОРМУВАННЯ АВСТРІЙСЬКОЇ ПОЛІТИКИ У СФЕРІ МІСТОБУДІВНОЇ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ В ГАЛИЧИНІ (ДРУГА ПОЛОВИНА ХVІІІ СТОЛІТТЯ)
Authors: Tarasovych Ostap ,   Львівський національний університет імені Івана Франка
Published: July 2024

The article describes the influence of economic factors on the formation of Austrian policy in the field of urban development in Galicia (second half of the 18th century). It is noted that the Austrian authorities paid considerable attention to urban planning activities in the annexed Ukrainian lands, as they considered the cities as potential industrial centers of the country (following the Prussian or British model). However, at the beginning of the establishment of its power in Galicia, some problems arose. The Austrian authorities considered the formation of city estimates to be one of the issues, because there was not enough money either for sanitation measures (for example, cleaning cities from garbage), or even more so for larger construction projects. Military expenditures limited the support and stimulation of urban development. It was not even possible to protect the city from floods with municipal funds (Halych, Zhydachiv). At that time, city revenues were formed thanks to: 1) propination; 2) lease of municipal land; 3) equity capital; 4) market and bridge fees, etc. Special attention of the Austrian authorities was drawn to the issue of propination rights in royal cities. Official Vienna was inclined to restore this right not only in private, but also in royal cities. The fact that individual elders usurped the right of propination was considered a violation due to illegal ordinances and throughout the first half of the 19th century, so the government normalized this issue. When the representatives of the county authorities were required to document the existence of the right of propination, it often turned out that they did not have any confirmation. The cities of Sambir, Drohobych, and Stryi started lawsuits with the treasury and the elders for the return of the propination right and won. In the vision of Austrian officials, the city's breweries and distilleries were to significantly replenish the budget. Emperor Joseph II was much more moderate in this regard, believing that depriving small owners of the right to propinate would negatively affect the state of the treasury. It is established that reforming the city administration was not in the first place, as other political and social issues that needed attention were urgent. The realities of the local context are also taken into account. Architecture and urban planning did not play a decisive role in the new government's agenda. At the first stage of their influence on urban relations, the Austrian authorities tried to implement a policy of special instructions and warnings. In order to encourage the population to build new houses or repair dilapidated ones, on November 19, 1774, the Austrian government announced a ten-year exemption from taxes on new or rebuilt houses, which had a positive effect on urban development, particularly in Galicia. Keywords: state policy, urban development activity, urban planning, Austrian Empire, Galicia.