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Center for Urban History
6 Bohomoltsia Str. Lviv 79005, Ukraine

City in the Empire

From the imperial point of view, Lviv was (or was to become under the Habsburg rule) an organic part of the monarchy, the capital of a crown province and a city with a certain portion of identity. To convey this idea to local elites and the population, special rituals were used, among other things.

In the times of neo-absolutism, after the suppression of the Spring of Nations, imperial and religious rituals were actually the only permitted option of street manifestation.

Over time, when liberal reforms and autonomy allowed local political activists to openly manifest their views, still new and new meanings were imposed on these rituals. This is very well illustrated, for example, by the five visits of Emperor Franz Joseph to Lviv.

Local elites used these opportunities to popularize their ideas or rather to "show themselves" and "show the city" according to their views and beliefs. However, the main thing is that these rituals became an example and a basis for further "street" mass politics.

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Commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the abolition of corvee labour held in Lviv (1898)

 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.
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The Henryk Sienkiewicz visit to Lviv (1900)

 From April 29 to May 5, 1900 an outstanding Polish writer, the author of the The Crusaders and With Fire and Sword, Henryk Sienkiewicz visited Lviv. That event became one of the most noticeable in the public life of Lviv and one of the most remarkable ones for the Polish part of Lvivites.
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Feast of Lviv's tailors' "guild" (1900)

 St. Anna's day, July 29, was considered a professional feast of Lviv's tailors' "guild." The restoration of this celebration practice at the city-wide level had a strong political basis. The initiators of the event referred to a tradition that existed before the 1772 partition of Poland in Lviv and, according to the organizers, was supposed to be restored in 1900.
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The opening of the City theatre

 The new city theater (today, the Solomiya Krushelnytska Opera and Ballet Theater) was ceremonially opened on October 4, 1900. This opening became one of the major events in the city, a testimony to the maturity of the city community that managed to fund and hold such a construction.
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Epiphany celebration

 The most significant annual religious celebration held in Lviv by Greek Catholics was the celebration of Epiphany.
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The Emperor Is Coming 1903

 The emperor's stay in Lviv was short - only 4 hours. The emperor was checking on military maneuvers in the Komarno area, and came to Lviv rather for a short visit.
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