In 1880 an event took place that became the first step in the process of transforming Lviv into the "capital of the Ukrainian movement" in Galicia. The Ruthenians began their All-National Viche dedicated to the centenary of the reign of Emperor Joseph II on the same day that the Poles celebrated the 50th anniversary of the November Uprising.
The celebration in Lviv in 1883 was, on the one hand, a Polish patriotic event, since it was about the victory of King Jan III Sobieski. On the other hand, it was a celebration of the successful defense of Vienna, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, so the festivities were fully in line with imperial policy.
The main task set by the organizers was to demonstrate mass popular support for Ruthenian politicians despite their recent defeat in the elections. The essence of the 1883 assembly was to demonstrate the power of the Ruthenian political movement.
As befits a cult, a calendar of birthdays, deaths, book releases, or the publication of individual works was formed around national poets. This was common to both Poles and Ukrainians and allowed them to regularly "remember" poets and "educate" the younger generation.
The anniversary of the "liberation of the peasantry", which was marked by a celebration in the capital of the crown province, was a confirmation of the status of Lviv both as a place where public policy was made and as a symbolic city for which national projects competed. The large-scale character of the "Ruthenian action" was, as usual, to be provided by peasants from throughout the province.
In August 31, 1904, the Prime Minister of Austria-Hungary, Ernest von Koerber, was scheduled to visit Lviv. But the main event of the day unexpectedly turned out to be a viche organised by Ukrainian populists.
November in Lviv was traditionally full of Polish national celebrations. It was in this month that the beginning of the November Uprising was celebrated and the anniversary of Adam Mickiewicz’s death was commemorated. The troubled year of 1905 was no exception.
Two almost simultaneous events dedicated to one episode in history, the siege of Lviv in 1655, which demonstrate the confrontation between Ukrainian and Polish society in Lviv at that time.
The 1907 rally was not an ordinary event in the province — it was an anniversary. That is why it lasted three days, one day longer than usual, with a larger number of participants involved.
