Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria was a crownland of the Habsburg Monarchy , the Austrian Empire , and Austria – Hungary from 1772 to 1918 ( see Cisleithania ) . This historical region in eastern Central Europe is divided today between Poland and Ukraine . The nucleus of historic Galicia consists of the modern Lviv , Ternopil and Ivano - Frankivsk regions of western Ukraine . History . In 1772 , Galicia was the largest part of the area annexed by the Austrian Empire in the First Partition of Poland . As such , the Austrian region of Poland and what was later to become Ukraine was known as the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria to underline the Hungarian claims to the country . However , after the Third Partition of Poland , a large portion of ethnically Polish lands to the west ( New or West Galicia ) was also added to the province , which changed the geographical reference of the term , Galicia . Lviv ( Lemberg ) served as 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 Ukrainian , or " Ruthenia n " , as they were known at the time . In addition to the Polish aristocracy and gentry who inhabited almost all parts of Galicia , and the Ruthenians in the east , there existed a large Jewish population , 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 Germanized Czechs . The aristocracy was guaranteed its rights , but these rights were considerably circumscribed . The former serfs were no longer mere chattel , 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 onto 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 1815 to 1860 . In 1815 , as a result of decisions of the Congress of Vienna , the Lublin area and surrounding regions ( most of the New or West Galicia ) were ceded by the Austrian Empire to Congress Poland ( Kingdom of Poland ) , which was ruled by the Tsar , and the Ternopil Region , including the historical region of Southern Podolia , was returned to the Austrian Empire by Russia , which had held it since 1809 . The large city of Kraków and surrounding territory , formerly also part of New or West Galicia , became the semi - autonomous Free City of Kraków within the Austrian Empire . The 1820s and 1830s were a period of bureaucratic rule overseen from Vienna . Most administrative positions were filled by German - speakers , including German - seaking Czechs , although some of their children were already becoming Polonized . After the failure of the November insurrection in Russian Poland in 1830 - 31 , in which a few thousand Galician volunteers participated , many Polish refugees arrived in Galicia . The latter 1830s were rife with Polish conspiratorial organizations whose work culminated in the unsuccessful Galician insurrection of 1846 , which was easily put down by the Austrians with the help of a Galician peasantry that remained loyal to the emperor . The insurrection occurred in the western , Polish - populated part of Galicia . Polish manorial gentry supported or were sympathetic to barely concealed 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 and seized the opportunity to rise against the institution of serfdom , 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 again made part of Galicia by the Austrian authorities . 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 " The Nymph of the Dniester " , a collection of folksongs and other materials in the common Ruthenian tongue . 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 Ruthenian Supreme 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 automomy 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 put down completely . A decade of renewed absolutism followed , but to placate the Poles , Count Agenor Goluchowski , 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 . In 1859 , following Austro - Hungarian military defeat in Italy , the Empire entered a period of constitutional experiments . In 1860 , the Vienna Government , influenced by Agenor Goluchowski , 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 de - centralization . Nevertheless , by 1861 , Galicia was granted a Legislative Assembly or " Galicia Diet " . 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 of Galicia " 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 Sejm ceased to sit . By 1863 , 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 Agenor Goluchowski 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 eastern Ukrainian writer , Taras Shevchenko , a Ukrainophile movement arose which published literature in the Ukrainian / Ruthenian vernacular and eventually established a network of reading halls . Supporters of this orientation came to be known as " Populists " , and later , simply as " Ukrainians " . Almost all Ruthenians , however , still hoped for national equality and for an administrative division of Galicia along ethnic lines . Galician autonomy . In 1866 , following the Battle of Sadova and the Austrian defeat in the Austro - Prussian War , the Austro - Hungarian 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 Magyar nobility to ensure their support . Some members of the government , such as the Austro - Hungarian prime minister Count 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 élites . Finally , after the so - called Ausgleich 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 much lesser degree , Ukrainian or Ruthenia n , as official languages . The Germanisation had been halted and the censorship lifted as well . Galicia was subject to the Austrian part 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 Koźmian and Ludwik Wodzicki , published a series of satirical pamphlets entitled " Teka Stańczyka " ( " 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 ascendency in Galicia which lasted to 1914 . This shift in power from Vienna to the Polish landowning class was not welcomed by the Ruthenians , who became more sharply divided into Russophiles , who looked to Russia for salvation , and Ukrainians who stressed their connections to the common people . 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 . 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 . Industry . In 1880 , industry in Galicia was at a low level . In 1857 Galicia had 102 , 189 persons or 2 . 