Mostyska ( uk, Мости́ська, pl, Mościska, both in the ''plural''), is a small city in
Yavoriv Raion
Yavoriv Raion ( uk, Яворівський район) is a raion in Lviv Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is Yavoriv. It was established in 1939. Its estimated population is .
On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative ...
,
Lviv Oblast
Lviv Oblast ( uk, Льві́вська о́бласть, translit=Lvivska oblast, ), also referred to as Lvivshchyna ( uk, Льві́вщина, ), ). The name of each oblast is a relational adjective—in English translating to a noun adjunct w ...
(
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
) of
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
. It hosts the administration of
Mostyska urban hromada, one of the
hromadas of Ukraine.
Population: . The city is located in western portion of
Sian Lowland Sian Lowland or Oversian basin ( uk, Надсіанська котловина) is a lowland located at the border between Poland and Ukraine along the San River. Most of the region is located in Poland except for a small portion in southeastern en ...
near the border with Poland ().
History
The names ''Mościska'' and ''Mostyska'' share a common etymological Slav root "most", which means "bridge", or the place associated with "river crossings".
In 1340, Mostyska, together with the territory of
Red Ruthenia
Red Ruthenia or Red Rus' ( la, Ruthenia Rubra; '; uk, Червона Русь, Chervona Rus'; pl, Ruś Czerwona, Ruś Halicka; russian: Червонная Русь, Chervonnaya Rus'; ro, Rutenia Roșie), is a term used since the Middle Ages fo ...
, was annexed by Polish King
Kazimierz Wielki
Casimir III the Great ( pl, Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars. He ...
, and the town remained in Poland for over 400 years, until 1772 (see
Partitions of Poland). Mościska, as it was called, was in the
Przemyśl region, and the
Ruthenian Voivodeship. In 1404, King
Wladyslaw Jagiello granted it a
Magdeburg
Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river.
Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...
town charter. Mościska was the seat of a
starosta, and the town was severely damaged several times destroyed during
Tatar
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different ,
Turkish and
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
n raids. In the late 18th century, when it was part of Austrian
Galicia, the population of Mościska was 2,200, with a large
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
minority. During the
Second Polish Republic, Mościska was a county seat in
Lwow Voivodeship
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...
, with its population reaching 5,000.
During the
Invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
in late September 1939, Mościska was seized by the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
. Thousands of its ethnic Polish population were sent to
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
. In June 1941, the town was captured by the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
, and the city remained under German control until July 1944. In the autumn of 1945, the deportation, or so-called "repatriation", of Poles began (see
Polish population transfers (1944–46)
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
), which lasted until 1948. As a result, most ethnic Poles were forced out of the town, together with monks from the foundation monastery of the
Redemptorist
The Redemptorists officially named the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, links=no, Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris), abbreviated CSsR,is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of pontifical right for men (priests and brother ...
fathers. This was the redemptorists' "Mother house", which had been re-established in Poland for a third time in 1883 following the order's expulsion by
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
in 1809. Most of the priests left in the summer 1946, taking with them the holy icon and everything they were allowed to carry with them, including sculptures and clothes. Those who remained were arrested in May 1948 by the
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union.
...
, and two of the priests sent to Siberia. Afterwards, the complex of the monastery was turned into a warehouse. Currently, it serves as a hospital.
Today, Mostyska is one of main centres of the
. In 1989, a regional office of the
Association of Polish Culture of the Lviv Land Association of the Polish Culture of the Lviv Land ( pl, Towarzystwo Kultury Polskiej Ziemi Lwowskiej, uk, Товариство польської культури Львівщини) is a Polish minority association, active in Lviv Oblast (provinc ...
was opened. At present Poles make up 36% of population. In 2002, a Polish-language middle school was opened with 250 students.
Until 18 July 2020, Mostyska was the administrative center of
Mostyska Raion. As part of the administrative reforms of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Lviv Oblast to seven, this raion was abolished in July 2020 and its area was merged with
Yavoriv Raion
Yavoriv Raion ( uk, Яворівський район) is a raion in Lviv Oblast in western Ukraine. Its administrative center is Yavoriv. It was established in 1939. Its estimated population is .
On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative ...
.
In popular culture
Mostyska is mentioned regularly in repertoire of Ukrainian music band "Kurwa Matj".
Notable people associated with Mostyska
*
:pl:Jan Legowicz, philosopher
*
:pl:Mikołaj z Mościsk (Nicolaus Moscicensis), mystic
*
Bernard Łubieński, Redemptorist priest and preacher
*
Heinrich Alfred Barb, director of the
Vienna Academy and
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
scholar
*
Jozef Kisielewski, writer
See also
*
Mostyska II
References
{{Authority control
Cities in Lviv Oblast
Lwów Voivodeship
Cities of district significance in Ukraine