Leopolis in Latin, Lemberg in German, Lwów in Polish, Lviv in Ukrainian, this city located in the historic province of Eastern Galicia (Galizien, Galicja, Halychyna) has a history marked by the successive conquests of the region by imperial powers. Founded in the 13 th century by Prince Danylo of Galicia as a fortress against the Tatar and Mongol invasions of the period, then bequeathed to his son Lev (Leo) who built it into the city which bears his name, in the (...) 14th century it came under rule of the kings of Poland for the next 400 years or more, emerging as a major centre of the Polish-Lithuanian union. Its multi-ethnic make-up was nevertheless established very early on, like that of most Central-European cities, as a consequence of coming under the ‘Magdeburg rights’ legal system in 1352. Through this development, the city attracted a large number of immigrants of diverse origins (Germans, Czechs, Poles, Jews, Armenians, Tatars, Moldavians and Saracens, both merchants and artisans, who established themselves in their own ethnic quarters in various parts of the city). They had been invited there by King Casimir the Great who was anxious to develop prosperous urban centres in Poland. It was also this ‘German law’ status (jus teutonicum) that set the city apart from its hinterland, populated by Ruthenian peasants and a Polish petty nobility. (shrink)

Résumé Cet article retrace l’histoire contrastée, ancienne et souvent douloureuse de la ville de Lemberg, autrement Lwów, autrement Lvov, autrement Lviv… Toutes ces dénominations correspondent à des étapes historiques identitairement marquées qui ont laissé des traces dans l’imaginaire, la topographie et le système des repères. Aujourd’hui, un nouvel avatar de cette situation – marquée sous le signe du paradoxe – se trouve caractérisé par l’étrange notion de « frontière » entre Orient et Occident proposée par Huntington : cette limite passerait (...) par cette ville même. Elle ne peut toutefois se réduire à un tel statut de borne frontière pour affirmations théoriques volontiers réductrices. L’élargissement de l’Union européenne donne à Lviv une nouvelle vocation de porte-parole de l’Ukraine, manifestant son désir d’Europe et d’articulation frontalière à celle-ci. (shrink)