2 % of the population worked in industry . By 1870 that number had risen to 179 , 626 , or 3 . 3 % of the population . 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 Southern Podolia to Western Canada ; and Jews emigrated both directly to the New World and also indirectly via other parts of Austria - Hungary . 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 the 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 poetess , 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 Ruthenians / Ukrainians immigrants . First World War and Polish - Ukrainian conflict . During the First World War Galicia saw heavy fighting between the forces of Russia and the Central Powers . The Russian forces 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 1918 , Western 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 couple of months was liquidated . The fate of Galicia was settled by the Peace of Riga on March 18 , 1921 , attributing Galicia to the Second Polish Republic . Although never accepted as legitimate by some Ukrainians , it was internationally recognized on May 15 , 1923 . The Ukrainians of the former eastern Galicia and the neighbouring province of Volhynia , made up about 12 % of the Second Polish Republic population , and were its largest minority . As Polish government policies were unfriendly towards minorities , tensions between the Polish government and the Ukrainian population grew , eventually giving the rise to the militant underground Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists . Administrative divisions . Soon the newly acquired Polish territories ( see First Partition of Poland ) which were known as Kreise ( Voivodeship in Poland ) were restructured in November of 1773 into 59 Kreisdistriktes ( Land districts ) , while kreises were abolished . Some former voivodeships were incorporated completely , while most of them only partially . Among them were the former voivodeships of Belz , Red - Ruthenian , Cracow , Lublin , Sandomierz , and Podolie . Also during the Russo - Turkish War in 1769 Bukovina was occupied by the Russian Empire which ceded it in 1774 to the Austrian Empire as a " token of appreciation " . The Kingdom was split into numerous counties ( powiat ) which in 1914 were about 75 . Besides Lwów 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 . Part of the Kingdom from 1795 to 1809 , until 1803 a separate administrative unit Part of the Kingdom from 1775 to 1849 ( Duchy of Bukovina ) Condominium with Prussia and Russia from 1815 to 1846 , part of the Kingdom since 1846 Government . After the partition of Poland the region was government by an appointed governor , later a vice - regent . During the war time the office of vice - regent was supplemented by a military - governor . In 1861 a regional assembly was established , the Sejm of the Land , which initially due to lack of adequate administrative building was located in the building of the Skarbek Theatre until 1890 . Vice - Regents . List of vice - regents since 1900 : Demographics . 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 , Armenia ns , Jews , Hungarians , Roma peoples , Lipowaner , etc . The Poles were mainly in the west , with the Ruthenians 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 by the region of Germany where they originated ( e . g . Saxons or Swabians ) . 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 . The Jews , who represented the third largest religious group , were mostly Orthodox in their religious observance . 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 . The yearly consumption of meat did not exceed per capita , as compared to in Hungary and 33 in Germany . This was mostly due to much lower average income . In 1888 Galicia had of area and was populated by ca . 6 . 4 million people , including 4 . 8 million peasants ( 75 % of the whole population ) . The population density was 81 people per square kilometre and was higher than in France ( 71 inhabitants / km² ) or Germany . Economy . Galicia was economically the least developed part of Austria and received considerable transfer payments from the Vienna government . Its level of development was comparable to or higher than that of Russia and the Balkans , but well behind Western Europe . 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 " Nędza galicyjska w cyfrach " ( " The Galician Poverty in Numbers " ) . Based on his own experience as a worker in the India Office , as well as his work on development of the oil industry in the region of Borysław and the official census data published by the Austro - Hungarian government , he described Galicia as one of the poorest regions in Europe . Statistics indicate the Galicia and Lodomeria was poorer than areas west of it . The average income per capita did not exceed 53 Rhine guilder s ( 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 to 9 Rhine guilders a year ( ca . 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 Russia . It was not until early in the 20th century that heavy industry started to be developed , which would be comparable to much of Russia 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 Ignacy Łukasiewicz and to the Wieliczka salt mines , operational since at least the Middle Ages . Flag of Galicia and Lodomeria . Until 1849 Galicia and Lodomeria constituted 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 when Bukovina was given an independent status from that of Galicia - Lodomeria , it kept the blue - red flag , while Galicia was given a new flag consisting of three horizontal stripes : blue , red and yellow . This flag had remained in use until 1890 , when Galicia - Lodomeria received a new flag consisting of two horizontal stripes : red and white . This flag remained in use until the dissolution of the Kingdom of Galicia - Lodomeria in 1918 and is displayed in Ströhl ' s " Oesterreichisch - ungarische Wappenrolle " ( 1898 ) . References Military . The Kingdom was divided into three major military districts centered in Kraków , Lwow , 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 . Eight out of 11 Lancer regiments were located in Galicia ( see Uhlan ) One Dragoon regiment 10 Infantry regiments Two Artillery divisions Five Feldjäger battalions ( Military Police )